Category Archives: Zone Reports

Science Week 2020 Zone Report – March 2020

Science Week 2020 Zone Report (March 2020) Preview

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Read the report: Science Week 2020 Zone Report – March 2020 [PDF]

The Science Week 2020 Zone was set up in response to the cancellation of the 2020 Big Bang Fair due to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The Zone provided a place for students from schools which were intending to attend the Big Bang Fair to connect with the exhibitors they would have met.

Key figures:

  • 17 live CHATs took place, with a total of 6,071 lines written. This matches the scale of a standard 2-week I’m a Scientist zone, over just 3 days.
  • 140 users (students and teachers) logged into the Zone, 96% of whom actively participated in live CHATs. Many live chats were teacher-led, meaning that the true number of engaged students is higher than the 128 who logged into live chat themselves.
  • 64 scientists and exhibitors actively participated in the Zone. A full list of scientists and exhibitors can be found at: scienceweek20.imascientist.org.uk/scientists/
  • Engagement focussed on live CHATs; no questions were posted through ASK by students or teachers, 21 answers were given in response to the initial question posted by the Zone moderator: What are your plans for Science Week?
Posted on March 18, 2020 Moderator - Josh in 2020, Zone Reports | Leave a comment

Sustainability Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Sustainability Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Sustainability Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome. It featured six scientists:

  • Stuart Goldie is a Postgraduate Research Assistant, discovering new materials for renewable energy.
  • Scott Dwyer is finding new ways to control a parasitic mite that can kill honey bees.
  • Lisa Kelly manages BASF’s distribution business, trying to supply products like cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals in a sustainable way.
  • Jack Saunders is a polymer scientist making new plastics for paints, to help keep things in better conditions for longer.
  • Caragh Whitehead is a research technician looking at how plants can lead to improvements in all areas of our lives.
  • Alex Batchelor, the winner of this zone, is a PhD student investigating how plant roots can get more phosphorous from the soil, to help them grow better and produce more food.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, Wellcome Trust, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Sustainability Zone Report – November 2019

Society Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Society Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Society Zone was a themed zone supported by the British Psychological Society. It featured six psychologists:

  • Phil Agnew runs a podcast called Nudge, which looks at behavioural science and consumer psychology.
  • Liam Wignall is researching how people interact with each other in different settings, with a focus on social media.
  • Kohinoor Darda has recently completed a PhD on the neural mechanisms of how we interact and imitate in the social world, but unfortunately had to drop out at the start of the event.
  • Karolina Urbanska is a research associate currently exploring how funny images or videos can affect our feelings and behaviour.
  • Jack Joyce, the winner of this zone, is a conversation analyst exploring how people use language and what that language can tell us about their culture.
  • Debbie Kinsey is studying for a PhD exploring how museums can help people with dementia to live a good life.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, BPS, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Society Zone Report – November 2019

Roentgenium Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Roentgenium Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Roentgenium Zone was a themed zone supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. It featured six scientists:

  • Varun Ramaswamy, the winner of this Zone, is a PhD student at the Institute of Cancer Research, finding the shapes of different proteins in the body and uses data from sTFC facilities.
  • Samantha Firth is the Communications and Social Media Officer for STFC.
  • Rebecca Shaw is a Research Technician at the University of Aberdeen at the Institute of Medical Sciences.
  • Anna Kalorkoti is a materials scientist exploring how materials change when the world around them changes at a company that uses STFC facilities.
  • Alin Elena works at Daresbury Laboratory as a computational scientist.
  • Adam Washington works at the ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon source, building and maintaining instruments for visiting scientists to use.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, STFC, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Roentgenium Zone Report – November 2019

Nuclear Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Nuclear Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Nuclear Zone was a themed zone supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. It featured six scientists:

  • Mark Johnson, the winner of this zone, works at CERN on the ALPHA experiment, trapping individual atoms made out of antimatter.
  • Liam Gaffney studies radioactive or unstable isotopes at CERN, to help us understand how protons and neutrons bind together.
  • Laura Sinclair is a medical physicist specialising in nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology.
  • Kasia Clarke is a PhD student whose group uses Diamond Light Source in studying new materials for nuclear reactors to allow them to produce energy in a safer, more reliable way.
  • Gina Parker works for a nuclear engineering company as a structural analyst making computer simulations of the cores of nuclear reactors.
  • Felix Warren is an apprentice on a scheme run by the UK Atomic Energy Authority and STFC, with an interest in fusion energy and communications.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, STFC, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Nuclear Zone Report – November 2019

Microbe Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Microbe Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Microbe Zone was a themed zone supported by the Microbiology Society. It featured six scientists:

  • Tom Snelling is a research scientist studying cells in the body that fight back against germs.
  • Steven Rudder uses DNA sequencing to detect and explore genomes of bacteria inside humans and animals, to understand what makes us ill.
  • Jessica Mitchell is a post-doctoral researcher looking at ways people in poorer countries, without access to doctors, take care of their health.
  • Haafizah Hoosen is a PhD student investigating parasites and how we can stop them making us sick.
  • Clio Andreae is a senior scientist working within an infection team to help accelerate the development and testing of new antimicrobial compounds and vaccines.
  • Bruno Silvester, the winner in this zone, is a research scientist germs that cannot be killed by medicines.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, Microbiology Society, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Microbe Zone Report – November 2019

Meitnerium Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Meitnerium Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Meitnerium Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome. It featured six scientists:

  • Sarah Knight works at the University of York, exploring why we get distracted by background noise when we’re trying to listen to another person speaking.
  • Isaac Halstead is a PhD student looking at the psychological factors of gene editing attitudes – what makes a person support or oppose its use.
  • Hira Virdee is a space laser scientist, using lasers to increase the power of satellite solar panels.
  • Elena Maters, the winner of this zone, is studying how volcanoes affect our environment and why ash particles from different volcanoes influence chemistry and clouds.
  • Anisha Wijeyesekera is studying how diet can impact the bacteria in our gut, and how this can positively or negatively influence our health.
  • Alex Leide looks at how ceramics break at the nanoscale, to help design stronger materials.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, Wellcome Trust, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Meitnerium Zone Report – November 2019

Health Behaviour Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Health Behaviour Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Health Behaviour Zone was a themed zone supported by the British Psychological Society. It featured four psychologists:

  • Jolel Miah, the winner of this zone, is a PhD student working within the prison service, giving motivation counselling to prisoners to help them make healthier decisions.
  • Emily Mattacola is researching how teenagers think about and behave around their health, and how this is impacted by their relationships with friends.
  • Amber Cronin is an Intelligence Co-ordinator, exploring how people have been treated when they’ve gone to the doctors or hospital or social services.
  • Alex Spiers is a PhD student interested in the mental health of teenagers, and researching the effect of mobile phone use on their mental health.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, BPS, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Health Behaviour Zone Report – November 2019

Enquiry Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Enquiry Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Enquiry Zone was a themed zone supported by the British Psychological Society. It featured five psychologists:

  • Vassilis Sideropoulos is a research technician, whose project idea explores how visual patterns affect our attention.
  • Pizza Chow is a postdoctoral research fellow, and as the winner will develop her project idea, where students will test the problem-solving ability of their pets or local wildlife.
  • Line Caes is a lecturer in Psychology, who wanted to look at how parents can best help their children when they are in pain.
  • Kareena McAloney-Kocaman is a lecturer in Applied Health Psychology, proposing a project exploring whether we can teach people to be more creative.
  • Carolina Brett is a works in Health Psychology, whose project idea explores what makes us happy.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, BPS, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Enquiry Zone Report – November 2019

Elements Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Elements Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Elements Zone was a themed zone supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry. It featured six scientists:

  • William Wiseman is a technical manager in industry who mixes zirconium with metal oxides to create ceramic materials used in places such as aeroplanes and oil rigs.
  • Thibaut Deviese is a chemist who uses the radioactivity of carbon isotopes to help archaeologists date objects.
  • Harry Wilkinson is a PhD student recreating iron and sulphur compounds usually found in the body with the aim of replacing unsustainable industrial processes.
  • Georgia Orton is a research scientist trying to make iron do the job of platinum in reactions using tiny cage structures called MOFs (metal organic frameworks).
  • Emily Sparkes is a PhD student who studies how well enzymes make and break bonds between silicon and oxygen.
  • Aimee Egglestone is an industry development chemist helping scientists to scale up their experimental reactions using carbon compounds to industrial levels.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, RSC, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Elements Zone Report – November 2019

Electromagnetic Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Electromagnetic Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Electromagnetic Zone was a themed zone supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. It featured six scientists:

  • Sameed Muhammed is a research scientist at CERN, studying how matter and antimatter interact with each other.
  • Jose Brandao-Neto works at Diamond Light Source helping researchers discover new medicinal drugs using X-rays.
  • Joanna Barstow, the winner of this zone, uses data from spacecraft cameras to investigate the atmospheres of planets and exoplanets.
  • Heidi Thiemann is an STFC funded PhD student researching how variable stars change over time.
  • Freya Addison is a PhD student at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science using radar data to study clouds and insects.
  • Chris Rink is a masters student whose group uses ISIS and Diamond to study new magnetic compounds.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, STFC, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Electromagnetic Zone Report – November 2019

Big Data Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Big Data Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Big Data Zone was a themed zone supported by the Institute of Physics. It featured five scientists:

  • Sreejita Ghosh is a PhD student developing a machine learning program which can identify rare diseases of the adrenal gland.
  • Sam Lawrence is a space scientist looking at patterns of galaxies to try and understand the physical laws that govern the universe.
  • Kate Winfield is an environmental data scientist archiving and preserving data from weather reports.
  • Anastasia Aliferi is a PhD student in forensic genetics, working on methods to find out how old someone is by looking at drops of their blood.
  • Adam Wootton is teaching AI systems to search through data and find damage, in order to repair roads and bridges.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, IOP, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Big Data Zone Report – November 2019

Darmstadtium Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Darmstadtium Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF]

The Darmstadtium Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome. It featured six scientists:

  • Simon Brown is a technician at University of Bath chemistry department.
  • Selen Ozbek is a psychologist, investigating how blindness affects the circadian rhythm of veterans and army personnel.
  • Paul Laurance-Young, the winner in this Zone, is a biomedical scientist in cellular pathology.
  • Nawapat Kaweeyanun is a space physicist looking at Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, preparing for a mission to find out if it once hosted life.
  • Natalie Fowler is a clinical scientist working at a hospital, ensuring the correct machines are being used and are working properly for the sickest patients.
  • Katy Bruce is a PhD student in Forensic Chemistry, looking at whether traces of makeup at a crime scene could be used as reliable sources of evidence.
Posted on January 15, 2020 modjen in 2019, Wellcome Trust, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Darmstadtium Zone Report – November 2019

Space Zone Report – June 2019

Read the report: Space Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF]

The Space Zone was a themed zone for primary schools supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council and NCOP schools. It featured six scientists:

  • Nicolas Bonne studies galaxies and finds ways to allow people with sight problems to learn about space.
  • Laurence Datrier is researching ways to find out when neutron stars collide.
  • Emma Davies studies massive explosions from the Sun that can hit Earth.
  • Declan Jonckers organises the design and manufacture of Multi-Layer Insulations, a ‘space blanket’ which helps to keep a spacecraft’s temperature at the right level.
  • Bella Boulderstone, the winner in the Space Zone, tries to find the size of structures around supermassive black holes using dust as a space radar.
  • Ali Hussain develops instruments to generate light to interact with matter in space and show its properties.
Posted on July 15, 2019 Moderator - Josh in 2019, STFC, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Space Zone Report – June 2019

Plants Zone Report – June 2019

Read the report: Plants Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF]

The Plants Zone was a themed zone for primary schools zone supported by Wellcome. It featured six scientists:

  • Shannah Gates is a PhD student growing root cultures to be used in medicinal compounds.
  • Richard Gammons is researching how to use plants as chemicals to make fuels.
  • Matthew Alkan is investigating whether driving cars is changing the smells of plants, affecting bees that use a plant’s scent to find and pollinate it.
  • John Paterson is trying to understand how pollinators, like bees and hoverflies, know when the seasons are changing and why this is important for flowers and crops.
  • Emma Markham works at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council funding research which helps people and the planet.
  • Anna Gardner, the winning scientist, is a researcher of trees, studying how climate change might change oak leaves in the future.
Posted on July 15, 2019 Moderator - Josh in 2019, Wellcome Trust, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Plants Zone Report – June 2019

Particles Zone Report – June 2019

Read the report: Particles Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF]

The Particles Zone was a themed zone supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council and NCOP schools. It featured six scientists:

  • Savannah Clawson, the winner of this zone, studies what happens when we smash particles of light together, using the ATLAS detector and LHC at CERN.
  • Philippe Gambron uses computers to work out what happened during the first moments of the Universe.
  • Lucy Budge is researching what happens when particles are smashed into each other at very high speeds.
  • Joanna Huang is a PhD student learning about particles and the fundamental laws of the universe.
  • Harrison Prosper tries to make sense of nature by colliding protons at the Large Hadron Collider.
  • Edoardo Vescovi is a theoretical physicst developing mathmatical models to measure the forces between particles.
Posted on July 15, 2019 Moderator - Josh in 2019, STFC, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Particles Zone Report – June 2019

Mental Health Zone Report – June 2019

Read the report: Mental Health Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF]

The Mental Health Zone was a themed zone supported by The British Psychological Society with six psychologists:

  • Rob Dempsey, the winner of this zone, is researching how our perceptions of our social environment impact our mental and physical health.
  • Olly Clabburn is looking at stress for social workers and ways that it might be reduced.
  • Nicola Johnstone designs research studies to understand how emotions develop as people grow up.
  • Jasmin Moon supports adults whose job is causing a mental health problem or making their mental health worse.
  • Dennis Relojo-Howell runs a mental health blog, website and open access journal to address the stigma around mental health.
  • Caroline Brett is interested in what influences how we rate our wellbeing, whether it be our personal characteristics or our circumstances.
Posted on July 15, 2019 Moderator - Josh in 2019, BPS, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Mental Health Zone Report – June 2019

Influence Zone Report – June 2019

Read the report: Influence Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF]

The Influence Zone was a themed zone supported by The British Psychological Society and included six psychologists:

  • Laura Fisk is a clinical psychologist at a GP surgery helping people with their mental health problems.
  • Kathryn Atherton uses research on human behaviour to come up with solutions to problems in society.
  • Ian Cookson’s research looks at how we can understand transport choices, particularly cycling, using the social identity approach.
  • Chris Fullwood is studying how people communicate and manage impressions in the online world.
  • Bogdana Huma teaches social psychology, with a focus on social influence and persuasion in real-life sales encounters.
  • Alex Lloyd, the winning psychologist, is trying to answer questions about when and why teenagers take risks.
Posted on July 15, 2019 Moderator - Josh in 2019, BPS, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Influence Zone Report – June 2019

Hassium Zone Report – June 2019

Read the report: Hassium Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF]

The Hassium Zone was a general zone supported by Wellcome and featured six scientists:

  • Helen Faulkner tests drugs to be sure that they are safe for patients to take.
  • Farah Elahi is completing a PhD looking at how virtual reality can improve young people’s mental health.
  • Dave Underhill, the winner of this zone, is an archaeologist who runs projects aimed at increasing public understanding of mining and quarrying industries.
  • Cheryl Williams analyses specimens from patients to help doctors with diagnosis.
  • Bastian Saputra is researching how to modify bacteria to make them glow in the presence of soil pollution.
  • Alun Owen is an Environmental Chemistry Technician who also teaches chemistry at university.
Posted on July 15, 2019 Moderator - Josh in 2019, Wellcome Trust, Zone Reports | 1 Comment

Bohrium Zone Report – June 2019

Read the report: Bohrium Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF]

The Bohrium Zone was a general zone supported by Wellcome. It featured six scientists:

  • Rob Ives, winner of the zone, is an in-vivo scientist creating better tasting medicines for children.
  • Imad Ouachan is developing new materials to protect offshore wind turbines blades from impacts.
  • Fern Johnson is a trainee clinical scientist in bioinformatics, working in the genetics department of a hospital.
  • Christian Gude makes plastics from waste gases using genetically engineered bacteria.
  • Carol Wallace is a research technician working in an immunology lab that specialises in fungal disease.
  • A sixth scientist unfortunately had to drop out at short notice.
Posted on July 15, 2019 Moderator - Josh in 2019, Wellcome Trust, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Bohrium Zone Report – June 2019

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I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an online activity where school students get to meet and interact with scientists.

It’s a competition between scientists, where the students are the judges.

Students challenge the scientists over intense, fast-paced, online live CHATs. Then they ASK the scientists all the questions they want to, and VOTE for their favourite scientist to win a prize of £500 to communicate their work with the public.

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