Communicating science for the advancement of all: Professor Salim S Abdool Karim receives the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize
Professor Salim S. Abdool Karim, FRS has been awarded The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture at an awards ceremony in London on May 29th. The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture is awarded annually to the scientist or engineer whose expertise in communicating scientific ideas in lay terms is exemplary.
The annual Prize and Lecture is named after Michael Faraday FRS, the influential inventor and electrical pioneer who was prominent in the public communication of science. He is best known for his work on electricity and electrochemistry. The Royal Society is a fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
Abdool Karim is being recognized with this prize for his scientific leadership, policy advice, epidemiological analyses, and articulate public education, while actively countering disinformation in Africa, particularly South Africa, during the AIDS and COVID-19 epidemics.
At the awards ceremony, Abdool Karim’s lecture entitled, “Science under threat: The politics of institutionalised disinformation” unpacked, head-on, the threats to science globally, with a focus on the USA, where disinformation has become institutionalised in the corridors of power. Abdool Karim says “As those in power use the levers of the state to accumulate wealth and yet more power, truth becomes a major obstacle. Hence science, as the rational approach to seeking the truth, becomes the casualty and universities, as custodians of science, have come under attack.” He went on to state that, “The importance of science and its contribution to a better world needs to be communicated to build and maintain the public’s support and confidence in science and the institutions of science.”
Catch the full lecture here: Science under threat: the politics of institutionalised disinformation | The Royal Society
Enquiries:
Minoshni Pillay
Mobile: +27 (0) 76 451 4434
Email: minoshni.pillay@caprisa.org