It drives me mad that when people use the word 'culture' they invariably mean the arts. The sciences are as much an expression of human culture and civilisation as music, dance or painting. I take every opportunity I can to promote this idea, through speaking at book festivals or other literary events for example. In 2008 I greatly enjoyed seconding Richard Fortey as he successfully proposed the motion 'The scientific canon is more relevant in our time than the literary canon' at Charleston Festival.

I recently joined the board of the Oxford Trust, which supports science and enterprise through activities under the name Science Oxford. Science Oxford has just bought a site in the centre of the city to build an exciting new space for the culturally curious, with hands-on activities for young people, educational outreach and a programme of exhibitions, talks and debates for adults. It's a great project and I'm very proud to be part of it.

I was until recently on the board of Oxford Inspires, the cultural development agency for Oxfordshire, which explicitly includes scientific activities and arts-science collaborations in the events it promotes.

Part of the problem lies with the science community itself, which has not on the whole done a good job of engaging with the public. I have run courses for scientists (mostly at Oxford University and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) on engaging with the media in an effort to increase their understanding of the constraints under which journalists work.