Annual Distinguished Lectures
2007 David Willetts MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, University
and Skills
"Science and Education"
2006 Lord May of Oxford, former President of the Royal Society and former
Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government
"How to stimulate creativity and how to stifle it"
2005 Professor Sir David King, the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser
"An insider's view of science in Goverment"
2004 Rt Hon Chris Patten Former Cabinet Minister, Governor of Hong Kong, European Commissioner and Chancellor of Oxford and Newcastle Universities "Research- The European Challenge"
2003 Howard Dalton Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
2003 (for 2002) Sir Gareth Roberts President of Wolfson College, Oxford, and of the Science Council
2002 (for 2001) Professor Sir Harold Kroto FRS, Nobel Laureate, member of the SBS Advisory Council “The Internet and Science, Technology and Engineering Education”
2000 Dr Mike Dexter Director of the Wellcome Trust “Where would UK science be without the charities?”
1999 Dr Andrew Mackenzie Group Vice President of Technology at BP Amoco “Science, energy and progress”
1998 John Redwood MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry “British Science and Industry: What should the Government do?”
1997 Margaret Beckett MP, President of the Board of Trade
1996 Ian Taylor MBE, MP, Minister for Science “British Science: a bright outlook for the future”
1995 Sir Derek Roberts CBE FRS FEng, Provost of UCL “Science: the roles of foresight and hindsight”
1993 John Smith MP, leader of the opposition
1992 Prof. J.M.Howie FRSE “A British Baccalaureate: some thoughts from Scotland”
1989 Michael Heseltine MP “Paying for Science”
1988 Lord Adrian FRS, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology and of the SBS Advisory Council
1987 Sir James Lighthill Provost of UCL