Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology, Birkbeck, University of London
Ian Crawford is Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology at Birkbeck, University of London. He is also an Visiting Research Associate in Astronomy at UCL's Department of Physics and Astronomy, and a Visiting Fellow at the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University. He is currently a Vice-President of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Ian's research activities mostly lie in the fields of space exploration (especially lunar exploration), and the new science of astrobiology (the search for life in the Universe). He is convinced that space exploration and development will prove to be of central importance for the future of humanity. While based at the ANU, he is researching into the societal implications of astrobiology, 'big history', and the exploration of space.
How 'Big History' can save the world
Aug 13, 2018 15:15 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
The term Big History was coined in the early 1990s by the historian David Christian of Macquarie University. It is nothing if not ambitious, aiming to integrate human history with the deeper history of the universe. The...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget
Why Germany ditched nuclear before coal – and why it won’t go back
Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board
Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight