Announcing our British Science Festival 2026 Section Presidents

The British Science Association is today (Tuesday 26 May 2026) announcing our Scientific Section Presidents for the 2026 British Science Festival, which takes place from 16-20 September in Southampton, hosted by the University of Southampton.  

The Scientific Sections are science professionals who play a crucial role in developing content and shaping the British Science Festival programme each year.  

Since the Festival’s founding, the Scientific Sections have played a key role in developing the Festival’s programme of events, talks, demonstrations, installations and other activities.  

They help advise the British Science Association’s Festival team on the latest developments in different fields, and ensure that every corner of science, from natural sciences to the arts are included, so that Festival-goers find the programme diverse, relevant, and current.  

Each year, our Sections appoint a Section President to deliver an address, which might take the form of a lecture, panel discussion, workshop or performance. Expect film screenings, musical performances, and interactive talks on this year’s line-up, as well as the usual exciting talks showcasing the latest in scientific research. 

This year’s events cover subjects including communicating with canines and with AI, the psychology of eating, the mysteries of human DNA, sustainable farming, and the connections between humans and nature.   

Full details of this year’s events will be released as part of the full Festival programme at the beginning of July.   

Our 2026 Scientific Section Presidents

Agriculture and Food – Lucy Beattie, Postdoctoral researcher, The James Hutton Institute - Retelling the land: sustainable songs 

Archaeology and Anthropology – to be confirmed 

Biological Sciences – Yan Wong, Researcher in Evolutionary Genetics, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford – Hidden secrets of the genome 

Chemistry – to be confirmed 

Economics – Meredith Crowley, Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge – Trade in a divided world 

General – Juliane Kaminski, Associate Professor in Comparative Psychology, Dog Cognition Centre, University of Portsmouth – Lassie’s Got Talent 

History of Science – Tammy Horton, Manager of Discovery Collections at National Oceanography Centre, and Sam Robinson, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of York – Across time and tide: Exploring the deep sea 

Mathematical Science – Katerina Kaouri, Reader in Applied Mathematics, Cardiff University – Maths within and beyond us 

Psychology – Natalia Lawrence, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Exeter – Bite-size behaviour changes 

Science and the Arts – Vicky Isley and Paul Smith, artists (boredomresearch) – Talking entangled futures 

Sociology and Social Policy – Jessica Ringrose, Professor of the Sociology of Gender and Education, University College London – Adolescence, chatbots and AI intimacies 

The British Science Festival is Europe’s longest standing science festival, hosted in a different UK city each year. The Festival connects people with scientists, engineers, technologists and social scientists in an inspiring programme of free events. 

This year’s Festival is a partnership between the British Science Association and the University of Southampton. 

More details about the British Science Festival 2026 programme, including the Presidential addresses, will be released in the coming months.  

Sign up to the British Science Association’s newsletter, follow us on Bluesky and Instagram, and visit www.britishsciencefestival.org for more information and updates. 

Image: l-r: boredomresearch, Juliane Kaminski and friend, Katerina Kaouri, Yan Wong