Talks of Interest to the School of Geography and the Environment
Description: The School undertakes world-class interdisciplinary research, addresses societal and environmental problems, and advances knowledge within an intellectually vibrant, interdisciplinary research environment that combines natural and social sciences and has geography at its core.

In addition to world leading education and research in the School, we host three internationally recognised research centres and lead cross-university initiatives and collaborative networks:
Environmental Change Institute
Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment
Transport Studies Unit
Talks:

Tuesday 21 October 2025

The Political Economy of Syria Post-Assad
Date: 21 October 2025, 13:00 - 14:30
Speaker
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Earth’s Biodiversity: Its Origins, Impacts and Potential Fate
Date: 21 October 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : David Tilman (University of Minnesota)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Main lecture theatre (1st floor, lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)

The Amazonian Common Use Territory: Pluriverse or Insurgent Universality?
Date: 21 October 2025, 17:00 - 18:30
Speaker
Venue: Latin American Centre Library, 1 Church Walk OX2 6LY
Venue Details: Main Seminar Room, Latin American Centre, 1 Church Walk, Oxford
Organiser: Eduardo Posada-Carbó
Hosts: TBA

Wednesday 22 October 2025

Uncovering utility functions from observational data
Date: 22 October 2025, 14:30 - 15:30
Speaker : Marta Grzeskiewicz (University of Cambridge)
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room G and online via Zoom
Organisers: Dorothy Nicholas (INET Oxford), Francois Lafond (INET Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

'Feeding the world while preserving earth's livability: the biofuel barrier'
Date: 22 October 2025, 17:00 - 18:15
Speaker : Professor David Tilman (University of Minnesota)
Venue: Oxford Martin School, 34 Broad Street OX1 3BD
Venue Details: Lecture Theatre (and Online)
Organiser: Oxford Martin School (University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Friday 24 October 2025

Nature's Genius: Evolution's Lessons for a Changing Planet
Date: 24 October 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : David Farrier (The University of Edinburgh)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Main lecture theatre (1st floor, lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)

Monday 27 October 2025

Using systems thinking in environmental and societal challenges
Date: 27 October 2025, 13:00 - 14:30
Speaker : Professor Birgit Kopainsky (University of Bergen)
Venue: Oxford Martin School, 34 Broad Street OX1 3BD
Venue Details: Lecture Theatre
Organisers: Dr Saskia Nowicki (SSEE, SoGE, University of Oxford), Dr Peter Barbrook-Johnson (Agile Initiative, INET, University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Wednesday 29 October 2025

Sustainable Urban Planning for Urban Expansion/ Development in the West Bank, Palestine
Date: 29 October 2025, 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker : Dr Zahraa Zawawi (An Najah National University)
Venue Details: Online only
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Undoing Revolution: Sudan and Politics of Debt
Date: 29 October 2025, 17:00 - 19:00
Speaker
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 30 October 2025

The Food System as a Driver of Global Change
Date: 30 October 2025, 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker : Dr John Ingram (University of Oxford)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Desert Room
Organiser: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Host: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)

Book talk - 'Roadkill : Unveiling The True Cost Of Our Toxic Relationship With Cars'
Date: 30 October 2025, 17:00 - 18:15
Speaker s: Professor Dame Henrietta L. Moore (Institute for Global Prosperity, UCL), Arthur Kay (Director, Innovo), Professor Tim Schwanen (Transport Studies Unit University of Oxford ), Professor Sir Charles Godfray (Director, Oxford Martin School)
Venue: Oxford Martin School, 34 Broad Street OX1 3BD
Venue Details: Lecture Theatre (and Online)
Organiser: Oxford Martin School (University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Friday 31 October 2025

Cull of the Wild: Killing in the Name of Conservation
Date: 31 October 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : Hugh Warwick (Ecologist and writer)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Main lecture theatre (1st floor, lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)

Wednesday 5 November 2025

The Oxford Ministry for the Future Presents: The Arctic at the Crossroads
Date: 5 November 2025, 14:00 - 16:00
Speaker s: Bathseba Demuth (of Floating Coast), Joanna Kavenna (of The Ice Museum), Laline Paull (of The Ice)
Venue: Trinity College, Broad Street OX1 3BH
Venue Details: The Auditorium
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

The energy transition: too little/too late or a new hope?
Date: 5 November 2025, 17:00 - 18:15
Speaker : Alan Haywood (Visiting Fellow, Oxford Martin School)
Venue Details: Lecture Theatre (and Online)
Organiser: Oxford Martin School (University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Friday 7 November 2025

How Story Creates Agency for the Nature and Climate Crises
Date: 7 November 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : Jules Pretty (University of Essex)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Main lecture theatre (1st floor, lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)

Wednesday 12 November 2025

Understanding Palestinian University Students’ Attitudes Toward Cycling - a Machine Learning Approach
Date: 12 November 2025, 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker : Professor Khaled Al-Sahili (An Najah National University)
Venue Details: Online only
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Cities for everyone
Date: 12 November 2025, 14:30 - 15:30
Speaker : Rafael Prieto-Curiel (Complexity Science Hub, Vienna)
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room G and online via Zoom
Organisers: Dorothy Nicholas (INET Oxford), Francois Lafond (INET Oxford)
Host: Professor Doyne Farmer (INET Oxford)

James Martin Memorial Lecture: 'Environment, health, society and economics in the new era of geopolitics'
Date: 12 November 2025, 17:00 - 18:30
Speaker : Lord Hague (Chancellor, University of Oxford)
Venue: Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street OX1 3AZ
Organiser: Oxford Martin School (University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 13 November 2025

Measuring the environment: metrics that guide science, policy and resilience
Date: 13 November 2025, 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker : Dr Anna Freeman (Humanities Division, University of Oxford)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Desert Room
Organiser: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Host: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)

Friday 14 November 2025

Oxford Water Day
Date: 14 November 2025, 9:00 - 17:00
Speaker Various Speakers
Venue: Saïd Business School, Park End Street OX1 1HP
Organiser: Oxford Water Network
Hosts: TBA

What drives species sensitivity to deforestation? Clue: it’s not what you think.
Date: 14 November 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : Cristina Banks-Leite (Imperial College London)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Main lecture theatre (1st floor, lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Dr Jesús Aguirre-Gutiérrez (University of Oxford)

Thursday 20 November 2025

Land degradation – is it a cause for concern?
Date: 20 November 2025, 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker : Professor John Boardman (University of Oxford)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Desert Room
Organiser: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Host: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)

Friday 21 November 2025

The Natural Capital of Wasps
Date: 21 November 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : Seirian Sumner (University College London)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Main lecture theatre (1st floor, lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)

Thursday 27 November 2025

Just Urbanism; rethinking spatial practices in the city
Date: 27 November 2025, 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker : Dr Mahsa Alami Fariman (University College London)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Desert Room
Organiser: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Host: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)

Friday 28 November 2025

The Spirit of the Rainforest
Date: 28 November 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : Rosa Vásquez Espinoza PhD (Amazon Research Internacional)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Main lecture theatre (1st floor, lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)

Wednesday 3 December 2025

Mission analysis – how does the UK government model the transition to Clean Power 2030 and Accelerate to Net Zero by 2050, perspectives from the Chief Economist
Date: 3 December 2025, 14:30 - 15:30
Speaker : Donna Leong (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room G and online via Zoom
Organisers: Dorothy Nicholas (INET Oxford), Francois Lafond (INET Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Mobility Under Occupation: Everyday Travel, Injustice, and Resilience in Palestine
Date: 3 December 2025, 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker : Dr Huthaifa I. Ashqar (Arab American University)
Venue Details: Online only
Organisers: TBA
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 4 December 2025

From Greening to Wellbeing: Critical spatial data science for green infrastructure, mental health and wellbeing in the UK
Date: 4 December 2025, 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker : Dr Wenjing (Wendee) Zhang (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Desert Room
Organiser: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Host: Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)

Friday 5 December 2025

Title TBC
Date: 5 December 2025, 16:15 - 17:30
Speaker : Robert Fish (Imperial College London)
Venue: Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details: Place Suite, 1st floor (lift available)
Organisers: Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford), Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host: Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)

This list contains talks from the following series:
Biodiversity Institute talks
Biodiversity Network Coffee Seminar Series
Biodiversity Network Seminars, Michaelmas Term 2015
Climate Careers
Climate Change and the Challenges of Development
ECI Big Ideas Seminar
Energy Colloquia
Energy Colloquia Series
Energy Events
Environmental Change Institute
Food Thinkers Lunches - Trinity Term 2018
Future of Cities Programme
Future of Food Lunchtime Talk Series
Geographies of informal and precarious labour - Transformations & Technological Natures Seminars
Grand Challenges in Environmental Research
Grand Challenges Seminar Series
IFSTAL
IFSTAL Lecture Series
InSIS seminar series: Ecologies of Expertise
Life after the Anthropocene
Model Truths: modelling, evidence, and truth in science and policy?
NatureFinance@Oxford Seminar Series
NEST - New Energy Systems Thinkers
Net Zero Home School
ONE
Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests
Oxford Interdisciplinary Microbiome Project
Oxford Water Network
Oxford Water Networks Water Quality Series (2019-2020)
Sandscapes
School of Geography and the Environment
Smith School Business Fellows
Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment
SoGE Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Conservation Cluster Events
SoGE Climate Systems and Policy Cluster Events
SoGE Economy and Society Cluster Events
SoGE Landscape Dynamics Cluster events
SoGE Political Worlds Cluster Events
SoGE Technological Life Cluster events
Technological Natures & Transformations Hilary 2017 Seminar Series
Technological Natures & Transformations Michaelmas 2016 Seminar Series
The Agile Initiative Research Planning workshop series (online)
Thinking Through Toxicity
Transport Studies Seminar Series 2025
Transport Studies Unit Hilary Term Seminar Series
Transport Studies Unit (TSU) Lunchtime Seminar Series
TSU Seminar Series
TSU Seminar Series, Hilary Term 2017 : Transport & Mobilities Across the Life Course
TSU Seminar Series Trinity 2016