Celebrating James Hutton’s lasting impact

Three hundred years ago, during the Scottish Enlightenment, James Hutton transformed how we understand the Earth. At a time when many believed the planet was only a few thousand years old, he proposed that landscapes are shaped gradually over deep time by processes still observable today.

This symposium honour Hutton's legacy not only as the "Founder of modern geology", but as a visionary polymath whose pioneering work across agriculture, climate, and philosophy remains relevant today. Through a series of talks and workshops, expert speakers will explore how Hutton’s interdisciplinary approach can address current challenges, how his ways of thinking can be supported today, and the vital question of "Where are the Hutton’s of today?

CHAIR: Dr Hermione Cockburn FRSE
Earth Science and Engagement Consultant, Mara Consultants

Hermione began her career at the University of Edinburgh researching landscape change in Africa and Antarctica. After a post-doc at the University of Melbourne, and for the past 20 years, she has worked exclusively in science communication. For the BBC, she presented television series like Coast, Rough Science and The Nature of Britain, and Radio 4 documentaries on subjects ranging from lead pollution to lasers and an award-winning series on bacteria. She presented and wrote the book for the BBC2 series Fossil Detectives: Discovering Prehistoric Britain. She taught environmental science for the Open University for many years and is passionate about life-long learning. Her current role as the Scientific Director at Dynamic Earth – the UK’s only science centre entirely focused on the Earth’s story – is all about empowering people with understanding and empathy for the planet. Recently, she has led a major ocean literacy project about Scotland’s deep sea, collaborating closely with marine scientists from across the UK. In 2020, she was awarded an OBE for services to public engagement in science. She is a Trustee of the Association of Science and Discovery Centres and an honorary fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

SPEAKER: Mr Raymond Perman FRSE
Trustee, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland

Ray Perman is a former journalist who worked on newspapers including The Times, Scotsman, and Financial Times and was managing director of a magazine company and director of a management buyout of the Herald newspaper group. He was chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise from 1999-2004, the first chair of Social Investment Scotland and a board member of Scottish Enterprise. For eight years he chaired a policy group for the Department of Business. In 2010 Ray merged two scientific research organisations to form the James Hutton Institute, which he chaired until 2017, and was Director of the David Hume Institute between 2014 – 2017. In his spare time he plants trees, paints and was for ten years the bass player in a blues band.

SPEAKER: Alan McKirdy
Author

A graduate of Aberdeen University, Alan worked for the Nature Conservancy Council in Newbury and then as Head of Knowledge and Information Management for Scottish Natural Heritage in Edinburgh and Perth for 36 years. At SNH, he was Head of Earth Sciences, Habitats and Species, managing 45 staff, many of whom were subject specialists across a wide range of topics, including geology, geomorphology, freshwater ecology, species conservation, and upland & peatland ecology. He has written over 20 books and many book chapters on geology and related topics and has helped to promote the study of environmental geology in Scotland. He is now a freelance writer and spends alot of his time devoted to giving many talks on Scottish geology and landscapes at book festivals and other events across the country. He is the author of the Landscapes in Stone series on Scotland’s geology.

SPEAKER: Professor Alan Werritty FRSE
Emeritus Professor of Physical Geography, University of Dundee

Alan is Professor Emeritus of Physical Geography, University of Dundee and former Research Director of Dundee’s UNESCO Centre for Research on Water, Law Policy and Science. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the British Society for Geomorphology, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and a former Vice-President of the Royal Geographical Society. Alan was a member of the UN Secretary General’s Expert Group on ‘Water Disasters’ 2007-9, a member of NatureScot’s Science Advisory Committee and chaired the 2019 Scottish Government’s review into Grouse Moor Management. His edition of James Hutton’s Elements of Agriculture will be published in 2026.

SPEAKER: Professor Martin Hendry FRSE
Professor of Gravitational Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Glasgow

Martin is Professor of Gravitational Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Glasgow, where in 2022 he was appointed Vice Principal and Clerk of Senate. He was Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy between 2012 and 2020.

Martin is a senior member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration – the global team of more than 1500 scientists which (together with their colleagues in the Virgo Collaboration) made the first-ever direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 – a discovery that was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Martin is a long-standing and passionate advocate for outreach to schools and public audiences and in 2015 he was awarded the MBE for his services to the public understanding of science. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and from 2019-2023 was a member of IOP Council, chairing the IOP’s Nations and Branches Committee for the UK and Ireland. Martin is currently Vice-President (Public Engagement) of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

SPEAKER: Professor Dame Lorna Dawson, DBE, FRSE
Head of Centre for Forensic Soil Science, James Hutton Institute

Prof Dame Lorna Dawson is a Chartered Scientist, FBSc (hons) Geography, Edinburgh University, PhD in Soil Science, Aberdeen University, is Head of the Centre for Forensic Soil Science at James Hutton Institute, Honorary Professor at Robert Gordon University, and Professora CESPU, Portugal. A Fellow of the Institute of British Soil Scientists, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Institute of Biology and Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. She is a registered expert with the National Crime Agency, a trained Expert Witness, holding diplomas in civil and criminal law (Cardiff, 2011, 2012, 2017 and in Scots Law, Aberdeen, 2021) and has worked on over 200 cases with police forces, agencies, lawyers and forensic science service providers across the UK and overseas and regularly presets evidence in court. She has published over 150 scientific papers, and holds a diploma in Science Communication, Bristol, is treasurer of the IUGS Initiative on Forensic Geology, Vice Chair of the Geological Society Forensic Geology Group and an affiliate member of the Organisation of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science, USA, and on the steering committee of the ENFSI Animal Plant Soil Trace working group. She was awarded a DBE in the Kings New Year honours list 2026 for services to innovation in soil and forensic science, a CBE from the late Queen Elizabeth in June 2018, the RSE James Hutton medal for excellence in Earth and Environmental sciences in 2023, the Proteomass Scientific Society Award, 2024, and the Fletcher of Saltoun Award, 2024 from the Scotland Saltire Society for excellence in science.

SPEAKER: Dr Kate Donovan
Senior Lecturer and UKRI Policy Fellow at Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh

Kate is Senior Lecturer in Climate Risk and Resilience at the University of Edinburgh and a UKRI Policy Fellow on secondment to the UK Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2026-2027). She is also the Policy Director for ClimateXchange, the Scottish Government's Centre of Expertise for Climate Change. Her research expertise spans climate risk, resilience and adaptation both in the UK and internationally. Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh Kate co-managed the RiskScape programme in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. She began her career as a pracademic in Disaster Risk Reduction working for an international NGO after post-doctoral research at Oxford University in flood science knowledge exchange and doctoral research at the University of Plymouth examining intersections between cultural heritage and disaster research.

SPEAKER: Professor Chris Jackson
Technical Director, WSP UK & Ireland Ltd

Chris Jackson is Technical Director at the engineering consultancy WSP and Visiting Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College London. Chris is interested in understanding how we can use the Earth’s subsurface to safely store hazardous waste (‘geostorage’) and to develop low-carbon energy resources (‘geoenergy’). When not studying the subsurface of the Earth, Chris gives geoscience lectures to the public and in schools, having appeared on several, Earth Science-focused, television productions and podcasts.

PANELLIST: Dr. Lara M. Kalnins, FGS, YAS.
Lecturer, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh

Lara is a Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh studying the connections between mantle convection, lithospheric dynamics, and intraplate volcanism, with a focus on integrating data and modelling from multiple disciplines. She Joined the University of Edinburgh on an RSE Personal Research Fellowship in 2016h and has a pedagogical interest in teaching students to integrate mathematical models and analysis with a deep understanding of the variety, uncertainty, and indirect measurement inherent in Earth science data. She has a B.S. in Geology and M.S. in Geophysics from Caltech, D.Phil in Earth Science from the University of Oxford and recieved her RSE Rosemary Hutton medal in 2023.

PANELLIST: Dr Nicholas Fraser FRSE
Keeper of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland

Nick Fraser is a vertebrate palaeontologist broadly interested in global biotic change through Deep Time. Collaborating with a number of colleagues worldwide, he has published extensively on Triassic faunas and floras. Nick received his doctorate degree in geology from the University of Aberdeen. After holding a Research Fellowship at Girton College, Cambridge he moved to Virginia, first as Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and then Director of Research and Collections at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. Now with National Museums Scotland, Nick is the Keeper of Natural Sciences. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech.

Important points to note

• This event is suitable for age 16+
• Privacy policy: Please note that any personal data that is submitted to the RSE will be stored and processed in accordance with the RSE’s Privacy Policy. We will only use mobile numbers provided to contact you in the event of a cancellation.
• Filming: Livestreaming and photography may take place at this event. Please let a member of the RSE Public Engagement team know if you do not want to be photographed. Recorded events will be made available on the RSE YouTube channel.
• Covid-19: If you would like to wear a face mask, please feel comfortable to do so at our events. Please be mindful of other participants and stay at home if you have Covid symptoms or have tested positive for Covid-19.

Accessibility

We aim to make events as accessible as possible. If you have any accessibility requirements or have any questions related to how we can support this event, please contact [email protected]. Accessibility information for the RSE building can be found on our website: Accessibility - Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) : Royal Society of Edinburgh

Wheelchair spaces: If you would like to book a space as a wheelchair user, please select the ticket type 'wheelchair space ticket' during the booking process. If this is sold out, please contact the Public Engagement team on [email protected]

Newsletter

If you would like to receive information from the RSE on forthcoming events and activities, including our Newsletter, please subscribe here: https://rse.org.uk/subscribe/

Please visit the RSE FAQs page for further details about venue and events.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher The Royal Society of Edinburgh