Record funding Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space
The University of Leicester has received a record £10m investment to establish the Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space to explore how the final frontier is reshaping our lives.
The Centre will aim to increase the understanding of how humans engage with and experience space through a series of research projects over a 10 year period.
The Centre will explore four key questions:
- What frameworks are needed to ensure peace, security and good governance in space?
- Can space engagement be sustainable and fair and contribute to positive economic, societal and cultural development?
- What will life and work in space look like, and what will a greater reliance upon space mean for life and work on Earth?
- How can we represent, communicate, and record the human experience of space and maximise participation in this new frontier?
Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space, Professor Andrew Futter said: “The Centre’s work will examine what our future in space looks like and humanity’s evolving relationship with the cosmos.
“With nearly 10,000 satellites orbiting our planet, many aspects of our lives are entwined with space technology.
“But the challenges ahead are profound: creating new societies, laws and systems that govern human existence beyond Earth.
“While STEM fields have dominated space research, the Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space seeks to bridge this gap.
“Our mission is to engage the arts, humanities and social sciences to address the pressing existential questions about our presence in space. From science fiction and video games to geopolitical rivalries and the growing role of private stakeholders, space exploration and its possibilities are woven into the fabric of our culture, influencing everything from global competition to the future of life on Earth.”
University of Leicester's Professor Andrew Futter will be Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space (Credit: University of Leicester)
Space scientist and Chancellor of the University of Leicester Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock DBE said: “For all space exploration a Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences perspective is essential. We need to ensure that and the quest for knowledge is not just a scientific endeavour but a profound human experience, enriching cultural narratives and societal values. For over 60 years, the University of Leicester has been a pioneer of discovery and challenge-led space research. Our city is a beacon of diversity, making it the natural home for research centre that transcends boundaries and ensuring that the research done helps all of humanity.”
The Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space will be based at Space Park Leicester, the University’s pioneering facility that operates alongside external partners such as the Leicester-based UK Space Agency and the National Space Centre. The Centre will create 42 new research positions at the University.
The 10-year £10m investment by the Leverhulme Trust is the largest ever received by the University to be used for research in the fields of social science, arts and humanities.
Professor Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust, said: “Over the last decade, the Trust has awarded £100 million to set up ten UK-based Leverhulme Research Centres. These centres are bold and interdisciplinary; they embrace novel approaches and have reshaped and established new fields. In our centenary year, the Trust Board is proud to invest a further £30 million to fund three new centres across the arts, humanities and social sciences that seek to transform our understanding by addressing vital issues, such as how slavery in war can be forecasted and tackled.”