“I learned to take the sewing machine apart, so I suppose it started there”, Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, told academic and TV broadcaster Professor Turi King.
Julia was speaking with Turi at the British Science Festival in Liverpool, discussing her life, career and thoughts about the future as she takes up the position of 2025-26 President of the British Science Association.
Turi started the conversation by asking about Julia’s childhood, can the roots of her love of science be found there? Julia explained that, growing up in post-war Britain, there was a make-do-and-mend philosophy – this extended to her household’s sewing machine and other electrical appliances.
Her mother hung up a poster from the Electrical Association for Women, a feminist and educational organisation founded in 1924, which showed how to rewire a plug. Julia studied it and became “chief wirer of plugs in the house”.
Julia’s early experiences with science were born from necessity, and inspired a STEM career with problem-solving at its heart.
“I wanted to be an academic from a very early age”
Julia went to the University of Cambridge to study Natural Sciences, and stayed there to earn a PhD in Fracture Mechanics – a long-held ambition.
“I knew I wanted to be an academic from a very early age… when I was at school we had brilliant science teachers.”
Julia was also inspired by CERN, the European Council for Nuclear Research, which was founded the same year she was born.
“[I was at school around] the time CERN had just about started operation, and they seemed to be discovering new particles every week, and every week the New Scientist had pictures of the scientists. There was something terribly exciting about it.”
With these role models, Julia spent the early years of her career as a researcher and lecturer at Cambridge then the University of Nottingham, before returning to Cambridge for seven years.
“Breaking things”
“What were you working on at Cambridge, in that later stint?”, Turi asked.
“Breaking things”, Julia said.
“Working on the specialised bits of metal we use, for example, in the turbine discs of aeroengines which have to rotate very fast with enormous loads on them…in order to develop that thrust that enables us to fly.”
“It’s very exciting too, you’re discovering that the way the manufacturing changes can make the metals more resistant.”
“[Electric vehicle industry growth] has been much faster than we predicted”
Julia moved from academia to industry, working for Rolls Royce in senior engineering positions.
She ran the Institute of Physics for two years and returned to academia at various universities before being appointed by the government to lead the King Review of low-carbon cars in 2007.
The review looked at steps that could be taken to decarbonise the roads over the next 25 years. People didn’t believe the electric vehicle industry would grow that fast, but they were proved wrong.
“Actually of course industry can do things really fast when it wants to, and it has been much faster than we predicted,” Julia said.
“We’ve just never had this polarisation”
“Do you feel that the discourse of climate change has changed much since that period, do you think people have come to understand the urgency around climate change?” Turi asked.
It’s been up and down, Julia said, but the moment we’re living through, when taking action on climate change is more urgent than ever, it has become politicised – particularly in the US but also in the UK.
“We’ve had bad patches and good patches in terms of government support, we’ve just never had this polarisation, and polarisation that the press is trying to drive.”
Julia speaks from experience; for 12 years she was vice-chair of the Climate Change Committee, and since 2021 has chaired the Adaptation Committee, which advises the government on steps that need to be taken.
Julia listed some alarming statistics; in the UK we’ve just had the hottest summer on record. There can be 3,000 excess heat-related deaths in a hot summer, a number which will only increase as temperatures do.
“By the 2050s, 25% of UK homes will be at risk of flooding, that’s one in four, that could be yours. Have you spoken to your insurers lately? This could be a financial crisis, the insurance system could be on its knees.”
“We need more trees in our cities, who doesn’t want to live in those places?”
Why isn’t change happening faster?
Stagnant wages, Julia said, have not made people feel positive about the economy or keen to spend money on a crisis. The messaging needs to change.
“We need to do a better job of explaining that we can do things about it and we can make the UK a better place to live. That’s certainly true of the actions we should be taking to adapt; we should be making homes more comfortable to live in during hot weather and during cold weather. Electric vehicles and other measures we’re taking are clearing the air up, as we’re genuinely seeing in our cities.”
“We need more trees in our cities, who doesn’t want to live in those places? There is a better, more positive life we could be living, if we take the right action even though the climate is changing.”
“Vote for politicians who are prepared to make sure we make the right changes”
Tackling the climate crisis can seem daunting, what are positive steps individuals can take?, Turi asked.
“Vote!” Julia replied, without hesitation.
“We do need to get people recognising the importance of this, and thinking one of the powerful things you can do is vote for politicians who are prepared to make sure we make the right changes.”
Reducing consumption and adopting the make-do-and-mend philosophy are also changes people can make.
Recycling rubbish, while a good thing to do, makes a very small impact. Reducing how much rubbish you’re creating through consumption in the first place is better, Julia said.
“There needs to be a discussion with the public”
Individuals’ actions are important, but guidance, fundamental change and targets need to come from the Government, which is what Julia is working on as Chair of the Adaptation Committee “We’re trying to put together a framework to present to the Government to say this is how you can set targets for adaptation. This is how you could work through the different actions you could take in different areas and how much it will cost.”
Big changes need to be made to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and to adapt to the effects we’re already feeling. It impacts every one of us, so we all need to be in the conversation, Julia explained.
“There needs to be a discussion with the public about what are they prepared to pay for, and what are they prepared to put up with in terms of changes in our lives.”
The report Julia is working on shows that a lot more science needs to be applied to adaptation techniques here in the UK. We should also learn from other countries “who already experience far more extreme climates than we do, and adapt better.
“I’ve been to too many schools where we haven’t invested in facilities”
“What are you hoping to achieve in your year as President of the British Science Association?” Turi asked.
A sharper focus on science education from the government, Julia said. There’s clear ambition around research and innovation, “but if we don’t get science education right, we won’t have anybody to do the research and innovation”.
We need to nurture science aptitude and passion in children and young people, to shape the scientists of the future.
“That doesn’t start when they’re at universities or doing PhDs, that has to start in school. I’ve been to too many schools where we haven’t invested in facilities.”
Many schools, particularly in less privileged areas, do not have a dedicated physics teacher with a physics degree, Julia said, citing a report from the Institute of Physics. That hasn’t changed in 20 years.
Giving young people a strong foundation in science education to help them pursue STEM careers is vital, but it’s not just future STEM professionals who must have a strong affinity for science, it’s everyone.
“We should have a public who thinks science and engineering are great. Even if it’s not the area they work inIf they understand it, they won’t be frightened by vaccinations and all those sorts of things.”
Science education for all is non-negotiable for a functioning society in which we can adapt to the climate crisis, enjoy economic growth, and live well, Julia said.
“I think this is what the British Science Association is about and I’m going to be doing everything I can to work with the team to try and do something about that.”