Speaker Details

Mike Bruton

Biography:

Professor Mike Bruton was born and educated in South Africa, where he obtained his PhD degree from Rhodes University. He initially followed a career in marine biology but, over the past two decades, has focused on science centre and museum design and development, the psychology of learning, and the history of Islamic science.

He has received many international awards and honors, including the Fellowship of the Royal Society of South Africa (1984), Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académique from France (2001), Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Science and Technology Forum, South Africa (2001), and an Emeritus Professorship from the University of Cape Town (2004).

He is employed by MTE Studios in Cape Town as Director of Imagineering, where his duties include research and knowledge management, consultancy services in museum and exhibition design, management and development, and the training of science centre and museum personnel. He is involved in projects in Africa, Europe, North America and the Gulf Region, and has carried out extensive research on Islamic science for traveling exhibitions and permanent displays in South Africa, Malaysia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

He has recently concluded a nine-month consultancy at the Museum of Science and Technology in Islam at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. He wrote the content for this museum, assisted with the design and implementation, trained the staff and volunteers, and prepared the operational manuals.

Status: Confirmed