Dr Anne-Maria Brennan, Director of Graduate Studies at the Centre for Professional Practice, University of Kent, is a Freeman and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Educators and has the Freedom of the City of London. An alumnus of the Universities of York, Wales and Imperial College, London, she was Associate Professor of Bioscience and Forensic Biology and Deputy Head of the Department of Applied Science, at London South Bank University. She is author of six books including the popular ecology textbook First Ecology which is now in its third edition. She has a long-standing and wide-ranging interest in the interface between Science, Technology and Culture and the public understanding of science. With over 35 years of involvement with the British Science Association (BSA), serving as a member of Council and Trustee of the Association, she is a winner of the Sir Walter Bodmer Award. She has organised and chaired conferences for both the British Science Association and FSTC on the Muslim contribution to science, and has lectured on the subject of Muslim Heritage in the life sciences, agriculture and sustainability. Dr Brennan was recently elected as Board member of 1001 Cures Ltd; a new company owned by FSTC, established to oversee developments in 1001cures; an initiative to promote intercultural respect and appreciation through history of medicine and health in Muslim and other civilisations.
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FSTC Director Dr Anne-Maria Brennan Director of Education at the Centre for Professional Practice, University of Kent, was made a Freeman of the City of London at a ceremony in London on 19 October 2017.
Dr Brennan was eligible for the Freedom of the City as earlier this year she was made a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Educators, a livery company that seeks to advance education in all its forms in the UK and beyond. She said it was a privilege to become a Freeman of the City of London as it marked a ‘milestone achievement’ in her career as an educator.
Historically, being granted the Freedom of the City of London gave individuals the right to carry out their trade or profession within the Square Mile of London, with the expectation their goods and services would be of the highest quality possible. To this day Freemen, such as Dr Brennan, have ancient rights such as the right to drive sheep and cattle across London Bridge, cannot be pressganged, and can go about the city with a drawn sword: rights which are largely symbolic. However, those involved with the City and its guilds continue to uphold the tradition of promoting excellence through their professional and charitable activity.
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Anne-Maria's Book - First Ecology: Ecological Principles And Enviromental Issues: Ecological Principles and Environmental Issues by Alan Beeby and AnneMarie Brennan
Dr Anne-Maria Brennan: Principal Conference and Festival Presentations [present-2000]
(excluding conference attendance, guest lectures and other speaking engagements, television and radio work)
Chair: Amazing Beasts- and why we see them. [General Section Lecture - Dr Rhys Jones
March: Chair: Session on Optics & Vision at the Symposium on Science & Technology in Islamic Heritage (Al-Furqan Foundation) London
Papers delivered: Brennan, A-M Discovering the roots of human and environmental sustainability along the ‘Silk Road’
West, J.B. presented by Brennan, A-M Ibn Al-Nafis, the pulmonary circulation, and the Islamic ‘Golden Age
September: British Science Festival, Swansea University
Session Chair: Who do we really think we are? [Presidential lecture Chris Stringer]
Session Chair: A question of taste. [Presidential lecture Charles Spence]
February: presentation in Standing together in turbulent times Napier University staff diversity day
Session Chair: The World in 2050 [Presidential lecture Jonathon Porritt]
Session Chair: Library of Secrets [presenters Jim Al-Khalili and Andrea Sella]
Session Chair and Field course leader: Squirrel Wars [presenter John Gurnell]
Session Chair: The Real Doomsday 2012 [Presidential lecture Jocelyn Bell-Burnell]
Session Chair: Science Education in a Diverse Society [Presidential lecture Maurice Coles,
presenter Jim Al-Khalili]
Lecture What Can the Past Teach Us About Sustainability?
Session Chair: The history of the Lunar Society [presenter Jenny Uglow]
June: Cheltenham Science Festival, Co-presenter Library of Secrets Live [with Jim Al-
Khalili and Andrea Sella]
May: Lecture Sustainability in its Cultural Context. Science Museum
Lecture: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
June: Chair: Environment & Muslim Heritage Muslim Heritage Awareness Group- Royal Society
September: British Science Festival, University of Liverpool
Chair/Charles Darwin Award Presentation: The Satnav in Our Brains [presenter Hugo Spiers]
Lecture: Taxonomy in Crisis
Session Chair: Feeding Africa [presenter Ian Gibson MP]
Session Chair: The Science of luck [Presidential lecture Richard Wiseman]
Session Chair: A Code of Conduct for Biologists? [Presidential lecture Alan Malcolm]
May: Guest lecturer and judge Mosaic Science Festival, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Session Chair: Wildlife crime [Presidential lecture Alec Jeffreys]
Session Chair: Science and Islam [presenter Mohammed EL-Gomati]
Session Chair: Who owns your genes [Presidential lecture John Sulston]
Session Chair: The science of ageing [Presidential lecture Jonathan Miller]