The Hopkins Forum: Is the Scientific Enterprise Too Risk-Averse?

Join us for the Next Live Hopkins Forum Debate in Baltimore

About the Debate
Modern science has given us the ability to edit our genes, life-saving vaccines, and a glimpse at the origins of the universe. But is the system that produced these breakthroughs holding itself back?

Critics argue that the pressure to publish and fierce competition for funding rewards safe, incremental work over bold thinking and big swings. Yet others see a system still capable of paradigm-shifting discoveries — one where large, worldwide collaborations and long-term thinking motivate scientists to pursue grand, ambitious ideas.

Join us as we debate: Is the Scientific Enterprise Too Risk-Averse?

Arguing Yes
Tyler Cowen, Author of “The Great Stagnation”; Economics Professor at George Mason University; Founder of Emergent Ventures

Brandon Ogbunu, Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University and Professor at the Santa Fe Institute

Arguing No
Dr. Kate Biberdorf (“Kate the Chemist”), Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame; Science Entertainer

The Honorable Sethuraman Panchanathan, 15th Director of the National Science Foundation; University Professor of Technology and Innovation and Foundation Chair at Arizona State University

Moderator-in-Chief: John Donvan, Emmy award-winning journalist