Events
Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne
Featured events
“These vast worlds which we can never reach”: corporate empires from the extraterritorial to the extraterrestrial
Aug
11
6:00pm - 7:00pm
Public Lecture
Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow Lecture
“These Vast Worlds Which We Can Never Reach”: Corporate Empires from the Extraterritorial to the Extraterrestrial
Towards the end of his life, lamenting that the whole world had been “nearly all parceled out” among Europe empires, the late nineteenth-century colonial magnate Cecil Rhodes proclaimed that “I would annex the planets if I could.” A century and some later, we find ourselves closer than ever to Rhodes’s dream of colonising “vast worlds which we can never reach,” as states and companies across the globe vie to explore, exploit, and settle Low Earth Orbit, the Moon, and even Mars.
But how “new” is this “new space race” in fact? Rather than envisioning our current moment as merely a second phase of mid-20th century state-driven space competition, this talk considers the genealogy of these extraterrestrial projects in the institutions and ideologies of extraterritorial empire, paying particular attention to, on the one hand, the long history of the relationship between corporations and colonial expansion and, on the other, the surprisingly complex and enduring role outer space played in shaping territorial and imperial ambitions on Earth.
The Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship
This lecture is presented as part of the Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship Program, established in 1993 by the University of Melbourne’s Council on the recommendation of the Russell and Mab Grimwade Miegunyah Fund Committee. The program invites internationally distinguished scholars to visit the University of Melbourne, enriching the University’s academic, intellectual and cultural life. Miegunyah Fellows typically spend several weeks on campus, presenting a public lecture and specialist seminars, engaging with students and staff, and often collaborating on research initiatives. The program is made possible through the generous support of the Russell and Mab Grimwade Miegunyah Fund.
From curiosity to change: how discovery science transforms our world
Aug
12
6:00pm - 8:30pm
Public Lecture
Join us for a panel discussion on the value of discovery science and the role of fundamental research in shaping the world around us.
Some of the greatest scientific breakthroughs began with questions that seemed abstract, obscure at the time. Yet history shows that foundational, curiosity-driven research regularly spark revolutions in human understanding and ultimately the way we live our lives and interact with the planet (and beyond).
In 2025, the University’s own Professor Richard Robson was awarded the Nobel Prize for discoveries that began as curiosity driven investigations into how molecules could be structured but ultimately paved the way for major advances in fields ranging from clean energy storage to catalysis. His achievement is a powerful reminder that transformative innovation often begins with curiosity.
Hear from researchers whose fields were reshaped by work like Professor Robson’s, and learn how foundational research in chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics leads to real-world impact – often in unexpected ways.
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The Science at Melbourne Conversation series is the premier public event series from the Faculty of Science. The event program seeks to share our knowledge and love of science with the wider community, engaging them in current research and empowering them to ask questions and act for a better world. The series runs throughout the year covering scientific research, discoveries, and theories that play exciting or unexpected roles in shaping and advancing our society.
