scientists

A forum to protect academic freedom in the EU
On 28 November 2022 the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has launched the ‘EP Forum for Academic Freedom’ during a high-level conference hosted by the Panel for the future of Science and Technology (STOA). Many academics are working in increasingly hostile environments. This STOA initiative will monitor threats to the independence of researchers, scientists and ...

Christina Pagel: “You have to accept that people will attack you and you cannot defend yourself”
Interview with Christina Pagel, Professor of Operational Research (a branch of applied mathematics) at University College London (UCL) and Director of the UCL Clinical Operational Research Unit. Since May 2020, she has been a member of Independent SAGE, a group of scientists working together to provide independent scientific advice on how to support Britain’s recovery ...

Pia Lamberty: “This is the price you pay, but I still think it’s worth it”
Interview with Pia Lamberty, social psychologist and co-director of the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS). As a psychologist, she has been researching why people believe in conspiracies and what consequences this worldview entails. Her non-fiction book “Fake Facts - How Conspiracy Theories Determine Our Thinking”, published with Katharina Nocun in May 2020, was ...

Scientists under fire: threats and attacks after speaking in public
When scientists speak out publicly on Covid-19 counter-measures, they expose themselves to online and real-life attacks, threats and abuse. Some have developed very different coping strategies.