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University of York

Jim Matthew fund

Do you want to bring a famous person to York to inspire students, staff and the public, but think you cannot afford it?

The Jim Matthew Fund could give you up to £1,000 to invite an inspiring speaker to York.

The Fund is named after Professor Jim Matthew, Emeritus Professor in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, in recognition of his contributions to the Public Lectures Committee and to open lectures throughout his years at the University.

You can use the money to add to money your department already has, or use the Fund as your sole source of income. We cover travel, fees, overnight stays - everything is eligible.

You can split the sum between several speakers, or splash out on one speaker. There are no limits, except the speaker must be inspiring and interesting, and have something to say to an audience that includes the public.

Applications are considered once a year by the Public Lectures Committee; applications are currently invited for events taking place from September 2024 to June 2025. The deadline is Friday 24 May 2024. 

Previous Jim Matthew Lectures include:

  • 2006 Paul Muldoon, Irish émigré poet, poetry reading
  • 2006 Jonathon Porritt, Programme Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, Coming clean: A sustainable future for the chemical industry
  • 2007 Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Making things, practising emptiness
  • 2007 Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas FRS, The genius of Michael Faraday
  • 2009 Professor Colin Blakemore, Neuroscientist, Vision Impossible!
  • 2010 Sigrid Rausing, Human Rights champion, American Torture: CIA theories of interrogation
  • 2013 Dr Jordi José, When worlds collide: Physics in the movies
  • 2014 Nick Hardwick, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails
  • 2016 Professor Wendy Graham, University of Aberdeen, Health, history, hygiene and hands
  • 2018 Professor Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford University, USA, The long game of STEM diversification
  • 2019 Professor Jim Al-Khalili, University of Surrey, Spreading the word: Why science communication is so vital

Further information

Who to contact

Jim Al-Khalili 218
Physicist, Professor Jim Al-Khalili, gave the Jim Matthew Lecture in 2019