Fire in the Belly, with Oxford’s Andrew Briggs

Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing … and God! A Fireside Chat with Professor Andrew Briggs.

Join us in Melbourne on Saturday 27 July for a fireside chat with Andrew Briggs, Emeritus Professor of Nanomaterials at Oxford University and a global leader in bringing science and faith together.

Andrew is in Melbourne for a conference in his role as head of the Anglican Communion Science Commission, and we are fortunate to have this opportunity to hear from him. See below for more of Andrew’s bio.

Fire in the Belly is an ISCAST Victoria tradition of sharing a warm dinner and discussion. Bring some food to share and get ready for an evening of conversation together!


When

Saturday 27th Jul 2024 @ 6:30 pm – 
Saturday 27th Jul 2024 @ 9:30 pm

Where

2A Barloa Rd, Mont Albert


“Fire in the Belly” will take place at John and Jillian Quartel’s home (2A Barloa Rd, Mont Albert). Their phone number is 03 9898 5493.

Format

  • 6:30 p.m. — We will have a “Bring and Share” meal: bring enough food and drink for yourself and a bit more and be prepared to browse through what everyone else has brought (subject to your dietary requirements of course).
  • 8:00 p.m. — Oxford’s Andrew Briggs sharing + discussion.
  • 9:30 p.m. — Finish (although informal discussions may continue for some time after).

About Andrew Briggs

Andrew Briggs is Emeritus Professor of Nanomaterials at the University of Oxford and Executive Chairman of QuantrolOx. His research interests focus on nanomaterials for quantum technologies with machine learning for controlling the experiments, and the nanoscale thermodynamics of timekeeping and learning. From 2002-2009, he directed the UK Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration in Quantum Information Processing. From 2010-2020 he led grant making by Templeton World Charity Foundation. In 2021 he co-founded QuantrolOx to commercialise machine learning for tuning and characterizing quantum devices, with performance that greatly exceeds what is feasible for humans.

He is a Fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford, Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion, and Member of Academia Europaea, and serves on many advisory boards. He has over 650 publications, with more than 30,000 citations.

His books for a general readership include “The Penultimate Curiosity: How Science Swims in the Slipstream of Ultimate Questions”, for which there is a documentary film and a six-book series for children; “It Keeps Me Seeking: The Invitation from Science, Philosophy and Religion”; and “Human Flourishing: Scientific Insight and Spiritual Wisdom in Uncertain Times”. His most recent book carries endorsements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Astronomer Royal, and has won an ISSR 2023 Book Prize.