The Cambridge Scientific Society was founded in 1995, with the goal of promoting all branches of science at a level both stimulating to those studying science, and accessible to those with an arts background. Today, SciSoc is the most active science society at Cambridge, and with more than 1000 permanent members (and a much larger email database), the largest. Often, the Society is a platform for the first public exposure of new research and findings. Past speakers include Nobel Laureates James Watson, Sir Tim Hunt and Sir John Walker, eminent scientists Sir Roger Penrose, Sir Richard Friend, Sir John Beddington and Peter Atkins, popular author Matt Ridley, and former Universities and Sciences minister David Willetts among many others.