Index
RMIT Transforming the Future
Enlightenment and Education: public lecture by Sir Harold Kroto.
How can the internet help communicate science, make sense of scientific methodology and lead to more informed public debate?
Hear Nobel Laureate Sir Harold Kroto on the crucial issues of science, education and the public sphere in a free public lecture as part of the RMIT Transforming the Future lecture series on Wednesday 28 September.
Professor Kroto will discuss his views on the importance of scientific knowledge and education, and how both are vital to better informing public debate around issues such as climate change.
The event is free but registrations are essential.
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Date |
Wednesday 28 September 2011 |
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Time |
6.00 pm – 7.30 pm |
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Location |
RMIT University, City campus |
Abstract
By and large when most people think about contributions of science such as penicillin or electricity they would say that the beneficial applications have greatly outweighed the detrimental ones. Whether this will hold true in the future remains to be seen. As the 21st Century opens up a major exciting new perspective has developed called Nanoscience which is uncovering exciting new phenomena which promise paradigm shifting applications. We already know from recent chemical discoveries such as the fullerenes and nanotubes that it should be possible to create materials with phenomenal tensile strength and electrical behavior as well as devices the size of a wrist watch that have supercomputer capability.
As we start to make these advances a curious phenomenon has started to appear and it is an antiscientific movement operating on many fronts. Part of the problem lies in the intrinsic aspect of science that in complex situations one cannot be absolutely sure until the real "situation" is upon us. The evidence-based philosophy which has been so incredibly successful in revolutionising all aspects of our world is also uncovering some alarming problems including serious worries about the impact of humans on the environment and the sustainability of the human race. There is a general unwillingness to accept that there may be problems ahead for the very survival of the human race.
In the light of this it is essential to educate the next generation to ensure they have better understanding of what we know, and how we come to know. It is for this reason that I have spent recent years exploring how the Internet might best be used to improve education – in particular Science, Engineering and Technology education. I started off by creating the Vega Science Trust which is streaming science programmes. I have more recently set up Global Educational Outreach for SET (GEOSET) which is streaming from the gateway site. With GEOSET we are enabling educators wherever they are to contribute to a free globally accessible cache of teaching material. After all "Although knowledge cannot guarantee good decisions, common sense suggests that wisdom is an unlikely consequence of ignorance".
Sir Harold Kroto – Nobel laureate
Sir Harold Kroto.
In 1996 Sir Harold Kroto was knighted for his contributions to chemistry and later that year, along with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley, was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery of the C60 molecule, Buckminsterfullerene, the first molecule composed entirely of carbon.
Professor Kroto has created the Vega Science Trust, which streams science programs, and more recently he set up Global Educational Outreach for SET (GEOSET), enabling educators across the world to contribute and access a free cache of teaching material around science, engineering and technology.
From 2002-2004 he served as President of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Sir Harold is on faculty at Florida State University, which he joined in 2004; prior to that he spent a large part of his working career at the University of Sussex where he holds an emeritus professorship. He presently carries out research in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Registration
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