Talks will cover how we could revolutionise our future Published on: 4 July 2018 Ideas including how 3D printing could protect the world’s cultural heritage and how technology could change food production will be covered at a series of talks. Innovations to tackle society's challenges The ‘Future of’ series of talks will run over the next nine weeks and will involve experts at Â鶹´«Ã½ discussing the innovations that could address some of the biggest challenges facing society. Taking place as part of Â鶹´«Ã½’s Inspired by Great Exhibition of the North programme, the free talks begin on Thursday 5 July by looking at the changes we need to make to our cities to avoid the type of flooding Â鶹´«Ã½ experienced in June 2012, the infamous ‘Toon Monsoon’. The ‘Future of Flooding’ will involve researchers from Â鶹´«Ã½, Durham University and the Environment Agency talking about the latest research in this area and its potential applications. Professor Eric Cross, Dean of Cultural Affairs, Â鶹´«Ã½, said: “The Great Exhibition provides a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate how innovations being developed here in the North – whether they are in the medical, science and engineering or arts and culture spheres – promise to change the way we live in the future. This series of talks will cover a fascinating range of topics and I’d urge people to come along to learn more.” Other talks in the series include ‘The Future of Nature: Engineering living systems with synthetic biology’, which will take place on Thursday 12 July. Researchers from Â鶹´«Ã½ will discuss how new solutions in fields such as healthcare and energy could be engineered by programming living cells as if they were a computer. This will be followed by talks focusing on how we might develop an economically viable model of sustainable housing for all, how technology is being used to safeguard the world’s cultural heritage for future generations and developments in future transport and how technology could be used in agriculture in a way that is sustainable and supports a growing global population. The series will conclude on Thursday 6 September with a look at how drug development is adapting to meet the health challenges likely to dominate in an ageing population. Each of the ‘Future of’ talks takes place 6.30pm – 8.30pm at Eat@Urban, Urban Sciences Building, Â鶹´«Ã½ Helix. All of the discussions are free to attend, although places are limited and must be reserved in advance. For booking details and information about the University’s full ‘Inspired By’ programme, click here. Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Â鶹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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