Roger Highfield
Roger Highfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 Griffithstown, Wales |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, science communicator, broadcaster, science director |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for | Science Director at the Science Museum Group; former editor of New Scientist; author of popular science books |
Roger Ronald Highfield (born 1958 in Griffithstown, Wales) is a writer, science communicator, broadcaster, and currently serves as Science Director at the Science Museum Group.
Education
Highfield's early education took place at Chase Side Primary School in Enfield and later at Christ's Hospital in Horsham. He pursued Chemistry at Pembroke College, Oxford, completing a Master of Arts degree in 1980 followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in 1983, focusing his doctoral research on neutron scattering involving chemical substances.
Notably, during his research tenure at the Institut Laue Langevin, he was the pioneer in reflecting a neutron off a soap bubble.
Career
For more than two decades, Highfield held the position of science editor at The Daily Telegraph. He initiated several enduring projects including a science writing competition for youth, a photography contest, the 'scientists meet the media' social event, and coordinated large-scale experiments with BBC's Tomorrow's World such as Live Lab and Megalab, including the 'Truth Test' collaboration with Richard Wiseman.
Between 2008 and 2011, he was the editor of New Scientist, where he revamped the publication’s design and launched new sections like Aperture and Instant Expert.
Starting in 2011, Highfield took on the role of director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group. In 2012, he co-released findings from a large-scale intelligence assessment alongside Adrian Owen. In 2016, together with Ed Dougherty from Texas A&M and Peter Coveney, he initiated a critical analysis of the use of big data in biological research.
In 2019, he was appointed Science Director at the Science Museum Group. He produced extensive blog content on the science behind COVID-19 and curated a special COVID-19 edition for the Royal Society journal Interface Focus in 2021.
Highfield holds visiting professorships focused on Public Engagement at both the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology and UCL’s Department of Chemistry. Additionally, he is a member of the Medical Research Council. In April 2023, he was named honorary president of the Association of British Science Writers, succeeding long-serving BBC correspondent Pallab Ghosh.
Popular science books
Highfield has authored or co-authored ten popular science titles and edited two works by Craig Venter, including:
- Stephen Hawking, Genius at Work: Explore his life, mind and science through the objects in his study (2024).
- Virtual You, co-written with Peter Coveney, recognized by The Financial Times as essential reading in 2023.
- The Dance of Life (2020), co-authored with Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz.
- Supercooperators (2011), co-authored with Martin Nowak, acclaimed by Nature and the Financial Times for its exploration of cooperation through evolutionary biology, game theory, and neuroscience.
- After Dolly (2006), co-written with Ian Wilmut, providing a clear narrative on cloning history and future directions.
- The Science of Harry Potter (2002), praised by The New York Times as an engaging introduction to contemporary science.
- The Physics of Christmas (1998); also released as Can Reindeer Fly? in the UK.
- Frontiers of Complexity (1996), co-authored with Peter Coveney, highlighted by physicist Philip Warren Anderson as defining complexity as a scientific frontier.
- The Private Lives of Albert Einstein (1993), co-written with Paul Carter, offering fresh insights into Einstein’s personal story.
- The Arrow of Time (1991), a bestseller co-authored with Peter Coveney, which provoked notable scientific debate in Nature.
Long-form Journalism
The Mind Readers (2014) explores attempts to establish communication with patients who have brain injuries resulting in consciousness disorders. This publication attracted global media coverage, appearing in outlets like Gizmodo, The Week, The Independent, and Pacific Standard. Additionally, Highfield has authored extensive articles for Aeon and Wired, addressing subjects ranging from Stephen Hawking's theoretical work to breakthroughs in neuroscience and genome analysis.
Awards and Honours
Highfield is a member of the Longitude Committee and has contributed articles to Newsweek, as well as The Sunday Times, Evening Standard, The Guardian, and Aeon magazine. He was featured on the Evening Standard Progress 1000 lists in both 2012 and 2016.
In 2012, he presented the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Lecture at the Royal Society, focusing on Heroes of Science. He was appointed a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2020 and was honored as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for his work in promoting public engagement with science. In 2024, Highfield received the title of Honorary Fellow from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Personal life
Highfield met Julia Brookes while studying at the University of Oxford. The couple married in 1992 and have two children together.