The Royal Institution Today
Today the Royal Institution is committed to "diffusing science for the common purposes of life". Membership is open to all, with no nomination procedure or academic requirements, on payment of an annual subscription. School membership is free.
The Institutions patrons and trustees include:
- Patron: Her Majesty The Queen
- Vice Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales
- President: HRH The Duke of Kent
- Honorary Vice President: Sir John Ritblat
- Chairman: Sir Richard Sykes
- Board of Trustees (appointed 16 May 2011): Prof. Chris Bishop, Howard Covington, Hugh Harper, Prof. Sir Peter Knight, Prof. Sir David Wallace, Prof. Julia Buckingham, Prof. Alan Davies, Dr Martin Knight, Rod McGregor, Lord Robert Winston.
The Institution's palatial home has been greatly enlarged and redeveloped since 1799, and is a Grade I listed building. As well as the famous Faraday Lecture Theatre, the building contains several function rooms, a substantial library, modern research facilities and a public restaurant.
The Institution (today abbreviated as the Ri) has a substantial public science programme and science for schools programme, holding over one hundred events per year on a wide variety of topics. The Christmas Lectures continue today as a series of five televised lectures aimed at children. The Friday Evening Discourses are monthly lectures given by eminent scientists, each limited to exactly one hour, a tradition started by Faraday. These lectures are open to all members of the Royal Institution and their guests. Many other events and lectures are held both at Albemarle Street and at other venues around the country.
Scientific research headed by Professor Quentin Pankhurst continues to be done under the auspices of the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory (DFRL), and indeed this is considered to be one of the UK's most notable labs in nano-science.
Fellows of the Royal Institution may use the initials FRI after their names. Members may use MRI and associate members may use AMRI after their names.
In December 2011 the Royal Institution launched the Ri Channel, a new website showcasing science videos and archive content from the Royal Institution, including past Christmas Lectures.
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