Birkbeck showcases groundbreaking research during Science Week 2025

Birkbeck’s Faculty of Science welcomed the public to a week of free evening lectures and events as part of its annual Science Week, held from 9–12 June 2025. The series highlighted the faculty’s internationally recognised research across the Schools of Psychological Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Computing and Mathematical Sciences.

Designed for anyone with an interest in science, from interested members of the public to prospective student, the events were held both in-person at Birkbeck and streamed online to a global audience.

Each evening focused on a different area of science, offering attendees the chance to hear from leading researchers and engage with cutting-edge topics:

• Monday 9 June: Dr Daniel Yon (School of Psychological Sciences) opened the week with How the Brain Invents Your Reality, exploring how our minds construct the world we perceive.
• Tuesday 10 June: The School of Natural Sciences presented Imaging the Invisible: Capturing Complexity Across Scales in Natural Science, featuring:
• Professor Charles Underwood on visualising ancient and modern sharks and rays.
• Dr Marianne Odlyha on preserving museum collections through scientific imaging.
• Professor Carolyn Moores on using advanced microscopy to study cellular complexity.
• Wednesday 11 June: Dr Felix Reidl (School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences) delivered Machine Commands: Society in the Age of AI, a timely reflection on artificial intelligence and its societal implications.
• Thursday 12 June: The week concluded with Professor Sanjib Bhakta’s inaugural lecture, TB or Not TB? The Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance: Molecules, Machines and Mechanism, highlighting the urgent global challenge of drug-resistant infections.

Science Week 2025 also celebrated the achievements of early career researchers with the presentation of three Science PhD Prizes—one from each School. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the prize-winning research through poster exhibitions and lab tours, and to meet the researchers during post-event receptions.

Reflecting on the week, Professor Rick Cooper, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, said:

“Science Week 2025 demonstrated some of the fascinating and impactful work of academic staff and early career researchers from across the Faculty. Audiences were treated to topics ranging from cautionary tales of AI, to the use of imaging techniques in the natural sciences, and from understanding infectious diseases to the construction by the brain of our reality. The event captured the importance of science in society, and Birkbeck's role in addressing key scientific questions.”

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