Science Speakeasy: Elephant in the (Court) Room

Alistair is a lecturer in Geospatial Engineering at Newcastle University, using mapping data and computer models to explore sustainable and resilience cities. He’s particularly interested in the way that land-use and transport planning can be used to adapt our urban areas to climate change. He loves chairing the Science Speakeasy events because he gets to have fascinating discussions with knowledgeable people about subjects he knows nothing about! Alistair’s twitter.

Raj directs the Animal Law Program at the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregan (USA), where he teaches Animal Legal Philosophy, International Animal Law, and Emerging Topics in Animal Law. Outside of Lewis & Clark, he sits on the boards of Minding Animals International and the International Coalition for Animal Protection, which is seeking to advance the world’s first umbrella treaty to protect the well-being of individual animals. 

Heather is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Southampton. She specialises in animal sentience and welfare, and was part of the research team who produced a report reviewing the evidence for sentience in cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans, leading to an amendment of the UK’s Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act to include their protection. Alongside her academic career, she has also worked as a zookeeper and animal welfare officer. Heather’s twitter.  

Vivek is a BBSRC David Phillips Research Fellow at Newcastle University. He researches the ecology and evolution of sensory and cognitive behaviour, with a focus on attention and emotion in insects. He has a PhD in Animal Behaviour from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and has worked at the University of Minnesota, St Paul and Queen Mary University of London. He has previously been a Marie Curie Research Fellow, a Human Frontiers Science Program Fellow and a fellow of the College of Life Sciences at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. 

Sarah is a professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Surrey’s Veterinary School. Alongside her academic career, she also runs an independent consultancy on animal health and welfare, and is a RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) Recognised Specialist in Laboratory Animal Science. Her areas of expertise include animal welfare and lifetime experience training and assessing, as well as ethical evaluation. She has published many books, research papers and review articles on the topic, and was awarded an OBE for services to animal welfare in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2012.