Category Archives: Zone Reports

Livermorium Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Livermorium Zone was a general science zone funded by STFC. It featured six scientists:

Zoya Ali is a Geneticist at RHC, specialising in prenatal and reproductive genetics
Tom Scott is a Lecturer who develops low cost nano-materials for cleaning water at low cost and has been funded by STFC.
Stacey New, winner of the Livermorium Zone, is a Climate Scientist at the Met Office, a research partner of STFC, working to help people understand climate change and its impacts.
Laura Mason is a Forensic Researcher at DTSL, a research partner of STFC. looking at ways to find evidence that can be used in court cases.
James Lees is a PhD student investigating how to make a thermometer for use at a scale of just hundreds of atoms.
Connor Prior is a PhD student trying to make new compounds which could provide new ways to make medicines.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Flerovium Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Flerovium Zone was a general zone supported by STFC. It featured six scientists:

Tom Dally is a Postdoctoral Researcher using sound and radar to identify and track insect numbers and uses data from STFC facilities.
Rebecca Wong is a Safety Case Consultant at Wood plc, an STFC partner company, assessing hazards on nuclear sites.
Emily Goddard is a PhD student investigating how to use salt to make heating your home greener and cheaper and uses data from STFC facilities.
Elspeth Keating is a Research Fellow in lightweight materials and manufacturing and uses data from STFC facilities.
Ben Cropper, the winner of the Flerovium Zone, is a PhD student funded by STFC studying particle physics.
Antoine Bourget is a Theoretical Physicist at Imperial College London funded by STFC, who is trying to understand how the world works at a fundamental level.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Food Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Food Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome. It featured four scientists:

Ross Alexander, the winner of the zone, is a lecturer and researcher looking into what happens when plants get stressed.
Martin Johnsson is a Postdoctoral Researcher studying the DNA of pigs and chickens to understand their biology and improve animal breeding.
Gabriela da Silva Xavier is a Senior Lecturer in cellular metabolism researching type 2 diabetes.
Ellie Spence is a PhD student working with a fungus that kills insects, to try and find an alternative to chemical insecticides.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Electromagnetic Zone Report – March 2020

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

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

Megan Maunder is an STFC funded Space Weather Scientist, whose work allows scientists to better forecast how the weather in space will impact the earth.
Katherine Graves is a PhD student who turns plastic into useful carbon nanotubes, and uses electromagnetic radiation data from STFC facilities to see whether they have formed correctly.
Jesse Dykes is an Optical Scientist at Qinetiq who uses lasers to see through clouds and fog and communicate with satellites.
Dave Constable, the winner of this zone, studies the aurora on Jupiter and Saturn using computer simulations and is funded by STFC.
Amelia Edwards is a PhD student based at CERN, working on the design and testing of components for future particle accelerators.
Arjuna James is a PhD student funded by STFC studying the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Energy Zone Report – March 2020

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

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

Struan Simpson is a PhD Student making materials that help quantum computers remember things.
Isabel Cooley is a PhD Student who uses computer models to help design energy saving materials.
Douglas Bray, the winner of the Energy Zone, is a PhD student using Water Hyacinth to make protein for animal food and gas so villagers can cook.
David Threlfall is a Lifecycle Engineer at Rolls Royce, ensuring aeroplane engines work safely and reliably.
Charlotte Hoskin is a PhD Student making a biological battery to act as an artificial retina.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Copernicium Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Copernicium Zone was a general science zone supported by STFC. It featured six scientists:

James Roberts is a mechanical engineer who researches how to build fusion power plants at UKAEA, an STFC partner.
Hannah Blyth is an STFC funded PhD student studying plant pathology and looking into how fungi cause disease in wheat leaves.
Claire Hobday is a materials chemist who uses STFC facilities in her research on the atomic structure of materials and the effect of pressure on them.
Chris Carlton works for STFC managing a panel of experts who assess physics proposals for funding, in areas including nuclear physics and astronomy.
Binuraj Menon, the winner of the Copernicium Zone, uses data from STFC facilities in his work on converting microbes to produce new types of molecules.
Alice Rhind-Tutt is a PhD student using data from STFC facilities to research how DNA moves, to try and find methods of preventing and curing illnesses including HIV and dementia.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Community Zone Report – March 2020

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

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

Peter Kinderman is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool, studying why people develop mental health problems.
Mhairi Bowe is a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, who studies how identity and social relationships relate to health and wellbeing.
Madeleine Pownall is a PhD Student at the University of Leeds, researching into the stereotypes associated with pregnant women.
Catherine Talbot, the winner of the Community Zone, is a PhD student at the University of Exeter, looking into how people with dementia use social media.
Andrew McNeill is a Lecturer at Northumbria University, exploring how people respond to being victims of wars and conflicts.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Childhood Zone Report – March 2020

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

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

Tom Gallagher-Mitchell is a lecturer focusing on how we develop and change as we get older.
Rachel Reid is a Child and Educational Psychologist working with families in London.
Priya Silverstein, the winner of the Childhood Zone, is a postdoctoral researcher looking at the effects of playing with Lego on a child’s ability to learn Maths.
Jessica Pope is a PhD researcher looking into the impacts of cancer on adolescent patients and young adult survivors.
Dan O’Hare is an Educational Psychologist, making sure that children learn and achieve goals.
Beatrice Hayes is a PhD student interested in how children use social media sites.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Antimicrobial Zone Report – March 2020

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

The Antimicrobial Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome and the Society for Applied Microbiology. It featured six scientists:

Lucy Kelly is a PhD student finding new ways to kill bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
Greg Heikel, the winner of the Antimicrobial Zone, is a Trainee Clinical Scientist at the NHS, using blood test results to figure out what is making people feel ill.
Emma Hayhurst works in hospitals to try and work out how to stop the spread of dangerous bacteria through feces.
David Mark is a PhD student investigating new species of bacteria from soil.
Anthony De Souza is a Healthcare Scientist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, finding out what is causing infections by testing bodily fluids
Anna Stec is a Clinical Engineer at Lincoln County Hospital, finding ways pharmacists can help us fight microbials.

Posted on April 16, 2020

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Science Week 2020 Zone Report – March 2020

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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