Friends of FESI are invited to listen in to an online audience with Lord John Browne FRS, FREng on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 between 14:00–15:00.
The broadcast will be available via Microsoft Teams and may be accessed by following this link.
Lord Browne of Madingley has had an extremely distinguished career in engineering. He was CEO of BP (1995–2007), and President of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2006–2011).
He continues to play key leadership roles in engineering and has recently published a second edition of his book Make, Think, Imagine: The Future of Civilisation (2nd edition, Bloomsbury Publishing, June 2020).
Questions will be put to Lord Browne from a panel of FESI’s Early Career and Student Members on various aspects covered in the book, concentrating in particular on the new Afterword, Eight Short Lessons on Civilisation.
Today’s unprecedented pace of change leaves many people wondering what new technologies are doing to our lives. Has social media robbed us of our privacy and fed us with false information? Are robots going to take our jobs? Will better healthcare lead to an ageing population that cannot be cared for? And has our demand for energy driven the Earth’s climate to the edge of catastrophe?
John Browne argues that we need not and must not put the brakes on technological advance. Civilisation is founded on engineering innovation; all progress stems from the human urge to make things and to shape the world around us, resulting in greater freedom, health and wealth for all. Drawing on history, his own experiences and conversations with many of today’s great innovators, he uncovers the basis for all progress and its consequences, both good and bad. He argues compellingly that the same spark that triggers each innovation can be used to counter its negative consequences. Make, Think, Imagine provides an eloquent blueprint for how we can keep moving towards a brighter future.
Structure of the webcast with Lord John Browne
Preliminary, the Chair, Professor Rod Smith (Director, FESI) will welcome all participants, and will request that all those present mute their microphones. At the beginning of the Q&A session, panel members only to unmute.
1. Professor Smith, Imperial College London, Director of FESI will make a brief introduction to Lord Browne and ask the panel of early career members to give on-line introductions to themselves, five minutes in total.
2. Lord Browne will speak for around 15 minutes on why he wrote his book Make, Think, Imagine and why he has produced a second edition with a new section, Afterword: Eight Short Lessons on Civilisation. What, in his view, are the most important elements of his book and what messages would he like to be taken away by readers?
3. Q & A begins. The first eight questions, one for each of the Eight Short Lessons, will be posed by the panellists. These questions will be submitted several days in advance of the webcast.
4. Any remaining time to be filled by informal questions arising from the discussion.
5. Timing will be adjusted to allow Lord Brown to have a few minutes summing up and the Chair to thank Lord Brown and the panel.
6. The meetings ends after one hour.