Laureation address: Professor Jim Al-Khalili
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science
Laureation by Dr Jonathan Issberner, Associate Dean of Education (Science)
Thursday 27 June 2019
Chancellor, it is my privilege to present for the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Professor Jim Al-Khalili.
Professor Al-Khalili OBE, or Jim as he is affectionately known by many, moved to the UK from Baghdad aged 16, took his A-Levels and was accepted to the University of Surrey in 1982, where he graduated with a first-class degree in Physics. He went on to further study and in 1989 was awarded his PhD in Physics for a thesis entitled: Intermediate energy deuteron elastic scattering from nuclei in a three-body model.
After his PhD, he moved to UCL for two years as a postdoctoral fellow. During his time there, he published a number of papers, including one on the ‘few-body Glauber model’, that would later be instrumental in his highly respected work on neutron halos.
In 1992 he returned to the University of Surrey as a lecturer, and over the next few years steadily gained a reputation within the field of theoretical nuclear physics and became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. During this period Jim also became known as a science communicator and published his first popular science book Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines.
By 1999 Jim had established himself as a world-leading figure in the field of nuclear reaction theory, with two papers which redefined the size of the neutron halo exceeding 500 citations. This important breakthrough work enabled him to communicate with audiences all around the world, as an invited speaker at the major international conferences of that time.
In 2005 he was awarded both a Personal Chair in Physics at the University of Surrey and, simultaneously, the first University of Surrey Chair in Public Engagement in Science. At this point one might assume that he would relax and focus on his newly emerging media career.
However, he continued with his passion for physics, and in 2007 was the youngest ever recipient of the Royal Society Michael Faraday Medal and Prize. In 2011 Jim was awarded the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal and Prize, and in 2018 he was elected to become a Fellow of the Royal Society, as well as becoming President of the British Science Association.
Jim has more recently begun exploring new applications of quantum mechanics. He is currently leading five PhD projects examining quantum tunnelling by biological molecules and how this might link to genetic mutations.
So, it seems that Jim is rather good at theoretical physics, but as already mentioned, he has more than one facet to his nature and, alongside his academic research, he has also been prolifically communicating his understanding and passion for science to us all.
His longstanding role as the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Life Scientific is, for many people, his best-known body of work. The series, in which every episode is dedicated to exploring the biography of a different and currently working scientist, is enormously popular; it has been running since 2011, it regularly draws an audience of over two million listeners per episode, and it was recognised by the broadcasting industry in 2013 with a prestigious VLV (Voice of the Listener & Viewer) Award for Excellence.
Jim is also a prolific writer and has so far authored 14 books covering various aspects of science and its cultural history. This body of work has now been translated into over 25 languages and has amassed sales in the UK of over 200,000 copies. In addition to this, last month saw the release of his first novel, a science fiction thriller entitled Sunfall, which has already received excellent early reviews from the likes of Steven Baxter – one of the United Kingdom’s most widely respected science-fiction authors.
Since the late 1990s Jim has established himself as one of the world’s best-known science broadcasters, presenting over 40 hours of television programmes including two Horizon documentaries, and numerous multi-episode history of science pieces which are used in teaching around the globe. For his television work, Jim has received three Grierson Trust nominations, one BAFTA nomination, and awarded the International Science Film Festival of Athens prize for a science documentary. But for Professor Al-Khalili, one of the most highly regarded recognitions he has received is one that links his academic and media careers. In 2016 he was awarded, by Professor Stephen Hawking, the inaugural Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.
Professor Jim Al-Khalili is a scientist, a humanist, a prolific author, an acclaimed broadcaster, an historian, a teacher (who incidentally has not taken a sabbatical from teaching in over 20 years), and, without doubt, a true polymath.
Chancellor, in recognition of his major contribution to theoretical nuclear physics and for his work in the public engagement of science, I invite you to confer the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on Professor Jim Al-Khalili.
Professor Jim Al Kahlili's response
Well thank you very much Jon, that wasn’t really cringeworthy standing there listening to that. Chancellor, Principal, graduates, guests, I feel immensely proud to receive this honorary degree from St Andrews.
As I’m sure you’re very aware, and we heard earlier, St Andrews is of course the oldest University in Scotland, the third oldest in the United Kingdom. While in contrast with the over 600 year history of St Andrews, my institution, the University of Surrey is still a baby. Only half a century old. In fact, I have been now at Surrey for two-thirds of its life. I don’t think anyone can say that about St Andrews. Not quite anyway.
This morning I had the pleasure of delivering a general colloquium to the physics and astronomy school here where I talked about my current research area, in the emerging and exciting field of quantum biology. I don’t blame you if you haven’t heard of it. Which brings together theoretical physicists like me, quantum chemists, biochemists, biophysicists, technologists, computer scientists and so on. And in fact it’s indicative of what we’re seeing a lot of in research in science and indeed beyond science today. It’s becoming very much interdisciplinary in nature.
Indeed, here at St Andrews you have unquestionably one of the leading physics and astronomy departments in the UK and in fact I note only a few days ago in the Guardian, I’m sure you will know of course in the Guardian league tables St Andrews is number two now in the UK. And of course the School of Physics and Astronomy is the top ranked physics and astronomy department in the country so there’s much to be excited about in your research, from condensed matter, to photonics to exoplanets.
I’ve been very lucky in my career, I’ve spent the past two decades dividing my time roughly equally between the traditional academic duties: in teaching and research on the one hand, and public engagement activities on the other. Broadcasting, public speaking, writing. Earlier in my career as a full-time research physicist, I followed the traditional academic route: focusing on getting research funding, applying for fellowships, applying for grants in the hope of securing a permanent position - the holy grail of any young academic. But once I received my permanent position I became slightly restless. Yes I enjoyed the research, more than anything else, but I found the notion that we can learn what we can about some aspect of nature, often after months or years of research, usually funded by public taxes, and then publishing that work in a peer-reviewed journal, which is read by just a handful of other experts in the field, before moving on to the next project in a continuing publish or perish cycle. I found all this rather strange.
What’s the point of learning something new about the way the world works if we don’t then do something with it or at least tell the world about it? And by that I don’t just mean the other experts in one’s discipline, but wider society too.
So I’ve been very gratified to see in recent years the communicating science to the public has become not only a respectable enterprise taken up by many active scientists but also acknowledged as an important responsibility. Today I’d argue that the UK leads the world in science communication - public engagement of science by probably more than a decade. Whether this is through broadcasting, writing, social media, blogs, podcasts, public forums like science festivals springing up all around the country to the extent that sometimes I dare to wonder that C.P Snow’s Cultures maybe are getting closer together, and it’s been quite wonderful to be given an honorary degree here amongst so many graduates from the arts.
We may not always speak exactly the same language, but I find that certainly some of the most exciting discoveries in science today, whether it’s in astronomy particle physics, genetics, medicine, innovations in engineering technology, these are now becoming part of the general conversation alongside the arts, politics and sport.
But there is also another, more urgent need to communicate. We live in a world facing monumental challenges. In healthcare, in rapid technological advances, particularly in AI and robotics and automation. And in the wider environment, particularly when it comes to the global climate crisis. It’s clear that scientists can no longer afford to remain quiet when populist movements try to shout down the forces of reason and rationalism with uninformed opinion and irrational denial of scientific evidence. I believe it’s the responsibility and duty of those of us public scientists not just to pat ourselves on the back for our latest media success, but to use our public platforms to argue for the importance of rational enquiry.
To push back against the insidious spread of self-congratulatory ignorance. And to fight for evidence-based politics and policies, and the importance of a scientifically-literate population.
Days like today are wonderful occasions for everyone. The University staff, the families of the students and most importantly of course the graduates themselves. (I was going to say graduands but I now appreciate you are now officially graduates.) You’ve spent the last few years here working hard and you are now ready to head off into the wider world to put your knowledge to work.
So today really is a day to cherish and remember. And it is touching sitting in the front row watching you come up on stage, some of you more open in your celebratory smiles, others rather more nervous making sure you don’t just trip up, being the important thing to focus on.
So on behalf of all the graduates, and myself of course, I would like to thank the University of St Andrews for this honour, it has been wonderful, and it is now wonderful to say I have a real association through this degree with a University of such pedigree, tradition and international reputation. Thank you very much.