Outreach and public engagement

Neurodivergent in STEM (2019-present)

In 2019, I started the ‘Neurodivergent in STEM’ project to raise the profiles of neurodivergent people in STEM fields and celebrate neurodivergent strengths. As an autistic woman in physics, I had no openly autistic role models who I could relate to so I wanted to create a place where young neurodivergent people could go to see themselves in STEM.

The project is community-driven and features self-submitted stories as well as profiles of public figures. We also share blog posts exploring neurodivergent experiences in STEM as well as providing information about neurodiversity and discussing best practices for ensuring that STEM fields are accessible to neurominorities.

Notes from the Physics Lab: Blog, Instagram & YouTube (2018-present)

My main form of science communication is through online media. I have been ‘microblogging’ about my research, physics, and life as a scientist on Instagram since December 2018. Since then, my page’s audience has grown and I have also started a blog and YouTube channel to complement my social-media-based science communication. The former allows me to explore physics concepts in a more long-form way and the latter gives me space to experiment with a different way of communicating.

STEM Ambassador & Quantum Ambassador (2018-present)

I’ve been a STEM ambassador since October 2018. As part of this, I do activities in the local area as well as online events talking to young people about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This involves things like careers talks, workshops on physics concepts, and videos exploring aspects of my own work. If you are a teacher or community leader in the UK and would like your students to talk to a STEM professional, you can sign up here to book STEM ambassadors like me for an activity or event.

The Quantum Garden (2019)

In the summer of 2019, I ran, designed and managed ‘the quantum garden’ project. Using funding from the physics department, I wanted to communicate some of the research done in the photonics and quantum sciences group in a creative way that would reach an audience that might not usually engage with physics. To do this, I designed a garden inspired by a paper published by our group to convey quantum physics concepts. We built the garden in the local area and it was entered into the local garden competition ‘Guildford in Bloom’. The garden won a gold medal and ‘best in class’ for the student showcase garden category. It generated a lot of buzz and we spoke to lots of local people about the work we are doing in the physics department a Surrey.

Click here to find out more about this project!