Professor Banu in academic robes with her arms up, delivering a lecture in front of an audience.

Our Life Solved Live events are your chance to hear first-hand how research changes the world – and why people do it.

An Inaugural Lecture is one of the most prestigious Life Solved Live events. It’s a celebration of a newly promoted professor’s career and the difference they make. 

You will see two fascinating lectures in one evening, followed by a drinks celebration.

These events are free and open to everyone. Book in advance to make sure you have a seat.

Upcoming Inaugural Lectures

Wednesday 6 May 

  • Professor Ed Stoddard

  • Professor Lisa Sugiura

Location - Portland Building, PO1 3AH

Time - Check-in from 17:30 with the event commencing at 18:00. Lectures finish at 19:45, followed by a drinks reception.

The booking link for the event will be added in March 2026.

Wednesday 3 June

  • Professor James Darling

  • Professor Ivan Jordanov

Location - Portland Building, PO1 3AH

Time - Check-in from 17:30 with the event commencing at 18:00. Lectures finish at 19:45, followed by a drinks reception

The booking link for the event will be added in April 2026.

Wednesday 10 June

  • Professor Sercan Ozcan

  • Professor Wolfgang Luhan

Location - Portland Building, PO1 3AH

Time - Check-in from 17:30 with the event commencing at 18:00. Lectures finish at 19:45, followed by a drinks reception

The booking link for the event will be added in April 2026.

Previous Inaugural Lectures

Life Solved Live: Discursive Dissonances: Tensions of Styles, Practices and Values in Music and Musicals

George Burrows, Professor of Music and Theatre

Life Solved Live: Surfing the Cosmos with Gravitational Waves

Tessa Baker, Professor of Cosmology

Life Solved Live: Multi-Objective Optimisation for Better Decisions

Banu Lokman, Professor of Operational Research

Life Solved Live: From Smartwatches to Endoscopy: The Reality and Hype of Motion Tracking Technology

Raymond Lee, Professor of Biomechanics

Life Solved Live: Better By Design: Modelling Materials for Healthcare and Environmental Applications

Paul Cox, Professor of Materials Chemistry

Life Solved Live: Metallurgy at the Heart of Engineering

Soran Birosca, Professor of Metallurgy and Advanced Manufacturing

Life Solved Live: When the Physics Behind Quantum Phenomena Meets Quantum Technologies

Vincenzo Tamma, Professor of Physics and Quantum Technology

Inaugural Lecture. Unseen Lives and Untapped Materials. 22.10.2025

Life Solved Live: Cultivated Invisibility and the Life Stories of Migrants Experiencing Homelessness in the UK

Simon Stewart, Professor of Sociology

Inaugural Lecture. Unseen Lives and Untapped Materials. 22.10.2025

Life Solved Live: Nature-Based Solutions: The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

Hom Nath Dhakal, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Life Solved Live: Seeing Hidden Pollution, Hearing Distant Stars.

Life Solved Live: Seeing Hidden Pollution, Hearing Distant Stars

Laura Nuttall, Professor of Gravitational Waves Astronomy

Life Solved Live: Seeing Hidden Pollution, Hearing Distant Stars.

Life Solved Live: Seeing Hidden Pollution, Hearing Distant Stars

Fay Couceiro, Professor of Environmental Pollution

Inaugural Lecture.  Forecasting Floods and Engineering Net Zero.10.12. 2025

Life Solved Live: Forecasting Floods and Engineering Net Zero

David Ndzi, Professor of Wireless Communication

Inaugural Lecture.  Forecasting Floods and Engineering Net Zero.10.12. 2025

Life Solved Live: Forecasting Floods and Engineering Net Zero

Victor Becerra, Professor of Power Systems Engineering

Keen to hear more about world-changing research and the amazing people who do it? The Life Solved podcast has shared well over 100 stories to date.

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