Gavin Pretor-Pinney - Speaker

Gavin Pretor-Pinney, an award-winning science author, has captivated audiences worldwide with his inspiring and humorous perspective on how cloudspotting can ignite creativity. By stepping away from problems and allowing our minds to defocus, we can tap into our subconscious and make new connections. Gavin is the founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society, boasting 38,000 members across 95 countries. He is also a TED speaker with over 1 million views and a Visiting Fellow at the Meteorology Department of Reading University. Gavin's contributions to cloud classification include naming a new cloud formation called 'Asperatus', the first addition to the World Meteorological Organisation's cloud names since 1951. He has written four books, two of which, The Cloudspotter's Guide (2007) and The Cloud Collector's Handbook (2009), were international best-sellers. Gavin has produced and presented television documentaries on clouds for Channel 4 and BBC, and he even ventured to the remote outback of Australia to create a film about an extraordinary cloud formation that glider pilots surf, akin to surfers riding ocean waves. His book, The Wavewatcher's Companion (2010), won the prestigious 2011 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. In addition to his cloud-focused work, Gavin co-founded the Idler magazine in 1993, promoting the importance of downtime in fostering creative thinking. The magazine emphasizes that our best ideas often emerge during moments of relaxation when we allow thoughts to percolate. Engaging with our environment, such as through cloudspotting, is an ideal way to stimulate this type of creative thought.