I enjoy taking astronomy and cosmology to audiences beyond the field, and love collaborating and thinking about the confluences between different disciplines and crafts. I am also drawn to wider questions about science and society, including those raised by artificial intelligence. Below are the projects, meetings and talks I am involved in.

Earth, a Cosmic Spectacle

Anik Halder and Louise Beer on stage at the Jesus College Intellectual Forum

picture courtesy: John Hooper

I collaborate with Louise Beer, Artist in Residence at the Institute of Astronomy, on her project Earth, a Cosmic Spectacle. The project uses photography, sound and conversation to connect audiences to the history of the Earth and to the climate crisis. My part is the cosmological one: how the Universe evolved, and the chain of events that led to life on this planet.

  • Earth, a Cosmic Spectacle, Intellectual Forum, Jesus College, University of Cambridge, March 2026. Louise presented the project and I joined her on stage for the discussion that followed. Recording
  • Earth, a Cosmic Spectacle: expert panel, Everybody Arts, Halifax, January 2026. An online panel with Louise and Miranda Lowe CBE, Principal Curator at the Natural History Museum, chaired by Sammi Lukic-Scott, accompanying the exhibition at the Everybody Gallery. Recording

 

 

Beyond the Telescope: Ethics, AI, and Sustainability in Astronomy

With Jaco de Swart, a physicist and philosopher in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, I will co-organise Beyond the Telescope, a reading group at the Institute of Astronomy. It brings astronomers together with historians and philosophers of science to look at the field from the outside. Each week takes a different angle: astronomy and imperialism, place, community, development, artificial intelligence, sustainability and ethics, closing with a session on the future of responsible astronomy.

The group will meet on Mondays from 11:30 to 12:30 through Michaelmas term 2026, beginning 19 October, in the Hoyle Committee Room at the Institute of Astronomy, with tea beforehand at 11:00 in the Hoyle Foyer. Anyone interested is welcome to join.

 

 

life | TIME

Miranda Robbins, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge and Jesus College, and I are convening a three-part panel series, funded by the College’s Intellectual Forum. It asks what endures, what fades, and what we inherit across biological, cosmic and economic time, bringing scientists, humanities scholars and policy voices into conversation. The series runs in 2027.

 

 

Selected talks

Anik Halder with students from Wuhan College after a talk on gravitational lensing at Jesus College

picture courtesy: Young, a participant of the Wuhan College programme

  • Gravity as a cosmic lens, Jesus College, University of Cambridge, January 2026. An introduction to gravitational lensing for students visiting from Wuhan College, China, on their winter exchange programme.