[{Image src='Rees_Martin_Cardiff.jpg' caption='' height='260' alt='Martin Rees' class='image_right'}]
!!Public lecture by Lord Rees: ''The world in 2050 and beyond''
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__[Lord Martin Rees|Member/Rees_Martin]__, Academia Europaea Member and recipient of the Erasmus Medal in 2016, will give a public lecture, ''The World in 2050 – and beyond'', at Cardiff University on 6th April.  
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Further [details and registration|https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lord-rees-the-world-in-2050-and-beyond-tickets-31513177763].
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__Date and Time__\\
Thu, April 6, 2017\\
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM BST
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__Location__
Large Chemistry Lecture Theatre (1.123)\\
Main Building \\
Park Place\\ 
Cardiff \\
CF10 3AT\\ 
United Kingdom 
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!Description

Leading astrophysicist Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and a senior figure in UK science, will look ahead to 2050 in a public lecture at Cardiff University. This event is sponsored by the Learned Society of Wales and forms part of the Annual University/LSW Partnership Lecture series.It will be followed by a reception in our VJ Gallery.
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It is free to attend but a ticket must be booked in advance. All are welcome.

!!''The world in 2050 - and beyond''

__Abstract:__\\
Our Earth is 45 million centuries old. But this century is the first when one species - ours – can determine the biosphere's fate. Threats from the collective 'footprint' of 9 billion people seeking food, resources and energy are widely discussed. But less well studied is the potential vulnerability of our globally-linked society to the unintended consequences of powerful technologies - not only nuclear, but (even more) biotech, advanced AI, space, geoengineering and so forth. These are advancing fast, and bring with them great hopes, but also great fears. They will present new threats more diverse and more intractable than nuclear weapons have done.
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More expertise is needed to assess which long-term threats are credible, versus which will stay science fiction, and to explore how to enhance resilience against the more credible ones. We need to formulate guidelines that achieve optimal balance between precautionary policies, and the benign exploitation of new technologies.
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We shouldn't be complacent that the probabilities of catastrophe are miniscule. Humans have survived for millennia, despite storms, earthquakes and pestilence. But we have zero grounds for confidence that civilisation can survive the worst that the future can bring. It's an important maxim that "the unfamiliar is not the same as the improbable"
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!Speaker biography:

Martin Rees is a cosmologist and space scientist. His research interests have included galaxy formation, active galactic nuclei, black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and more speculative aspects of cosmology. He is based in Cambridge, where he has been Director of the Institute of Astronomy, a Research Professor, and Master of Trinity College. He was President of the Royal Society during 2005-2010. In 2005 he was appointed to the House of Lords.
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In 2016, he was elected as one of the first Honorary Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales.
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He has received many international awards for his research, and belongs to numerous foreign academies including the US National Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy and the Pontifical Academy. He is on the Board of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study and has served on many bodies connected with education, space research, arms control and international collaboration in science. He lectures, writes and broadcasts widely for general audiences.
Ever since his book '''Our Final Century?''' was published, he has been concerned with the threats stemming from humanity's ever-heavier 'footprint' on the global environment, and with the runaway consequences of ever more powerful technologies. These concerns led him to join with colleagues in setting up a Centre for the Study of Existential Risks (CSER). This is based in Cambridge but has a strong international advisory board.