Category Archives: 2020

Medical Research Zone Report November 2020

Read the report: Medical Research Zone Report – November 2020 [PDF]

The Medical Research Zone ran from 2 to 27 November 2020. The Zone was 1 of 4 Zones that ran as part of I’m a Scientist: On Demand in November 2020.

I’m a Scientist: On Demand aims to offer greater flexibility to teachers in how, and when, they can take part in I’m a Scientist. This is in response to the COVID-19 situation and greater restrictions and uncertainty in schools.

The Medical Research Zone was funded by the Medical Research Council.

Researchers and Technical Staff

41 researchers created profiles in the Zone.
38 researchers engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions.
A broad range of fields and career stages were represented. For example:
- Natsuko Imai – research associate at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College London
- Vrushali Patil – researcher in Mammalian Synthetic Biology at The UK Centre
  for Mammalian Synthetic Biology, funded by the MRC
- Suzan Kors – PhD student in Biological Sciences and GW4 BioMed MRC Doctoral Training Partnership, University of Exeter

Students

467 students logged in, from 20 schools across Great Britain and 1 from the USA.
Student participation was 31% of the 1,500 target.
82% of active students were from target schools (WP and/or U).
- 39% were from widening participation (WP) schools.
- 58% were from underserved (U) schools

Live Chats & Questions

28 live Chats took place took place during the activity.
34 live Chats were booked (42% of capacity), but dropout was higher than usual with 6 cancellations.
On average, 7 researchers/tech staff attended each live Chat; more than is typical.
1 teacher typed questions in a live Chat on behalf of their students, so the total number of students engaged in this Zone may be higher by up to 25.
58 student questions were approved. There were 109 answers provided.

Posted on March 10, 2021

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Health Zone Report – November 2020

Read the report: Health Zone Report – November 2020 [PDF]

The Health Zone ran from 2 to 27 November 2020. The Zone was one of 4 Zones that ran as part of I’m a Scientist: On Demand in November 2020.

The Health Zone was jointly funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the British Society for Immunology (BSI). There were weekly evening chats for students to join from home, with two of these focussed on the topic of vaccinations.

Scientists

50 scientists created profiles in the Zone.
10 reported being members of the RSC and 16 as members of the BSI.
48 scientists engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions.
Scientists were from a broad range of fields and career stages. For example:
- Samantha Watson – radiation scientist at Public Health England
- Bhagteshwar Singh – Clinical research fellow at The University of Liverpool
- Abbie Smith – trainee Medical Physicist working for the NHS

Students

486 students from 23 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone.
42% of active students were from target schools (WP and/or U).
- 21% were from widening participation (WP) schools
- 21% were from underserved (U) schools.

Chats & Questions

30 live Chats took place took place during the activity.
46 live Chats were booked (61% of capacity), but dropout was significantly higher thanusual with 10 cancellations and 6 ‘school no shows’.
On average, 8 scientists attended each live Chat session.
3 teachers typed questions in a live Chat on behalf of their students, so the number ofstudents engaged will be higher.
44 student questions were approved. Scientists responded with 201 answers.

Posted on January 18, 2021

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Physics Zone Report – November 2020

Read the report: Physics Zone Report – November 2020 [PDF]

The Physics Zone ran from 2 to 27 November 2020. The Zone was one out of 4 Zones that ran as part of I’m a Scientist: On Demand in November 2020.

The Physics Zone was funded by the Ogden Trust.

Scientists

36 scientists created profiles in the Zone.
35 scientists engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions.
Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example:
- Leah Morgan – project engineer for the UK Atomic energy Authority
- Pratik Samant – Postdoctoral researcher at University of Oxford
- Viviene Dela Cruz – development scientist working for the STFC

Students

616 students from 20 schools logged into the Zone.
Turnout was 61% of the 1,000 capacity.
70% of active students were from target schools (WP and/or U).
- 38% were from widening participation (WP) schools.
- 48% were from underserved (U) schools.

Chats & Questions

34 live Chats took place took place during the activity.
46 live Chats were booked (77% of expected levels), but dropout was higher thanusual with 9 cancellations and 3 ‘school no shows’.
On average, 5 scientists attended each live Chat session.
1 teacher typed questions in a live Chat on behalf of their students, so the number ofstudents engaged may be higher by up to 25.
267 student questions were approved. Scientists responded with 535 answers.

Posted on January 18, 2021

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Psychology Zone Report – November 2020

Read the report: Psychology Zone Report – November 2020 [PDF]

The Psychology Zone ran from 2 to 27 November 2020. The Zone was one out of 4 Zones that ran as part of I’m a Scientist: On Demand in November 2020.

The Psychology Zone was funded by the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Scientists

41 psychologists created profiles in the Zone.
27 engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions.
Psychologists were from a broad range of fields and career stages. For example:
- Marianna Karavidas – Assistant Psychologist in the NHS
- Simon Payne – lecturer in Psychology and Behaviour Change at AberystwythUniversity
- Madeleine Steeds – cyberpsychologist at the University of Manchester

Students

384 students from 17 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone.
80% of active students were from target schools (WP and/or U).
- 39% were from widening participation (WP) schools.
- 71% were from underserved (U) schools.

Chats & Questions

26 live Chats took place took place during the activity.
36 live Chats were booked (60% of capacity), but dropout was higher than usual with10 cancellations.
On average, 5 psychologists attended each live Chat session.
41 student questions were approved. Psychologists responded with 217 answers.

Posted on January 18, 2021

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Yellow Zone Report – October 2020

Read the report: Yellow Zone Report – October 2020 [PDF]

The Yellow Zone ran from the 28th September – 23rd October. This Zone was the second of the I’m a Scientist: On Demand zones, which were created to allow schools to have flexibility in when, and how, they took part. The Yellow Zone was a general zone, supported by the Wellcome Trust and the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

32 scientists created profiles in the Zone. 27 engaged with students in live chats and Ask.
Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Ranjini Swaminathan is a research science solving climate problems at the University of Reading, Will Davison is a PhD student in Sustainable Aquaculture at the University of Exeter, and Gaby Mayorga Adame is an coastal ocean modeller at the National Oceanography Centre.
65 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 3 researchers attended each live chat session.
187 posted questions were approved and sent to the researchers who responded with 326 answers.
875 students from 28 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 11 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
212 of active students were from widening participation schools, and 317 from underserved schools.

Posted on November 12, 2020

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Blue Zone – September 2020

Read the report: Blue Zone Report [PDF]

Read the report: Blue Zone Report – September 2020 [PDF]

The Blue Zone ran from the 2nd – 25th September. This Zone was the first of the I’m a Scientist, On Demand zones. These zones ran throughout the Autumn 2020 term in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing schools to have flexibility in when and how they took part.

The Blue Zone was a general science zone.

30 scientists created profiles in the Zone. 21 of these scientists engaged with students in live chats and Ask.
Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Fatma Salahioglu is a Forensic Scientist working in the pharmaceutical industry, Ashleigh Barron works as a Laser Technician in Glasgow, and Yueng Lenn is a Physics Oceanographer.
17 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 3 researchers attended each live chat session.
18 posted questions were approved and sent to the researchers who responded with 52 answers.
189 students from 9 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone.
24% of active students were from widening participation schools, and 42% from underserved schools

Posted on November 5, 2020

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Psychology Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Psychology Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

In March 2020, I’m a Scientist, Stay at home was launched to allow school students to stay connected with STEM during the school closures due to coronavirus. Students could log in and take part whether they were at school or at home, reconnecting with their teachers and each other.

The Psychology Zone ran over 12 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities, instead of the usual two. This Zone was funded by the British Psychological Society with additional funding from UKRI.

46 psychologists created profiles in the Zone, and 41 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions. 23 of these psychologists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Psychologists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Alan Winfield is a Professor researching the ethical impact of robots on society, Lara Quartel is a PhD student studying how young people’s brains work in those with mental health problems, and Abbie Jordan does research helping young people who are affected by pain. On average, 5 psychologists attended each live chat session.
581 students from 31 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 26 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity
27% of active students were from Widening Participation schools, and 61% from Underserved Schools.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Physics Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Physics Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

The Physics Zone ran over 12 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities, instead of the usual two. There were 97 live chats, compared to the usual two week zone average of 16. This Zone was funded by The Ogden Trust with additional funding from UKRI.

120 scientists created profiles in the Zone, and 109 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions. 81 of these scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Ry Cutter is a PhD student studying colliding black holes, Tom Louth designs instruments for the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, and Dipendra Mistry is an engineer working with radiowaves. On average, 6 researchers attended each live chat session.
1,186 students from 52 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 31 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
16% of active students were from Widening Participation schools, and 44% from Underserved Schools.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Medical Research Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Medical Research Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

The Medical Research Zone ran over 12 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities and was funded by the Medical Research Council with additional funding from UKRI.

135 scientists created profiles in the Zone. 121 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions.
104 of the scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Kim Liu is a Chemical Biologist, Anabel Martinez Lyons is a Liver Cancer Researcher and Luke Bryden is a Neuroscience PhD student at the University of Oxford.
91 live chats took place during the activity. On average, 7 researchers attended each live chat session.
229 posted questions were approved and sent to the researchers who responded with 636 answers.
1,248 students from 53 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 33 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
8% of active students were from widening participation schools, and 55% from underserved schools.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Disease Detectives Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Disease Detectives Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

The Disease Detectives Zone ran over 12 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities, instead of the usual two. There were 93 live chats, compared to the usual two week zone average of 16. This Zone was funded by the Wellcome Genome Campus with additional funding from UKRI.

81 scientists created profiles in the Zone, and 78 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions. 74 of these scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Alena Pance is a cell biologist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute studying malaria, Lucy McGowan is a PhD student studying bone health, and Hugo Lewkowicz works in Public Health predicting how illnesses spread. On average, 7 researchers attended each live chat session.
1,231 students from 39 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 23 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
16% of active students were from Widening Participation schools, and 69% from Underserved Schools.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Environment Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Environment Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

The Environment Zone ran over 12 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities, instead of the usual two. There were 42 live chats, compared to the usual two week zone average of 16. This Zone was funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry with additional funding from UKRI.

105 scientists created profiles in the Zone, and 94 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions. 91 of these scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Gareth Mason is an Environmental Ranger at Forestry and Land Scotland, Jessica Gomez-Banderas is PhD student studying chemicals produced by marine organisms, and Sylvia Soldatou is a Natural Product Chemist at the University of Aberdeen. On average, 7 researchers attended each live chat session.
650 students from 31 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 14 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
9% of active students were from Widening Participation schools, and 45% from Underserved Schools.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Coding Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Coding Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

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

The Coding Zone ran over 7 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities, instead of the usual two. This Zone was funded by bp with additional funding from UKRI.

49 scientists created profiles in the Zone, and 44 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions. 38 of these scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Hannah Im is an integrated risk manager at bp, Will Furnell works in Scientific Computing for STFC, and Sreejita Ghosh is a Data Science PhD student, using machine learning to identify rare diseases of the adrenal glands.
On average, 8 researchers attended each live chat session.
120 students from 10 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 3 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
33% of active students were from Widening Participation schools, and 26% from Underserved Schools.
18 live chats took place during the event.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Chemistry Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Chemistry Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

The Chemistry Zone ran over 9 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities, instead of the usual two. There were 45 live chats, compared to the usual two week zone average of 16. This Zone was funded by Johnson Matthey with additional funding from UKRI.

89 scientists created profiles in the Zone, and 83 engaged with students in live chats and answered questions. 73 of these scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Tiffany Chan is researching radioactive drugs for cancer treatment, Zoe Ingold is a PhD student at studying enzymes, and Andrew Stonor is a pollution control scientist at Johnson Matthey. On average, 9 scientists attended each chat session.
643 students from 36 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 18 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
6% of active students were from Widening Participation schools, and 23% from Underserved Schools.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Food Zone – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Food Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

The Food Zone ran over 7 weeks as part of the Stay at home activities, instead of the usual two. Students from science and food technology classes took part. This Zone was funded by UKRI.

31 scientists created profiles in the Zone, and 30 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions. 28 of these scientists were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Duncan Gaskin is a lab technician testing birds who get sick, Martin Lott is a bioinformatician studying microbes on food, and Boglarka Gulyas is PhD student studying urban agriculture. On average, 6 researchers attended each live chat session.
146 students from 18 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 11 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
23% of active students were from Widening Participation schools, and 46% from Underserved Schools.
20 live chats took place during the event.

Posted on August 26, 2020

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Medical Research Zone Report – March 2020

Read the report: Medical Research Zone Report – March 2020 [PDF]

The Medical Research Zone was an online event held over four weeks and funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

29 MRC researchers and technical staﬀ created proﬁles on the website, and engaged with students throughout the month in live CHATs and the ASK section. The eﬀects of coronavirus meant substantial disruption was reported by many schools during the last two weeks of the event.

1,012 students from 23 schools all over the UK logged into the zone over the four weeks. 74% of the schools were widening participation and/or underserved.

In the ASK section, 349 questions were approved and sent to the researchers and technical staﬀ, who between them wrote 1,564 answers.

45 online live CHATs took place during the event, including four evening live CHATs where students could join in from home with their family. An average of 6 researchers and technical staﬀ came to each session, giving students a wide variety of roles and people to ﬁnd out about

Posted on June 1, 2020

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Green Zone Report – March 2020

Green Zone Report – March 2020 (Click image to download the full report [PDF])

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

The Green Zone was launched as a pilot zone due to school closures in light of the global pandemic of COVID-19, Coronavirus. This enabled us to launch I’m a Scientist, Stay at home as an expansion and continuation of the Green Zone.

We had a total of 82 scientists sign up to participate in this zone; ranging in specialities from animal behaviour to nuclear engineering.

Posted on May 15, 2020

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Space Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Space Zone was a themed zone funded by STFC. It featured six scientists:

Samantha Faircloth is a PhD student studying elements from moon rocks, funded by STFC.
Sam Frampton is an STFC funded PhD student designing new, smaller satellites to visit and study other planets in our solar system.
Nicol Caplin is a Science Coordinator at ESA helping to plan experiments ready to go to space on the International Space Station.
Lori-Ann Foley is a PhD student looking at how climate change affects Mars, using data from RAL Space instruments.
Liam Perera is an STFC funded PhD student looking at how life may survive on Saturn’s icy moon- Enceladus.
David Sobral, winner of the Space Zone, uses microscopes to research how galaxies formed and evolved from the primitive universe, funded by STFC.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Particles Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Particles Zone was a themed zone supported by STFC. It featured six scientists:

Ondrej Kovanda is an STFC funded PhD student studying ways the standard model of particle physics fails.
Jordan McElwee is an STFC funded PhD student studying how neutrinos interact with the atomic nucleus.
Eleanor Jones is PhD student at CERN, using the world’s most powerful particle accelerator to look back in time and predict the future.
Edward Banks, winner of the Particles Zone, is a Lab Technician at STFC Boulby Underground Laboratory, running experiments that need very quiet conditions.
Christine Beavers is the Principal Beamline Scientist at the Diamond Light Source, using high energy x-rays to see the atomic structure of minerals, materials and molecules.
Alice Morris is a PhD student at UCL, looking at data from the ATLAS detector at CERN.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Nihonium Zone Report – March 2020

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

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

Pan-ngum Wirichada predicts how disease spreads and how we may be able to stop or slow it down using mathematical models.
Natalia Brodaczewska sets up and analyses genetic tests looking for changes in the DNA of cancer patients.
Mick Schubert, the winner of this zone, is a science writer and editor, turning complicated science into ways everyone can understand.
Manjit Kaur is a Dermatologist at the University of Birmingham.
Filipe Richheimer is a PhD student measuring very small objects.
Bruce Saleeb-Mousa is a PhD student designing, making and testing tiny devices that can change the direction of the path of a light beam.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Moscovium Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Moscovium Zone was a general zone supported by STFC. It featured five scientists:

- Martha Jesson is an Intelligence Coordinator helping services to provide better care.
- Jennifer Carroll is a Nuclear Scientist at Wood plc, designing changes to nuclear power stations to help keep reactors operating and generating electricity.
- Dan Brunsdon is a Medical Anthropologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, trying to understand how to prevent people from getting sick.
- Ben Rowsell is a PhD student developing new ways of producing drugs and sustainable production of industrial products.
- Baptiste Ravina, the winner of the Moscovium Zone, is studying particles created by hitting other particles together in the lab.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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What can you do?

I want to take part with my class ❯

I want to take part as a scientist ❯

I want to find out about funding I’m a Scientist ❯

What is I’m a Scientist?

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.

Follow @imascientist