Author Archives: Stephen

Augmented reality: me and my hearing aids

Posted on 11 July 2020 by Stephen

My new best buds… When I started out on this blog back in ’08 I made a passing observation about my age, having noticed I was increasingly lifting my glasses to read the date on my watch. Not long afterwards … Continue reading →

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UK R&D Roadmap 2020: big picture poses big questions

Posted on 6 July 2020 by Stephen

The latest in a long line of R&D strategy documents from the UK government reveals some promising evolution in its strategic thinking. But while it touches on a wide range of complex and interacting challenges, but the precise direction of … Continue reading →

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The Flattened Curve

Posted on 25 May 2020 by Stephen

The lockdown might have flattened the curve of infection and death, but it has also flattened the curve and swell of life. Existence has shrunk to fit within four walls; life ‘outside’ has largely been compressed within the flat rectangles of … Continue reading →

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The still unsustainable goal of university ranking

Posted on 26 April 2020 by Stephen

The new and improved Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2020 were published this week with as much online fanfare as THE could muster. Unfortunately, they are not improved enough. Sydney University’s Duncan Ivison makes case for impact rankings. And … Continue reading →

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Three weeks

Posted on 5 April 2020 by Stephen

Just three weeks ago, on eve of the weekend, my wife and I met an old friend for dinner at a restaurant in Southwark. Even then, the most normal things in the world were beginning to feel risky. Our friend … Continue reading →

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This is not my Brexit day

Posted on 31 January 2020 by Stephen

It is 31st January 2020 and as of 11 pm tonight the UK will no longer be a member of the European Union. We have arrived at Brexit day. But this is not my Brexit. I did not want it.

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2019 in 31 photographs

Posted on 31 December 2019 by Stephen

My computer tells me I took over 3,700 photographs in 2019. Yikes! However, I have winnowed them down to just 31, should you care to take a look. I have been fortunate this year to travel far and wide – or … Continue reading →

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Books read in 2019

Posted on 30 December 2019 by Stephen

In a kinder, happier age, when I used to write regularly for the Guardian’s science blog network, I would post summaries of the books I had read at the end of each year. Since the network closed in 2018 I … Continue reading →

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My carbon bootprint

Posted on 27 December 2019 by Stephen

What was your carbon footprint for 2019? Mine was more of a bootprint, almost entirely because of flying. International travel has long been considered one of the perks of academic life, something that lifted the job out of the ordinary … Continue reading →

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Time for reflection

Posted on 15 December 2019 by Stephen

I think of Sunday as the last day of the week, not the first. Today, at the end of a hard week on political and personal fronts (though why the political and personal should be seen as separate I am … Continue reading →

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