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In the company of animals Olly & Suzi, Tony Fitzjohn, Dr Dawn Hawkins

Tuesday 29 November 2005, 7.00pm-9.00pm
The Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS
Olly & Suzi may have the best job in the world. Their long-lasting artistic partnership has taken them on over 30 expeditions to remote Arctic, desert, ocean and jungle regions. They paint and interact with endangered animals in the wild, bringing attention to the animal’s fragile existence. Keeping animals cared for is also the preserve of Tony Fitzjohn, who has lived in the wilds of Kenya and Tanzania for over 30 years, and is the driving force behind Tanzania’s resurrected Mkomazi Game Reserve. Dawn Hawkins, Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour at Anglia Polytechnic
University
, also spends a good deal of time in the company of animals, studying Tanzanian wildlife from a scientific point of view.
We’re bringing all of them together to find out how each of them, with their different backgrounds,conceive of the animals they work with. Are animals their subjects or their collaborators? How can each of them contribute to keeping species from disappearing from the wild, and what can artists,scientists and conservationists learn by listening to each other’s viewpoints? Dr Steve Baker (reader in Contemporary Visual Culture at The University of Central Lancashire) will chair this event.
We’re bringing all of them together to find out how each of them, with their different backgrounds,conceive of the animals they work with. Are animals their subjects or their collaborators? How
can each of them contribute to keeping species from disappearing from the wild, and what can artists, scientists and conservationists learn by listening to each other’s viewpoints? Dr Steve Baker (reader in Contemporary Visual Culture at The University of Central Lancashire) will chair
this event.

It’s Epidemic

Arts and science perspectives on infection from Sander Gilman and John Oxford
Thursday 24 February 2005, 7.00pm-8.30pm at the Royal Institution
New diseases fuel our collective fears – just as historic plagues once did. But how do we come by our ideas about infectious diseases? Leading cultural and literary historian Sander Gilman and distinguished virologist John Oxford will share their different perspectives on efforts to understand the impact of infectious diseases. Is there a history of story – telling that allows us to understand how we deal with infectious diseases? How can studying epidemics of the past tell us about our future? Without the proper attention we may find ourselves retelling old, sad stories.
Sander Gilman is Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago. John Oxford is Professor of Virology at Barts and The London Hospital, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry.
This event was a partnership between the Ri and the Dennis Rosen Memorial Trust.

Art and Imaging

Dan Fern, Royal College of Art and Dr Anil Bharath, Imperial College
Thursday October 30th 2003, at the Ri
What can scientists learn from artists about how to display their ideas and results in a way that is easy to understand?
A leading arts practitioner and a leading scientist shared their insights into the visual representation of ideas.
Professor Dan Fern, Head of the Department of Communication at the Royal College of Art and Dr Anil Bharath from the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College discussed the similarities, differences and overlaps in their respective approaches.
Today, computer-based imaging methods are used to mimic techniques employed by artists in the past. And current artists and graphic designers use computers to develop new techniques and produce images that would never have been possible before. The speakers will explore both historical techniques and some currently being developed in a range of sciences, to show how the fields of art and imaging are merging.
Throughout the history of art, painters have played with techniques for the representation of the visual image. Part of the problem has always been that the artist needs to interpret what the eye believes it sees, rather than what it actually sees.
For example, Rembrandt used lighting effects which do not occur naturally. Other artists, such as Vermeer, are believed to have used the Camera Obscura to capture the geometry of a scene.
The speakers
Dan Fern is Head of the Department of Communication at the Royal College of Art. He is an award-winning designer and graphic artist as well as being an influential teacher. Fern has worked extensively across all areas of visual communications, including a set of stamps for the Royal Mail, and posters for the London Underground.
Anil Bharath is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College. He holds a BEng from UCL, and a PhD from Imperial College, both in Electrical Engineering. He now works at the interfaces between signal processing, the computational modelling of visual processes and computer vision.
Chaired by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, Rector, Royal College of Art

Living Science, Living Art

Brenda Maddox and Claire Tomalin, chaired by Professor Lisa Jardine
Thursday October 17th 2002, at the Ri
These highly respected writers have charted the lives of numerous artists and scientist and will share their experiences in a public discussion, chaired by Professor Lisa Jardine.
Biography offers us a journey into the lives of leading artists, writers, politicians and scientists. Through the meticulous research of the biographer, we gain insights into the factors that shape success and failure: personality, relationships, prevailing social norms and much more.

But how does research into the life of a scientist compare with that of an artist? Are there different approaches to portraying their lives? Leading biographers Brenda Maddox and Claire Tomalin will discuss the challenges they have faced in charting the lives of artist and scientists across the centuries.

Seeing red: colour perception and feeling

A dialogue in the field of colour and perception
Sir Howard Hodgkin in conversation with Professor Richard Gregory
Thursday June 28th 2001, at the Ri
What happens when an artist and a scientist approach the same subject from their different perspectives? The topics of colour and perception are central to the work of both Sir Howard Hodgkin and Richard Gregory, yet they have different meanings for each. Will there be common vocabulary in their discussion of colour and perception? What will be the bridges between their two perspectives? What can each learn from the other? The Dennis Rosen Memorial Trust is dedicated to promoting dialogue and understanding between artists and scientists. This year’s annual event at the Royal Institution offers a direct example of what the Trust aims to promote.
The speakers:
Sir Howard Hodgkin is one of the country’s best known artists known for his vivid use of colour. Winner of the Turner prize in 1985, Sir Howard has also been a trustee of the Tate Gallery and the National Gallery.
Professor Richard Gregory is Emeritus Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol. He has specialised in the exploration of vision and perception throughout his distinguished scientific career.
Chaired by Lisa Jardine, Professor of history at University College London, one of the country’s best known academic broadcasters and speakers.
A full transcript of the event is published on this website.

The First Dennis Rosen Memorial Lecture

Carl Djerassi
Friday June 30th 2000 at the Ri
The First Dennis Rosen Memorial Lecture was held on Friday June 30th 2000 at the Royal Institution in London. It was a great success on almost every level by which it could be judged.
The main speaker was Carl Djerassi, the eminent chemist and writer. But there were three other short addresses. The first speaker was Prof. Susan Greenfield, Director of the RI, who outlined the Institution’s role to an audience for many of whom this was their first visit. Then the Trust itself was introduced by Professor Richard Kitney who spoke movingly about Dennis Rosen who had been his formative science teacher. Next, Prof Djerassi was introduced by Lisa Jardine, who explained her reasons for becoming a Trustee of the Dennis Rosen Trust. A full report of the event is published on this website.