Oxford Martin School: Public Lectures and Seminars

With Dr James Martin, Founder, Oxford Martin School. This is the first time in Earth's history that humanity that can study its situation and devise powerful ways to deal with the problems. Our future could be magnificent, but time is short. In our near future there is a need for extreme paradigm shifts, diverse in nature, and for which we are almost totally unprepared. This 'Jubillee' lecture celebrates 60 years since Dr Martin's matriculation from the University of Oxford

With Elon Musk, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and the CEO/CTO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). Elon Musk, the Founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, and Chairman of SolarCity, speaks from his own experiences at the forefront of technology and innovation. This inspirational Oxford Martin School presentation at the Sheldonian Theatre covers space travel, electric vehicles and solar energy.

With Professor Paul Klenerman Principal Investigator, Institute for Emerging Infections. Paul Klenerman demonstrates the way our immune systems work and discusses the best way to boost our natural defences in an effort to fight infection from Hep C and HIV. Dr Bennett Foddy, Deputy Director, Institute for Science and Ethics, addresses the ethical dilemmas which can arise from the process of clinical trials.

With Professor Liam Dolan and Professor Jane Langdale, Co-Directors, Plants for the 21st Century Institute. As we struggle to feed the world's growing population is it ethically wrong not to use all the tools at our disposal to help increase food production? Liam Dolan and Jane Langdale explore the possibilities and benefits that could be derived from using scientific advancement to enhance agricultural production. Professor Julian Savulescu, Director of the Institute for Science and Ethics, questions the ethical issues involved.

With Professor Myles Allen, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Resource Stewardship. You can show people all the evidence in the world about climate change, but if the policy debate is framed in an intractable way, it won't make any difference. And that's the problem. As climate modelling and scientific projections improve how much will people's behaviour change over the coming decades?

Remote controlled and autonomous robotic weapons are bringing new levels of complexity to modern warfare. It's when such robots are designed as lethal weapons that the threshold for moral justification gets higher.

With Kary Kasparov, world chess champion, writer and political activist. The world we live in now is very different from the one that was imagined 50 years ago. Past decades foresaw a future of flying cars and supersonic jets, but commercial air travel is slower in 2013 than it was in 1976. For years we were assured that we would have abundant clean and cheap energy; instead we have record fossil fuel prices, oil spills, and nuclear meltdowns. From poverty rates to superbugs, one thing is certain: this is not the future we were promised. How did we get so far off course from the era of radical tech innovation and ambitious exploration? Why did our culture retreat toward risk-aversion and security? And how can we revive the spirit of innovation, and help bring about its promise of positive transformational change and far-reaching societal benefits?

Sachs argues that for the U.S. to regain sound fiscal health the country must also reform its politics. The lecture is immediately followed by a panel discussion with: Professor Valpy FitzGerald, Department of International Development, Professor Ian Goldin, Oxford Martin School (chair), Professor Peter Tufano, Said Business School, Professor Adrian Wood, Department of International Development, Professor Sir Adam Roberts, Centre for International Studies (Please note Prof Sir Adam Roberts is replacing Prof Ngaire Woods)