Previous Fora / 2011
SMITH, Chris Llewellyn Sir FRS
Chair, Royal Society Advisory Group on Global Science Report
Chris Llewellyn Smith is a theoretical physicist. He is currently Director of Energy Research, Oxford University, and President of the Council of SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East). He has served as Chairman of the Council of ITER (2007-09), the global fusion energy project, and of the Consultative Committee for Euratom on Fusion (2004-09), and was Director of UKAEA Culham (2003-08), with responsibility for the UK's fusion programme and for operation of the Joint European Torus (JET). While at Culham he elaborated and promoted the ‘Fast Track’ development of fusion energy. He was Provost and President of University College London (1999-2002), Director General of CERN (1994-1998), and Chairman of Oxford Physics (1987-1992). During his mandate as DG of CERN the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was approved and construction started, and the Large Electron Positron collider (then CERN’s flagship project) was successfully upgraded. After completing his Doctorate in Oxford in 1967, he worked briefly in the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Moscow, before spending periods at CERN and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, after which he returned to Oxford in 1974. His work as a theoretical particle physicist, which was mainly on the quark model and theories of the strong and electro-weak forces, and how they can be tested experimentally, was recognised by election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1984. Chris Llewellyn Smith has written and spoken widely on science funding, international scientific collaboration and energy issues. He has served on many advisory bodies nationally and internationally, including the UK Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology (1989-92). His scientific contributions and leadership have been recognised by awards and honours in seven countries on three continents.
ABSTRACT
10:00-11:40 17 NOVEMBER
PLENARY SESSION I. “THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF SCIENCE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES”
International Scientific Collaboration: benefits, challenges and opportunities
The global scientific landscape is changing dramatically. China has emerged as a scientific superpower. Brazil, India and South Korea are entering the premier scientific league, and many other countries are becoming serious scientific players. In parallel, scientific collaboration is increasing rapidly: over 35% of peer-reviewed scientific articles with an abstract in English are the product of international collaboration, up from a quarter fifteen years ago. I will draw on the Royal Society’s recent report ‘Knowledge, networks and nations’ to review these changes, and consider case studies which provide lessons for future collaborations that are designed to address global problems.