This week on Q+A – What Comes Next? Join us for a trip to the future with some of Australia’s finest scientific minds.
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust scientists into the public eye and made many of them household names.
How do we translate this upsurge of interest into the next generation of scientific superstars? Are our universities doing enough to foster world-class scientists and how do we turn ideas into tangible solutions and products?
The pandemic is changing the way scientists study and work. Will our brightest minds of the future spend less time in the lab and more time in front of quantum computers? What will the future look like? We’ll look at how artificial intelligence will shape our lives and ask, can robots help us tackle cyber-crime?
Australia will become only the second country in the world after the UK to receive technology from the United States to build nuclear-powered submarines. What do we know about the science behind this major security step?
And after Christian Porter’s resignation from the Ministry, who will be Australia’s next Federal Science Minister?
And why on earth should we care about whale snot? Our panel will explain all!
Joining Stan Grant on the panel:
Brian Schmidt
Nobel laureate and Vice-Chancellor, ANU
Brian Schmidt is a Nobel Prize winning astrophysicist and was appointed the President and CEO of ANU in January 2016.
Lidia Morawska
International Air Quality expert
Lidia Morawska is a Distinguished Professor and the Director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at QUT. She was included on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2021.
Michael Biercuk
Quantum Physicist and innovator
Professor Michael J. Biercuk is the CEO and Founder of Q-CTRL, and a Professor of Quantum Physics and Quantum Technology at the University of Sydney.
Vanessa Pirotta
Wildlife Scientist and Science Communicator
Dr Vanessa Pirotta is a wildlife scientist and science communicator whose research uses innovative technologies for wildlife conservation.
Toby Walsh
Artificial Intelligence expert
Professor Toby Walsh is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of AI at UNSW and CSIRO Data61, and adjunct professor at QUT.
Kirsten Banks
Astrophysicist and Science Communicator
Kirsten Banks is an astrophysicist and science communicator who loves to share her passion for space and astronomy.
