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INTERVIEW | Science Gallery
BE DISCOVERED
(Photo of Michael John Gorman)
Director Michael John Gorman talks about the Gallery’s aims, success so far, and bold vision of science in the community.
“For the Science Gallery, a key priority is to become an influential global model for a more porous interface between the university and the city, between research and the public.” Michael John Gorman, director of Trinity College’s Science Gallery, is nothing if not ambitious as he helps to lead science into a new era of interacting with the world. The Science Gallery, which opened its doors to the public in January 2008, is an initiative of Trinity College Dublin that aims to offer an active programme of events and exhibitions to create Ireland’s new epicentre for science technology and innovation.
“The Gallery exists to transform the lives of young adults and open their minds to the inspiring possibilities of science and technology,” says Gorman. “We are particularly targeting the 15-25 year olds, who may have a perception gap around science, cultivated by a school curriculum with a focus on rote-learning rather than true investigation and imagination”
"Science is the most powerful force shaping the culture of the 21st century."
It is no great secret that, historically, the world of science has been somewhat ‘ivory tower’-esque, cut off from other disciplines and the world outside. However, the Science Gallery is about changing that. To have Michael John Gorman at its helm then is rather apt, given his curious path to a career in science.
As a child growing up in Sandymount, Gorman was interested in nature from a young age, with his botanist grandfather encouraging fungus forays and nature walks. Science was not yet his vocation, however: he left school at the age of 16 to study the clarinet in Germany while working in a yoghurt factory to make ends meet.
After losing his job – the legal working age was 18 at the time – Gorman bumped into a physicist from Oxford who persuaded him to sit the University’s entrance exam. The rest, as they say, is history. Gorman studied physics and philosophy at Magdalen College and, after Oxford, completed a Ph.D. in the History of Science at the European University Institute in Florence. Gorman then spent some time in Brazil before working in the US, first in MIT and Harvard, then over to Stanford where he lectured in science, technology and society before returning to Ireland.
Gorman’s interest in science is an unconventional one: “I have always been interested in the ‘people’ side of science and innovation – the human dynamics which are involved in discoveries, the wrangles and disputes,” he says. “I’m interested in the conditions which support creativity and I have always had a strong interest in the interactions between science and the arts.”
Interaction is the key for both Gorman and the Science Gallery as they aim to open up science and technology to new audiences.“We’re (Continued on page 17...)
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