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The Royal Society is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious scientific bodies, but what has it done in recent decades? Increasingly marginalised by postwar developments and the reforms of civil science in the 1960s, the Society was at risk of resting on its laurels. Instead, it found ways of exploiting its unique networks of scientific talent to promote science. Creating opportunities for outstanding individuals to establish and advance research careers, influencing policymaking at national and international levels, and engaging with the public outside the world of professional science, the Society gave fresh expression to the values that had shaped its long history. Through unparalleled access to the Society's modern archives and other archival sources, interviews with key individuals and extensive inside knowledge, Peter Collins shows how the Society addressed the challenges posed by the astounding growth of science and by escalating interactions between science and daily life.
List of contents
1. Presidential politics and postwar priorities; 2. Running UK science? 3. Supporting individual researchers; 4. The applications of science; 5. Defending the science base; 6. Doing science publicly; 7. Science and international politics; 8. Keeping the door open; 9. Europe: competition and collaboration; 10. Doing science globally; 11. Looking outward; Annex: running the Society; Sources; Index.
About the author
Peter Collins worked at the Royal Society from 1981 to 2013, responsible primarily for the science policy function and latterly for governance and for history of science. These roles included substantial engagement in international affairs and in often controversial public debates. As a long-term core member of senior staff, he was closely involved in development and delivery of the Society's strategy, and had a ringside seat at many key events in this period. Before joining the Society's staff, he studied chemistry at Oxford and took a Ph.D. in history of science at Leeds. In addition to many Royal Society reports, he has published on the history of the British Association and of the Royal Society, including a volume of conference proceedings on the Society in the twentieth century.
Summary
The first synoptic history of the postwar Royal Society, one of the most prestigious and influential bodies in the history of science. Drawing on inside knowledge, as well as extensive archival sources and interviews, Peter Collins shows how the Society addressed the challenges of continued relevance from 1960 onwards.
