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Speaker Profiles:
(In alphabetical order of surname)
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HRH Princess Wijdan Ali |
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Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani |
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Dr Anne-Maria Brennan |
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Howie Firth |
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Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu |
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Dr Mawil Izzi Dien |
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Jo Jones |
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Paul Keeler |
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Khadija Khan |
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Dr Simon Locke |
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Martin Palmer |
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Peter Raymond (MBE) |
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Dr Rabah Saoud |
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Professor Ziauddin Sardar |
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Dr Emilie Savage Smith |
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Nasira Shiekh-Miller |
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Robin Stidworthy |
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 HRH Princess Wijdan Ali
Curator and historian as well as painter, was born in Baghdad and received a
degree in history at Beirut College for Women, and an MA and doctorate in
Islamic art at the University of London, SOAS. For much of the 1960s, HRH
Princess Ali served her country in diplomatic posts (often as Jordan's first
female delegate), including being Director of Research and Studies at Amman's
Institute of Diplomacy. In this decade, she has been equally active as an
educator in Islamic art, teaching at Yarmouk University, and the Higher
Institute for Islamic Art and Architecture (which she helped found) at Al Al-Bayt
University. Princess Ali has also served as Editor of Islamic art for the
Encyclopaedia of Islamic Culture, and has published widely on Islamic art and
modern Jordanian art in Arabic and English. She is currently Dean of college of
Arts and Design at the University of Jordan in Amman, and president of the Royal
Society of Fine Arts in Amman. She has authored and edited 19 books and numerous
journal articles on Arab and Islamic art, architecture and culture in Arabic and
English. Princess Ali has also served as Editor of Islamic art for the
Encyclopaedia of Islamic Culture. HRH serves as a Board Member of numerous
international cultural institutions.
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 Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani
Became a Professor of High Energy Rate Engineering at UMIST in 1991. He was
educated at University of Manchester, obtaining 1st class BSc (Hons) in
mechanical engineering in 1965, an MSc in 1967 and a PhD in 1969. He has worked
in UK industry and held university posts in UK and overseas. He has been an
expert witness on major explosion accidents and disasters. He has been awarded
numerous national and international research grants and published over 180
papers and books in international journals. His side interest in the History of
Science and Technology earned him a worldwide reputation. He is honorary
Chairman of The Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation.
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Dr Anne-Maria Brennan
Is senior lecturer in Bioscience and Forensic Biology at London South Bank
University and has authored various biological texts. She has a
long-standing and wide ranging interest in the interface between Science,
Technology and Culture. She has had over twenty years of involvement with
the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Public
Understanding of Science and is a current Board Member.
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Howie Firth
Is a mathematical physicist who is also known as a teacher, broadcaster,
writer and lecturer. He was the first Director of the Edinburgh
International Science Festival, and has contributed to the development of
science festivals elsewhere, including the annual Orkney International
Science Festival which he continues to direct. His work in creating the
science festival format internationally was recognised by an award from the
Institute of Physics. He is official Patron of the International Festival of
Philosophy, Science and Theology, which is held biennially in Grafton, New
South Wales.
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 Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
Originally a Chemist turned historian of science.
Director General of IRCICA and the Secretary of the International
Commission for the Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage (ICPICH),
Istanbul, Turkey. He is presently President of International Union of
History and Philosophy of Science/Division of History of Science, (IUHPS/DHS),
Liège, Belgium.
Author, editor and contributor to more than two hundred and fifty
publications on the subjects of history and policy of science, Islamic
history, art, culture and civilisation, Islamic religion, inter-relations
among Muslim countries, international relations, education, library
sciences, Turkish literature and chemistry. Among the many awards and
honours he received for his efforts in administrative and academic fields,
in fostering cultural relations in the field of Islamic art and history and
in establishing cultural and international interaction between the Muslim
countries as well as the Western countries, the following are noteworthy. He
was honoured with the medal of "Distinction of the First Order" from the
Arab Republic of Egypt and with the "Independence Medal of the First Order"
presented by the Crown Prince of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on behalf of
the late H.M. King Hussein Bin Talal, in 1990 and 1996 respectively. He is
also the recipient of "honoris causa" degree from the Academy of Sciences of
the Azerbaijan Republic; Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, Turkey and
Dowling College, Long Island, New York, U.S.A.
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Dr Mawil Izzi Dien
Is a Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at University of Wales-Lampeter. He
has written encyclopaedia entries and published many single authored volumes
on various Islamic and environmental concepts, one receiving acclaim of
recommendation from a prominent Journal. His highly recognised works are
widely used as course references for European Universities. He is also a
member of the Editorial Board for several periodicals, including the
Journal of Beliefs and Values.
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Jo Jones
Is Head of Contracts and Performance of Faith Regen UK.Her background is in
Education where she taught for 25 years with 10 at senior management level
in secondary schools. She is a mathematics graduate and through her
responsibility for community development has organised and co-ordinated
Science Week activities for many years. Her current role with Faith Regen
UK, involves community regeneration activities within disadvantaged
communities.
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 Paul Keeler
Was the founder and director of the World of Islam Festival held in 1976,
which included exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery, the British Museum,
Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science Museum. He was director of the
Islamic Environment Research Centre from 1977 - 1987 and since then has
worked on various projects relating to Islamic civilisation, world history
and environmental studies. He is currently the director of the GoldenWeb
project in Cambridge.
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Khadija Khan
Is a community liaison manager at the national Museum of Science and
Industry. She has worked there since 2002, and currently manages and
coordinates outreach teams and other special events inside the museum. She
is also a trustee at he Ragged School Museum which is based in the heart of
Tower Hamlets. Before joining the Science Museum, her experience mainly
reflected community development.
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Dr Simon Locke
Is senior lecturer in Sociology at Kingston University. He is the author of
a number of books and papers on aspects of the relation between science and
religion in contemporary society as part of a more general interest in the
public understanding of science. He focuses on the reflexive nature of
language use and finds writing a biography a curious exercise in
self-construction.
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Martin Palmer
Studied Theology and Religious Studies at University. As well as acting as
Secretary General for the ARC, which brings together nine world religions to
work with environmental projects worldwide, he is also Director for ICOREC
(International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture). He has acted
in the past as a special advisor to the UN General Secretary and to his
Royal Highness, the Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. Amongst other bodies,
he is currently an advisor to the Islamic Foundation for ecology and
Environmental studies. He has actively broadcasted widely on both TV and
Radio. He has a comprehensive publication record, encompassing numerous
periodical contributions, reports and over 50 books.
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 Peter Raymond (MBE)
Is an accredited Chemist who graduated from UMIST in 1961. He started and
built his own chemical company (Compounding Ingredients Ltd), as well as
later becoming European Director of Corporate Development for the Dexter
Corporation. Amongst a much broad and varied business career, he has been
chairman of Tepnal Life Sciences PLC and has initiated and acted as Managing
Director of UMIST Ventures Ltd. He has also served as a member of the
Parliamentary and Scientific Committee in 2001. He received an MBE for
services to the UK Bio Science Industry in June of this year.
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 Dr Rabah Saoud
Is a qualified town planner and currently Head of the Department of Art and
Architecture for muslimheritage.com. After obtaining an M.Phil. from the
Civic Design of Liverpool University he completed a PhD at Manchester
University. He has lectured on Town Planning in Algeria, and also at
Manchester University, where he specialised in Urban Conservation. At
present, he is engaged in compiling research on Muslim contributions to art
and architecture. He has published a number of papers in British journals
and is a main article contributor for muslimheritage.com,
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Professor Ziauddin Sardar
Writer, broadcaster, cultural critic and a philosopher of science,
studied physics and information science at the City University London.
He has worked for the British science journals Nature and New Scientist.
Regarded as a pioneering writer on Islamic science and the future of
Islam, he is the author of over 40 books, which have been translated
into over twenty languages. His publications include, The Touch of
Midas: Science, Values and the Environment in Islam and the West (1984),
The Revenge of Athena: Science, Exploitation and the Third
World (1988), Explorations in Islamic Science (1989), and Introducing
Science (2002). He is Editor of Futures, the monthly journal of policy,
planning and futures studies, and Visiting Professor of Postcolonial
Studies at The City University, London. Professor Sardar is a regular
contributor to New Statesman, the Independent, Observer as well as many
national and international newspapers and magazines. He is also a
familiar figure on radio and television. He has been described by The
Independent as 'Britain's own Muslim polymath'.
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 Dr Emilie Savage Smith
Is a Senior Research Associate for The Oriental Institute at the
University of Oxford. Her research interests include Islamic Science and
Medicine. She has published extensively and contributed to an impressive
array of texts. She is on the editorial board for the Social History of
Medicine Journal and the monograph series Graeco-Arabic Sciences and
Philosophy, and is currently pursuing a major project on Arabic medical
manuscripts.
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Nasira Sheikh-Miller
Studied science before joining the science museum. She worked in the
field of research at Kings College for a short period looking at
teenagers and ethnic minority groups in West London before joining the
Science Museum. Nasira has worked for 9 years in the education area,
working on a variety of projects including events, outreach regarding
audiences and looking at the relevance of the Museum collection to
diverse audience.
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Robin Stidworthy
Is a management consultant with AMR International. Recent projects have
included a global strategy review for the worlds leading information and
exhibitions provider and an SCM software analysis for a top ten global
logistics provider. His background is in strategic marketing and
communications with Sony, Ted Bates Advertising and Oxfam. For the last
several years he has been a management consultant with AMR International
advising leading multinational and private equity investors of mergers
and acquisitions. Living in Andalusia led his commitment to raise the
profile of Islam’s contribution to the west.
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