Hopkins Lecture 2025: How a nail built the world
Join London engineer, author and broadcaster Roma Agrawal to find out how small and seemingly simple inventions - the nail, spring, lens, and string - were invented, evolved, and have had a deep and lasting impact on humanity.
Roma will explore these magnificent pieces of engineering, and through stories and examples, show how the nail led to the world’s tallest skyscrapers, how the clothes we wear emerged thanks to Neanderthals, and how the humble lens enabled her to become a mother. Roma will reignite your curiosity for how the world works, explore the history of human creativity, and reinforce the importance of understanding our technology for the sake of our planet.
Date: Monday 18th August 2025.
Time: 6 to 7.30pm. Doors open from 5.30pm.
Location: Ngaio Marsh Theatre at the University of Canterbury.
Cost: FREE but bookings are recommended.
This talk will also be livestreamed on the UC's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering YouTube channel.
The annual Hopkins Lecture aims to encourage discussion of engineering within the profession and public understanding of engineering issues.
Find out more about the 2025 Hopkins Lecture, including how to register (Humanitix).
About the speaker, Roma Agrwal
Roma Agrawal is an engineer, author and presenter who is best known for working on the design of The Shard, Western Europe's tallest tower. She studied at Imperial College London and the University of Oxford. She was appointed an MBE in 2018 for services to engineering.
Roma has given lectures to thousands at universities, schools and organisations around the world, including TEDx talks. She has also presented numerous TV shows for the BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery, and hosts her own podcast, Building Stories. Her first book, BUILT (2018) won an AAAS science book award and has been translated into eight languages.