Launch Event: 14th and 15th September

Location: Newlyn Building GR.01, 24 Mount Preston St, University of Leeds Campus, LS2 9ND

Keynote Speakers:

Archaeology – Prof. Melanie Giles FBA (Manchester)
Physics – Dr Anne Curtis (Principal Scientist - National Physical Laboratory)
Quaternary History – Prof. Simon Blockley (Royal Holloway)
Sociology – Prof. Bren Neale (Leeds)

Network Aim: Solving today’s global challenges depends not only upon the actions we take in the present, but on how we view yesterday and how we plan for tomorrow. Time plays a fundamental role in our lives spanning the deepest mysteries of the natural world, the formation of our societal and individual belief systems, and the decisions we make and the urgency with which we take them.

Our Network will tackle both fundamental and practical questions, such as:

Understanding Time – What actually is time, what significance does it have in our lives and how do we obtain our temporal perspective?
Measuring Time – What leading-edge techniques for measuring time, on both long and short timescales, can we develop and share across disciplines?
Past, Present and Future – How does the past inform our understanding of the present and predictions for the future? Do we overemphasize the present and discount the future?
Evolving Time – How have technology and globalisation changed our experiences of time? How can we manage, respond and shape such evolution?

Schedule

Thursday 14th September

12:00 – 12:45: Lunch and Welcome

12:45 – 13:30: Keynote A – Dr. Anne Curtis (35 min talk + 10 min questions)

13:30 – 14:30: Workshop/Facilitated Session 1: Understanding Time – What actually is time, what significance does it have in our lives, and how do we obtain our temporal perspective?

14:30 – 15:00: Coffee Break

15:00 – 15:45: Keynote B – Prof. Bren Neale (35 min talk + 10 min questions)

15:45 – 16:00: Coffee Break

16:00 – 17:00: Workshop/Facilitated Session 2: Evolving Time – How have technology and globalization changed our experiences of time? How does our view of time change as we age, and what cultural, technological and scientific influences impact and change individual and societal views of time? How can we manage, respond, and shape such evolution?

17:00 – 18:30: Cheese and Wine Reception

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Friday 15th September (Coffee available from 9:00am)

9:00 – 9:30: Coffee and Pastries

9:30 – 10:15: Keynote C – Prof. Melanie Giles (35 min talk + 10 min questions)

10:15 – 11:15: Workshop/Facilitated Session 3: Past, Present and Future – How does the past inform our understanding of the present and predictions for the future? How we understand ourselves as interacting with the world and how do we hold ourselves and others responsible for their actions?

11:15 – 11:30: Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:15: Keynote D – Prof. Simon Blockley (35 min talk + 10 min questions)

12:15 – 13:00: Buffet Lunch

13:00 – 14:00: Workshop/Facilitated Session 4: Measuring Time – What techniques for measuring time, on both long and short timescales, do disciplines use? Where are there gaps in existing archives, data sources, and timescales? What key questions remain unresolved or answers unsatisfactorily imprecise due to an inability to interrogate time?

14:00 – 14:15: Coffee Break

14:15 – 15:15: Wrap-up and Action Setting Session - What issues/areas have jumped out at people over the last few days that we should or could address in the Network? What actions/events should the Network provide over next year? Volunteers?

15:15: Close

Research Network for Time Launch Event