Past events at DIAS

DIAS Event: Graphene, the Universe and Everything by Prof. A. N. Grigorenko

Twenty years past from the isolation of graphene. In this talk we will discuss some history connected to the graphene discovery. We will also consider how 2D materials, van der Waals heterostructures and metasurfaces inspired by graphene, enriched physics and technology.

John Ioannidis

This talk sheds light on the increasing evidence that most scientific research does not meet standards of reproducibility and transparency. Concurrently, there are many efforts to improve the reproducibility, transparency, and eventually the credibility and usefulness of scientific evidence. Peer review is a central mechanism for vetting, correcting, and improving science

DIAS Event: Human-Machine Interaction and the Exercise of Human Agency in the Military Domain by Ingvild Bode

Militaries increasingly utilise AI technologies (AIT) for decision support and combat operations. These developments point in the direction of a potential comprehensive integration of AIT into military decision-making processes. This makes it likely for such processes to be characterised by many situations of human-machine interaction, often described by militaries as human-machine teaming.

DIAS event: Marx and the Body by Søren Mau

Throughout the history of Western thought, the body has often been overlooked, devalued, or treated with mistrust and hostility. The failure to fully acknowledge human corporeality and its entanglement with the rest of nature is deeply connected to contemporary ecologiccrisal es, and has since the 1980s been subjected to a thorough-going critique by scholars across the humanities and social sciences

DIAS event: Understanding Brain Cells: How They Shape Health and Disease by Oscar Marín

The brain relies on a diverse group of cells called GABAergic interneurons to maintain balance and regulate communication between neurons. These specialized cells play a crucial role in brain function, and when they don’t work properly, they have been linked to epilepsy and cognitive deficits in many neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Despite their importance, we are only beginning to understand how these cells develop, connect, and adapt.

DIAS x Word Festival Event: The International Chamber of Commerce and neoliberal globalisation (1980-2000)

The last two decades of the twentieth century witnessed a tremendous growth in global economic exchange. World exports exploded. The movement of capital across national boundaries was even more impressive.

DIAS event: When and why is it so hard to change cities? by Martin Vinæs Larsen

This talk examined how communities mobilize to resist urban development and how these dynamics shape the future of cities. As well as discussing the factors that drive opposition to change, such as housing costs, community identity, and the perceived impacts on local character. By understanding these motivations, we can gain insights into the persistent challenges urban planners and policymakers face in building cities that balance progress with preservation.

DIAS Event: 'Radical Ecological Democracy: Pluriversal Pathways out of Global Crises' - By Vasna Ramasar

Solutions are urgently needed to the multiple intersecting crises facing the world, including biodiversity loss and climate change, socio-economic inequities, conflicts, and authoritarianism. Individuals, groups and initiatives around the world are questioning whether the same economic development models and institutions that have created many of these problems can truly solve them - or whether new (and renewed) paradigms and approaches are required to bring about a more sustainable and equitable future for all.

DIAS event: In defense of hope in an age of climate upheaval: Theoretical and empirical considerations

Whether hope concerning climate change is something positive or negative for our ability to mitigate and adapt to this problem is a frequently discussed topic, both in the public debate and in scientific outlets.

Kirill Martynov

Kirill Martynov, the editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, the media created by exiled journalists of Novaya Gazeta, answers how to be a journalist if you lost your country and was labeled a criminal by the Kremlin

DIAS event: The Feel of Algorithms by Minna Ruckenstein

This talk engages with ‘the feel of algorithms,’ outlining how the analysis of algorithmic folklore and related emotional responses provides novel perspectives on algorithmic relations. By examining the affective infrastructure of algorithmic culture, we can identify various modes of presence and participation, ranging from enthusiasm and ‘mild paranoia’ to irritation and frustration.

Jonas Bering Liisberg

Jonas Bering Liisberg from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark will share his expert insights on how Denmark can harness its leadership and propel the EU’s strategic agenda forward.

Gøsta Esping-Andersen: The Fertility Drop Puzzle

Why is there a sudden and sharp drop in births occurring in so many countries in the 2010-20 decade? In this DIAS talk, Gøsta Esping-Andersen will compare fertility change 2000-2020 in order to understand, firstly, why a sudden and sharp drop in births occurred in so many countries in the 2010-20 decade, and why no recovery occurred. 

Thiemo Breyer: The Future of Archives in the Digital Age

How does the digital revolution challenge traditional notions of permanence, authenticity, and ownership in archives? This talk explores the potential future of archives in the digital age, using one of the oldest philosophical archives and research institutes for philosophy in Germany – the Husserl Archives Cologne – as an example.

Dan Zahavi: Center for Subjectivity Research 2002-2024

Dan Zahvi talks about The Center for Subjectivity Research at the University of Copenhagen that was established in 2002 on the basis of a grant from the Danish National Research Foundation (Danmarks Grundforskningsfond). Its three founders were a philosopher, a psychiatrist, and a professor of systematic theology. Since then, it has had more than 80 employees, attracted more than 250 guest researchers, and secured external funding in excess of 140.000.000 DKK.

'Programming languages for a better world' by Fabrizio Montesi

Writing this text (the ‘software’, or ‘app’) is called ‘programming’, and what enables programmers to be effective is the careful design of languages made exactly for the purpose of instructing computers: programming languages. Society is facing huge challenges, like climate change, cybersecurity, and transparency of digital systems. Computers can help (or do harm), but we need creative discussions to achieve this potential at scale. In this event we looked at some interesting ideas in the making.

Mikael Palner - Psychedelic drugs: history, psychiatry, and society

Associate Professor Mikael Palner from SDU researches the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat mental health conditions like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In this DIAS talk, Palner covers the history of psychedelic drugs in psychiatry and the clinical evidence supporting their effects.

Understanding complex problems and creating change in complex systems. An interdisciplinary approach to public health research

Naja Hulvej Rod, Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, and Morten Hulvej Rod, PhD, anthropology, Professor of health promotion and Director of the National Institute for Public Health have both worked with public health research for 20 years, but only started to work together when COVID-19 hit. In their presentation they have explained how coming from two different backgrounds has fuelled the development of a new framework for interdisciplinary knowledge production in relation to complex public health issues, such as health inequalities, obesity, and mental health.

Elly McCausland

This talk dives deep into the feminism of Taylor Swift, one of the most influential artists of the 21st century. Often identified as championing feminist causes through her vocal support of other female artists, songs such as ‘The Man’, and her pioneering decision to re-record her masters, Swift’s work is also irrigated by more subtle currents of feminism, with long literary and cultural histories.

Bridging the gap

Ever wondered how to make your research resonate beyond the academic world? Participants joined an enlightening DIAS event designed to tackle this very challenge.

DIAS event: Panel discussion on research excellence and merit

What constitutes excellence in research? What role does merit play in this equation? A panel of prominent DIAS researchers will address this pressing concern and engage the public in a debate.

NATO, Russia, and the war in Ukraine

Drawing from his extensive experience and current role at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Olsen will shed light on NATO, Russia, and the war in Ukraine, offering insights into one of today’s most critical global challenges.

Paul Marx

Is there a conservative backlash against identity politics? The structure of political conflict in Western democracies is in a process of change. In this context, there are widespread concerns that a new `culture war' spurred by polarizing identity politics could undermine political integration.

Women in transition workshop

The workshop ‘Women in Transition’ seeks to build the groundwork for the variation in menopause experience and its complexity, how to best support women through this transition.

Timo Pankakoski

Collegium Fellow at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Finland.

Nancy L. Segal

Professor of Psychology and Director of the Twin Studies Center, at California State University, Fullerton.

David Woolner

Professor of History and Kovler Foundation Fellow of Roosevelt Studies at Marist College, New York.

Mitchell A. Lazar

Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Diabetes & Metabolic Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Cathie Jo Martin

Professor of Political Science at Boston University and associated researcher at the Danish Center for Welfare Studies, University of Southern Denmark

Francesco Sannino

Francesco Sannino is the Head of the Quantum Field Theory Center, the Founder of the Centre for Cosmology and Particle Physics Phenomenology (CP³-Origins) at SDU. He is also Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Federico II University in Italy, DIAS Chair of Physics and one of the Founders of the DIAS

Joanna J. Bryson

Joanna J Bryson holds two degrees each in psychology and AI (BA Chicago, MSc & MPhil Edinburgh, PhD MIT), she is since 2020 the Professor of Ethics and Technology in the Centre for Digital Governance at Hertie School, in Berlin.

Yvan Craig

Historian of Science, Medicine and Technology with an emphasis on the brain and mind sciences

Anja C. Andersen

Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

Berhard Siegert

Dr. Bernhard Siegert, Gerd Bucerius Professor for the History and Theory of Cultural Techniques at Bauhaus Universität Weimar

Giovanna Cifolletti

Giovanna Cifolletti, Membres émérites et honoraires, Directrice d'études de l'EHESS

Dominique Routhier

Dominique Routhier, postdoc in the Department of Language and Culture

Vijay Tiwari

Vijay Tiwari, DIAS Chair of Health Sciences, Professor at the Dept. of Molecular Medicine

Ana Queirós and Cintia Organo Quintana

Dr Ana Queirós, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and Associate Professor Cintia Organo Quintana, SDU

Annette Baudisch

Annette Baudisch, Chair of Business and Social Sciences, Professor and Director at CPop

Jan Vogler

Jan Vogler, Assistant Professor of quantitative social science, at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz.

Marie-Louise Nosch

Marie Louise Bech Nosch, professor at the SAXO-Institute - Archaeology, Ethnology, Greek & Latin, History at the University of Copenhagen

Marius Busemeyer

Marius R. Busemeyer, Full Professor of Political Science at the University of Konstanz and Speaker of the Excellence Cluster "The Politics of Inequality" and Head of Working Group on Comparative Political Economy

Gregory Clark

Professor Gregory Clark, Chair of Business and Social Sciences, Department of Economics

Keith Devlin

Dr. Keith Devlin is an emeritus mathematician at Stanford University, a co-founder and Executive Director Emeritus of the Stanford H-STAR institute, a co-founder of the Stanford mediaX research network, and a Senior Researcher Emeritus at CSLI

Elizabeth Pena

Associate Dean of Faculty Development & Diversity at University of California Irvine

Nikolaus Rajewsky

Scientific Director, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center, Professor, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Norbert Krüger

Professor Norbert Krüger, The Faculty of Engineering, The Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Institute, SDU Robotics, and DIAS Chair of Engineering

Erin Leahey

Professor and Director of Sociology at the University of Arizona

Trine Flockhart

Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at SDU and DIAS Chair of Business and Social Sciences.

Mirta Galesic

Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, External Faculty at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, Austria.

Stefan Hell

Director of the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, Germany

Eric Arnould

Professor Emeritus of Marketing at Aalto University Business School, founding figure of Consumer Culture Theory and globally acknowledged anthropologist of market and consumption studies.

Sarah Hawkes

Professor of Global Public Health at University College London, UK and co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health.

Sara Hobolt

Sutherland Chair and Professor in the Department of Government, London School of Economics and author of “Political Entrepreneurs”.

Morten Meldal

Professor in chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022. He was awarded jointly with Carolyn R. Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless "for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry".

Bron Taylor

Professor of Religion, Nature and Environmental Ethics at The University of Florida. His books include Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future (2010), Avatar and Nature Spirituality (2013), and Ecological Resistance Movements (1995).

Anders Engberg-Pedersen - DIAS Chair of Humanities

Professor of Comparative Literature in the Department for the Study of Culture and an affiliate of the Center for War Studies at SDU and DIAS Chair of Humanities.

International Women's Day at DIAS

Various lectures on International Women's Day on women in academia.

Teresa Cadierno - DIAS Chair of Humanities

Professor of Second Language Acquisition at the Department of Language and Communication at SDU and DIAS Chair of Humanities.

Patrick Emmenegger

Professor of Comparative Political Economy and Public Policy at the School of Economics and Political Science, University of St. Gallen. He is the co-editor of the Socio-Economic Review (since 2017), the chair of the PhD Program in International Affairs and Political Economy (since 2016)

Jenny Andersson

Professor of the history of ideas at Uppsala University, PI of research programme on Neoliberalism in the Nordics and author of The Future of the World: Futurology, Futurists, and the Struggle for the Post-Cold War Imagination

Sebastian Mernild - DIAS Chair of Climate Science

Professor of Climate Change and Glaciology at SDU, director of SDU Climate Cluster and DIAS Chair of Climate Science

Nancy Folbre

Professor Emerita of Economics and Director of the Program on Gender and Care Work at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Senior Fellow of the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College in the United States

Kaare Lund Rasmussen

Professor, dr.scient., member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

Ian Harris

Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and author of "Surgery, the Ultimate Placebo"

Ronnie N. Glud - DIAS Chair of Biology

DIAS Chair of Biology and Professor at the Department of Biology and Nordic Center for Earth Evolution (Nordcee) at SDU

Matthew Caruana Galizia

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, software engineer, and director of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation

John Sutton - Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

Mental processes are not only in your head but interlaced with the world around you: Interdependence and vulnerability in the cognitive sciences

Donald E. Canfield - DIAS Chair of Biology

M.Phil. and Ph.D. Donald E. Canfield is a Professor of ecology at the Department of Biology and Head of the Research Unit at the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution (NordCEE) at SDU. Furthermore, Professor Donald E. Canfield is the former director of NordCEE, a center funded for 10 years by the Danish National Research Foundation.

Louise Barrett

Louise Barrett, University of Lethbridge

Frédéric Vallée-Tourangeau

Professor of Psychology, Kingston University, London.

Ulf B. Christensen

Ulf B. Christensen graduated as a M.Sc. at SDU in Odense and is now CEO and founder of Pentabase.

Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi - DIAS Chair of Technical Sciences

M.Sc., PhD., Dr. Scient. Professor Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi is the founder and current Head of Centre for Nano Optics at SDU (SDU NanoOptics).

Martin Moore

Martin Moore is a Lecturer in Medical History at the University of Exeter. He has worked extensively in interdisciplinary environments, including at Exeter’s Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health and on the collaborative project ‘Waiting Times’ across Exeter and Birkbeck, University of London.

Thomas Palaima

Tom Palaima is Robert M. Armstrong Professor of Classics and founding director of the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory (est. 1986) at the University of Texas at Austin.

Maria Timofeeva - DIAS Fellow

Ph.D. Dr. Maria Timofeeva is an Assistant Professor at the Unit of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography at the Department of Public Health at SDU. Her research interest is cancer epidemiology with a specific focus on genetic and molecular epidemiology of cancer and a complex interplay between genetic and environmental causes of disease.

Oded Galor

Oded Galor was awarded Doctorate Honoris Causa from UC Louvain and from Poznań University of Economics & Business. He is an elected Foreign Member of Academia Europaea and an Elected Fellow of the Econometric Society. He is a co-director of the NBER research group on Income Distribution and Macroeconomics, a Research Fellow of CEPR, GLO, and IZA, a Research Associate of the NBER and CESifo, a Sackler Fellow at Tel-Aviv University, and a Fellow of the Economics Department at the Hebrew University.

Pieter Vanhuysse - DIAS Senior Fellow

Pieter Vanhuysse, PhD (LSE) is Full Professor of Politics and Public Policy at SDU's Department of Political Science and Public Management and the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies, where he leads the Societies and Demographic Change research group.

Huimin Zhao

Dr. Huimin Zhao is the Steven L. Miller Chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and professor of chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, and bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

Kaare Christensen - DIAS Chair of Health Sciences

Professor Kaare Christensen, MD, PhD, DMSc, is the Head of Research at the unit for Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography (EBB) at the Department of Public Health at SDU.

Benjamin Jäger - DIAS Fellow

Ph.D. Benjamin Jäger is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (IMADA) and Centre for Cosmology and Particle Physics Phenomenology (CP³-Origins) at SDU.

Mark Maslin

Professor at University College London

Kevin O’Rourke

Kevin O’Rourke is a Professor of Economics at NYU Abu Dhabi. He was previously the Chichele Professor of Economic History at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of All Souls College. He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, a Fellow of the British Academy, and a former Research Director of CEPR.

Reidar Pedersen

Professor Reidar Pedersen is one of the leading scholars in ethics and communication in health care and has worked in this area since 2003. Among his many fields of expertise are questions concerning informed consent, end of life ethics, advance care planning, resource allocation, coercion and involvement of next of kin, especially in mental health care. His research includes qualitative and quantitative methods, intervention studies, systematic reviews, and theoretical and philosophical analyses, which has resulted in a large number of publications.

Edward Baggs - DIAS Fellow

Ph.D. Edward is Assistant Professor at the Department of Language and Communication at SDU.

Christine Stabell Benn - DIAS Chair of Health Sciences

Dr. Christine Stabell Benn is Professor at the Odense Patient data Explorative Network (OPEN) at the Faculty of Health Sciences at SDU and Professor in Global Health since 2013. She is also Professor and Head of the Bandim Health Project at SDU.

Anthony Fernandez - DIAS Fellow

Ph.D. Anthony Vincent Fernandez is Assistant Professor of Applied Philosophy at the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics at SDU.

Josie Billington

Josie Billington is Professor in English at the University of Liverpool, specialising in Victorian Literature and in literary reading and mental health.

Nikos Ntoumanis

Nikos Ntoumanis was born in Kos, Greece. He received his PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Exeter (UK) in 1999. His longest period of employment (2001-2014) has been at the University of Birmingham, one of the top universities (member of the Russel Group) in the UK.

Johan Samsing and Daniel D'Orazio

Johan Samsing is Assistant Professor in Theoretical Astrophysics at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University. Daniel D'Orazio is Assistant Professor in Astrophysics and Planetary Science, also at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University.

Peter H. Lindert

Economic historian Peter H. Lindert is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of California – Davis and a Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His works relating to the DIAS event include his prize-winning book Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth since the Eighteenth Century (2004), the book Unequal Gains: American Growth and Inequality since 1700 (2016, with Jeffrey Williamson), and now Making Social Spending Work (2021).