Curiosity Unbound: Robert Ssempijja and Harry Cliff

Our guests today come from very different walks of life and have been following widely different paths, which have both led them here to Cambridge and the Cavendish. More than just location, it’s clear that our guests have a lot in common and a lot to share.

Ugandan contemporary artist, dancer and researcher, Robert Ssempijja, is the third Cavendish Arts Science Fellow at Girton College, a programme that creates collective encounters between art and science, that explores the world, our humanity and our place in the world. His work explores things that spoken language cannot always explain, and that are too difficult to talk about out loud.

Harry Cliff is a particle physicist working on the LHCb experiment, a huge particle detector buried 100 metres underground at CERN in Switzerland, to study the basic building blocks of our universe, in search of answers to some of the biggest questions in modern physics.

He is also a recognised author of popular science books, and a former curator at the Science Museum in London.

Ssempijja and Harry have met in Cambridge as part of Ssempijja’s fellowship, and have instantly recognised a common curiosity, and a desire to continuously question the world around them. 

So it’s very logical that we are welcoming them both today to the podcast, to expand upon their journeys with us, and discuss their shared questions and approaches between art and physics.

Useful links

• Explore Ssempijja's work: Robert Ssempijja – Dance, Life and Philosophy 
• Harry Cliff's website has details about his books, research and outreach works.
• The annual Cavendish Arts Science Fellowship is delivered in partnership with Girton College, thanks to the vision and generous support of Una Ryan. Cavendish Arts Science will soon announce their new Fellow for 2024/25, stay tuned!
• Learn more about Robert B. Laughlin's book "A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down"

Share and join the conversation

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you!
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at [email protected] or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Episode credits

• Hosts: Charlie Walker and Vanessa Bismuth
• Recording and Editing: Chris Brock