9th October 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
A former British Ambassador here was asked at the end of a radio interview what he would like for Christmas. Thinking it typical Lebanese generosity but not wanting to be too greedy, he gave a modest reply. Listening to the broadcast later, he was shocked to hear several envoys asked the same question. The US […]
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8th October 2013 Toronto, Canada
On 8 October 2013, Prof. Peter Higgs of the University of Edinburgh and Prof. François Englert of the Université libre de Bruxelles were awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed […]
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7th October 2013 Toronto, Canada
The theme of World Space Week 2013 is “Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth”. With more attention than ever on the Red Planet (so-called due to the high levels of reddish iron oxide in its soil) and human missions set to visit from 2018, the time is right to take a closer look at Mars – and […]
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2nd October 2013 Washington DC, USA
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels to attend a course put together by my colleagues in the UK Joint Delegation to NATO. The course is designed to give staff a thorough introduction to NATO and an understanding of its place at the centre of the UK’s defence […]
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2nd October 2013 Montreal, Canada
Whisky is not just good for sipping; it is also good for making biofuel. The distillation process of whisky produces a lot of byproducts that do not make it into the bottle you see at the liquor store. Actually, only 10 % of what is produced in a distillery is drinkable whisky. The rest is […]
28th September 2013 Ottawa, Canada
September 2013 marks the second World Alzheimer’s Month, reflecting the growing urgency and concern over the health, social and economic burden of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a common form of dementia. Today, it is estimated that over 35 million people worldwide currently live with the condition, and this number is expected to double by […]
27th September 2013
When our Business Minister, Vince Cable, was here this week, he talked a lot about the UK’s Industrial Strategy. As he noted, to some ears this sounds rather old-fashioned. In fact it’s the opposite, it’s an attempt to create long term plans to tackle some of the sources of recent economic weakness and instability in […]
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26th September 2013 New Delhi, India
Last week I was at a dinner with one of the professors from the University of Cambridge. Over dessert, he said something to me that changed the way I looked at the role of ‘Universities’ in the Innovation ecosystem. He told me about how he and some of his colleagues not only teach their students […]
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6th September 2013 Toronto, Canada
Back in July, the UK government announced (amid much media fanfare) that it was investing £60 M in Reaction Engines Limited and supporting the development of the futuristic-sounding Skylon spaceplane. In this blog post, we will take a look at why this technology is significant, and why the future of aerospace is in British hands. […]
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5th September 2013 Washington DC, USA
I had the fortune to spend summer on the beautiful shores of Lake Geneva representing the UK at the World Trade Organization (WTO), a 159 country organisation that governs international economic relations. It was a welcome respite from the heat and humidity of DC during the summer – several weeks soaking up the fresh mountain […]