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(above) The colours of an autumn morning outside INI's main entrance on Clarkson Road.
INI NEWS BULLETIN
October 2020
Dear friends, associates and supporters of INI,
Welcome to the October 2020 edition of our monthly news bulletin. We're pleased to announce that we now have a regular rotation of staff back in the main building. Thanks to the diligent work of our facilities team the Institute has every safety measure in place - from one-way systems to rigorous sanitation procedures - to ensure a COVID-safe return to the workplace. Though the Institute and Gateway teams have adapted excellently to remote working, as the success of the ongoing, virtual programme "Infectious Dynamics of Pandemics" (IDP) attests, these steps are vital to recommencing "business as usual" for INI. We look forward to our first opportunity to welcome participants back into the building: a moment for which we are now ably prepared.
In this bulletin you will find: a podcast interview with Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter (Cambridge), congratulations to members of the IDP programme recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours, an exciting announcement regarding the INI website, and tributes to two friends of the Institute whose recent passings have caused ripples throughout the mathematical community.
Thanks as always for your continued support.
- INI Communications team
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Contact: communications@newton.ac.uk
PODCAST OF THE MONTH: "An ecology of people that want to tell it like it is", an interview with Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter.
(above) Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter.
In episode #27 of the INI podcast, David Spiegelhalter (Cambridge) joins Dan Aspel to talk about a frenetic six months of risk communication, the pitfalls of "number theatre", why nobody should be "following the science", why he's glad he to be rid of "killer bacon sandwiches" and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the relationship between scientists, media and government. You can read more about David (and find details of his most recent book "The Art of Statistics") here: http://www.statslab.cam.ac.uk/~david/ ; his new podcast "Risky Talk" can be found here: https://riskytalk.libsyn.com/
00:00 - Introduction
01:03 - “Risky Talk”
05:29 - A history with the Isaac Newton Institute
08:50 - COVID, and becoming a household name
10:56 - Recent interactions between science and the media
13:10 - “Following the science” (or not)
16:10 - Demands, stress, ranting and “number theatre”
17:10 - Blame and speculation
18:30 - No more “killer bacon sandwiches”
20:18 - The fear factor
22:50 - The “privileging” of COVID and its knock-on effects
24:55 - “an ecology of people that want to tell it like it is”
27:23 - The Art of Statistics
31:50 - Retirement, walking and stained glass panels
PROGRAMMES: Trio of "Infectious Dynamics of Pandemics" participants awarded OBEs in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
Three IDP participants have this month been awarded OBEs ("Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire") by the UK government for services to the COVID-19 response. They are (pictured above from left to right) IDP organiser Professor Julia Gog (Cambridge), Professor Catherine Noakes (Leeds) and Professor Graham Medley (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine).
All three are also members of the body Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). We offer them the heartiest congratulations on their awards, and look forward to much continuing interaction throughout IDP and beyond.
(above) lead image for the "Infectious Dynamics of Pandemics: Mathematical and statistical challenges in understanding the dynamics of infectious disease pandemics" programme.
NEWTON.AC.UK: Significant updates planned for 2021.
The Institute has recently begun a project to analyse, update and redesign its website. Planned for launch in Q2 of 2021, this initiative aims to take the content and successes of the current site and hone them with a modern, clean and user-friendly interface. With INI staff having recorded the vast majority of talks ever hosted within the building(s), the website now provides access to over 47 TB of content (nearly eight times greater than the next largest collection within the University of Cambridge). The "virtual" demands brought by the pandemic further highlight the need for a world-class institute to boast a world-class web presence. Come next year, we hope to present all of INI's myriad activities - past and present - in an ever more appealing and accessible manner.
IN MEMORY: tributes to Professor Vaughan Jones and Professor John Barrow
During September, staff at INI were deeply saddened to hear of the passings of two friends of the Institute. Professor Vaughan Jones - of the 2017 "Operator algebras: subfactors and their applications" programme - died on 6 September. Professor John Barrow - leader of the Millenium Maths Project and a Cambridge academic whose devotion to outreach was second to none - died on 26 September.
As previously stated on INI's website and social media feeds, our continuing warm wishes and support go to their families, friends and colleagues for their loss.
(above) Professor Vaughan Jones, pictured during the OAS programme in 2017.
(below) Professor John Barrow, pictured speaking to Southfields Academy sixth form students on behalf of INI in 2019.
