News

As a winner of the June 2010 event I had promised to honour a £50 prize offered by a fellow competitor called Daniel Mietchen for his competition which can be found here. As yet the prize is unclaimed and as I still have the money, it’s still up for grabs.

I also said I was investigating ways I could help a local school or youth group. Since then I have started helping at a local school with their after school science club. (see page 3!) I have already donated prizes for their science fair project and have started planning for a new term with some hopefully exciting afternoons in store. The rest of the prize money will be going towards equipment and supplies for some of the things I’m planning.

Hopefully if I can win some more funds at a future event I can arrange something with another school or keep my involvement in the current one free for years to come!

Ian won the Beryllium Zone in June 2010. He provides scientific support and advice to law enforcement and counter terrorism agencies for the UK Home Office.

We’ve decided on the 8 zones running in the March I’m a Scientist event.

In mid November the Wellcome Trust agreed to fund 50% of the costs of I’m a Scientist for the next 3 years, and we’ve also got 4 sponsors supporting themed zones.

The 3 General zones are named after elements and will have a mix of scientists from all disciplines. We’re through to Gallium, Germanium and Selenium in the periodic table for March. The chemists among you may notice that we’re sadly not running an Arsenic Zone, because of the problems it may cause with firewalls.

The 5 themed zones are open for scientists who are members of, or funded by, the zone sponsors:

• Electromagnetic Zone: sponsored by the Science & Technology Facilities Council
• Energy Zone: sponsored by the RCUK Energy Programme
• Quantum Zone: sponsored by the Institute of Physics
• Space Zone: sponsored by the Institute of Physics
• Sports Science Zone: sponsored by The Physiological Society

Scientists can still apply to take part, until applications close on Friday 3rd February.

We would like to congratulate the following students who have been named as the student winners in their zones of the STFC sponsored November 2011 event.

Subatomic Zone – Aaron Dinas, Littleover Community School

Zinc Zone – Anu Elegbede, St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School

Well done to Aaron and Anu! The moderators thought they both asked good questions and really engaged with the event. They will each receive a student winner certificate and WH Smith vouchers.

We would also like to thank all the other students who participated. There were some brilliant live chats and thought provoking questions asked which challenged the scientists.

As one scientist said “the questions are great – was just discussing some of them with my research group at lunch“.

Earlier in the year we ran a competition, with the help of New Scientist, for you to suggest your favourite questions ever asked in I’m a Scientist. Many great questions were put forward and our judges had a hard time choosing the winners. But now, for your delight and delectation, here they are!

Winner

Tom Hartley – for suggesting ‘Which do you think is more important, sending people into space, or developing new cures for diseases here on earth?’

We loved this question, and the scientists’ thoughtful answers, because it goes to the heart of why we do I’m a Scientist. We hope that it prompts students (and perhaps even the scientists!) to think more about big questions like ‘how do we decide what science to fund?’, and realise that the answers are rarely black and white. Budgets are always finite, and deciding what gets funded and what doesn’t isn’t simple. Partly because we don’t know what research will be successful. But also because, as caragh26 highlights with this question, we have to weigh different values against each other.

Runners up

Adam Tuff – for suggesting ‘Does present and future exist? I ask for present because anything I see is not the instantly observed because light even takes some time to reach into my pupil, so am I still in the past? And for future because I know I am going to submit this question, it means that the future is definite?’

A fantastic and imaginative question which pretty much had the scientists stumped.

Kiana Bowden - for suggesting ‘Do you travel around a lot to work with other scientists as part of your job?’

We had a give a prize to Kiana for her essay-length explanation of how this question, or rather the answers, had really changed her view of scientists.

Drew Rae – for suggesting ‘How many elephants does it take to fill the suface area of the moon?’

I don’t need to explain this one do I?

Emily Robinson – for suggesting ‘If iron is magnetic and we have iron in our blood, does that mean we’re magnetic?’

A great question that shows the student thinking like a true scientist. And it has the X-men in the answers.

Prizes

All our worthy winners will be getting a Wellcome Trust bag containing goodies in the form of Last Word books from New Scientist, ‘Why does E=MC2?’ book by Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaw, provided by the Institute of Physics, IoP pens and toys. All just in time for Christmas.

None of you are allowed to give your prizes away as Christmas presents though. You must keep them forever.

Thanks to all our competition entrants, and of course to the thousands of fantastic students who’ve asked amazing questions in I’m a Scientist over the years. And the hundreds of scientists who’ve answered them.

For the next three weeks 14 researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute will be talking with school students from a local Cambridgeshire school in Genome Futures, an I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! event.

Genome Futures is part of the Wellcome Trust’s 75th anniversary celebrations, where Wellcome Trust-funded centres, such as the Sanger Institute, are running events to engage their local communities.

The Sanger Institute is a research centre that specialises in studying diseases that have an impact on global health by investigating genomes.

During the event students from Sawston Village College will ASK scientists questions, CHAT with them during a live chat, and VOTE for the scientist who has best talked about their work. But unlike previous I’m a Scientist events there are no evictions. All the scientists will keep answering questions from the students until the end of the event on Friday 16th December.

The event will give local students the opportunity to explore genome research and how it may affect them in the future. The students and Sanger Institute scientists use this website to talk about genomic research, exchanging ideas and opinions on the impact genomics may have on science and society. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn.

Mike Stratton, Director of the Sanger Institute, says “I am delighted that my colleagues and I are involved in such a progressive project that makes science more accessible to the public. This is an innovative opportunity to spark excitement in teenagers who may have never considered a scientific career.”

There are 3 zones running at the same time – Sanger, Franklin and Sulston, named after scientists who have had a big impact on genome research. The Sanger Institute scientists taking part in each zone are:

Scientist	Department	Research
Matt Berriman	Pathogens	I try to understand parasites by looking at and comparing their DNA sequences.
Julian Rayner	Malaria	I try to understand how malaria parasites recognise and invade human red blood cells, in order to develop new ways to block invasion and treat malaria, which kills more than a million children every year.
Elisabeth Busch	Vertebrate Development	I try to find out which gene does what in development and disease.
Ele Zeggini	Human Genetics	I work on diseases like obesity, arthritis, diabetes, anorexia and on other human traits like fat distribution, height and weight

Scientist	Department	Research
Paul Flicek	Vertebrate Genomics	I manage a big team of people that are trying to understand how the genomes of vertebrate species work and create tools that other scientists can use to do their work.
Julian Parkhill	Pathogen Genomics	I study the genomes of bacterial pathogens
Cordelia Langford	DNA Pipelines	I’m a senior scientific operations manager, and I lead teams of people who use machines to sequence DNA to help analyse genomes.
Carl Anderson	Human Genetics	I use computers to try and identify regions of the genome that increase risk of autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes and celiac disease.
Alex Bateman	Computational Biology	I am a collector of families of related proteins

Scientist	Department	Research
Vijay Yadav	Mouse and Zebrafish Genetics	I use mouse as a model to understand human skeleton, and try finding new ways to cure skeletal diseases viz., osteoporosis and arthritis.
Panos Deloukas	Human Genetics	Research how genes predispose us to disease in particular heart disease or affect our response to drugs
Liz Murchison	Cancer genetics and genomics	I am trying to save Tasmanian devils from a contagious cancer.
Gavin Wright	Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory	I’m interested in understanding how cells talk with each other and then using this to understand and eventually treat diseases.
Darren Logan	Mouse and Zebrafish Genetics	I’m a neurobiologist who looks into genes that influence behaviour, primarily through the sense of smell.

We hope that this project will continue to run and grow in the future, as more Sanger Institute scientists can talk about the impact genomics may have on science and society with students both in the local Cambridge area and beyond.

After two weeks of intense debate, stimulating chats and thought-provoking questions, I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! draws to an end.

The five STFC scientists in each of the Subatomic and Zinc Zones battled it out for student votes, chatting with students in 36 live chats and answering 684 questions along the way.

The scientists were eliminated one by one, to reveal the winner in each zone. So, congratulations to the winners:

Ben Still – Subatomic Zone – Queen Mary, University of London
Peta Foster – Zinc Zone - STFC Central Laser Facility

Ben and Peta both receive £500 to spend on a science communication project, and we can’t wait to see their wonderful ideas put into practice!

Ben plans to “Put it towards producing some podcasts and a documentary for everyone to enjoy” and Peta wants to “Create a demonstration of the best question/s I receive here so that it can be used for tours and taken to schools.”

Thank you, and commiserations, to all the other scientists. You’ve been brilliant participants and each and every one of you contributed to the success of this event. The event couldn’t run without all the effort you put in.

Thank you to all the teachers for your enthusiasm and involvement and finally thanks to all the students! Your brilliant chats and thought provoking questions have kept the scientists on their toes. As one of the scientists said during the event “The questions are great – was just discussing some of them with my research group at lunch“.

Students, please remember to fill our feedback survey, so we can make I’m a Scientist even better in the future.

To take part in future events, scientists and schools can sign up now.

And finally, a BIG thank you to the Science & Technology Facilities Council for sponsoring the Subatomic and Zinc Zones in this event. The conversations explored all areas of STFC research, from the Large Hadron Collider and Neutrinos in the news to lasers and particle accelerators.

See you next time!

Last week we (that’s Shane and Sophia) sat before a Wellcome Trust Grants Committee to ask them to fund the project for 3 more years. Prof Stephen Curry and Dan Hannard from Woodkirk Academy came along to give a first hand account of participating in the event as a scientist and teacher. Over 100 scientists and supporters joined in via twitter. You can read what they said here. Thank you to you all. You are the best advocates for event we have.

The good news is that the committee said Yes. They have agreed a Society Award to fund 50% (as requested) of the costs of the event. The even better news is that this means we can expand the number of zones we run. In 2012 we’ll run 30 zones and this will rise to 50 in 2014. More students, more teachers, more schools and more scientists will now get to take part.

The other 50% of the costs will be met by sponsors. Today we’ve kicked off a 2 zone event sponsored by the STFC (Subatomic & Zinc). Next year there’ll be another STFC zone, the Physiological Society are sponsoring a zone, and the Institute of Physics are sponsoring at least 3 zones. We’re hoping to be able to announce other sponsors before Christmas. Over time we’ll work out other ways to help pay for the event.

In the meantime we need to get our heads down and start planning the 6 zones we’ve promised for March. Please sign up to register your interest in taking part as a scientist or a teacher.

Tomorrow, Tuesday 8th November, at 16.20 is an important time. Sophia and I, aided by Dan Hannard and Prof. Stephen Curry, participating teacher and scientist, will be asking the Wellcome Trust to part-fund I’m a Scientist for another 3 years.

We have a 10 minute presentation and then 25 minutes of Q&A.

We need your help!

During the Q&A we will have a slide that will display all the tweets with #IAS2011 – live. It would be very impressive to see loads of tweets supporting the event between 16:30 and 17:00.

140 characters (including #IAS2011) saying what you got out of it would be perfect. I’m sure the committee would want to hear directly from the participants so please don’t hold back.

That’s between 4.30 and 5pm on Tuesday 8th November. Please put it in your diary and tweet for #IAS2011

It’s a good few months since the last I’m a Scientist in June earlier this year, and the time has come to run another event!

From November 14th-25th we are running a smaller I’m a Scientist event with 2 zones. It’s sponsored by the Science & Technology Facilities Council, so the 10 scientists taking part all work with the STFC in different ways, such as using STFC facilities, working for the STFC or receiving STFC funding for their research.

The STFC is one of the 7 Research Councils in the UK, and they address research topics from particle physics to global security. They’re looking at topics as fundamental as the birth of the universe to the solar system we live in, understanding how the heavy elements are formed in the violent explosions of stars, and if it’s possible to complete the ‘Standard Model’ (including the search for the elusive Higgs boson particle).

Peter Williams	Daresbury Laboratory	Accelerator Physicist – I design, simulate, commission and experiment on particle accelerators
Mark Basham	Diamond Light Source	I work as a software scientist, a job which includes writing software to analysis and visualise synchrotron data for a variety of scientific fields and people.
Katharine Schofield	STFC Science Programmes	In short, I give money out to scientists for their research – so I coordinate all the processes and expert advice we need to ensure we make good decisions on who gets the money, and I make sure that once we’ve given it out that it’s spent wisely.
Jony Hudson	Imperial College London	I’ve measured the shape of the electron, one of the building blocks of the universe, and shown that it’s very, very, very, very round!
Ben Still	Queen Mary, University of London	I am a Neutrino Particle Physicist; I use the very smallest building blocks of Nature to answer the Universes biggest questions.

Schools

Littleover Community School, Littleover
Sacred Heart, Hammersmith
Smithycroft Secondary School, Riddrie
Ernest Bevin College, Tooting
Great Marlow School, Marlow
St Marys, Worcester
Woodkirk Academy, Wakefield
Thistley Hough High School, Penkhull
Trinity CE High School, Hulme
Buxton School, Leytonstone
Blackfen School for Girls, Blackfen
Carlton Bolling College, Bradford
Lampton School, Hounslow
Budmouth College, Weymouth
Marshalls Park School, Romford
Swindon Academy, Swindon

Zinc Zone

Peta Foster	STFC Central Laser Facility	I work with other scientists to explore extreme states of matter that can only be studied at the focus of an ultra-high intensity laser beam.
Natalia Parzyk	University of Warwick	I am trying to understand vortex lattice in superconductors by preparing materials and using muons and neutrons for theirs measurements.
Hayley Smith	STFC, ISIS	Accelerator Physics – operational duties and upgrade designs of the ISIS proton synchrotron, one of the particle accelerators which help form the world leading pulsed neutron and muon spallation source.
Daniel Scully	University of Warwick	I’m a Particle Physicist studying Neutrinos: the weak but mysterious particles that may answer our biggest questions
Andrew Cairns	University of Oxford	I work on materials that break records for both expanding under high pressure (‘NLC’) and shrinking when heated up (‘NTE’), behaviour that is quite bizarre and very unusual; we try to discover new materials and work out why the ones we know about do what they do.

Schools

The Marlborough School, Woodstock
Kinlochbervie High, Sutherland
Cedars School of Excellence, Greenock
Convent of St Jesus & Mary’s Language School, Harlesdon
Fitzharrys School, Abingdon
Jewish Community Secondary School, New Barnet
Cantell Maths & Computing School, Southampton
Chichester High School For Girls, Chichester
St Mary Redcliffe & Temple School, Bristol
Sanday Community School, Orkney
Alderbrook School, Solihull
Macclesfield College, Macclesfield
King Henry VIII School, Coventry
Al Noor Secondary School, Sparkhill

Have your students ever wondered what scientists are really like?

During I’m a Scientist questions around this theme are very common:
Can I be a scientist like you?

Is being a scientist like the stereotypical one who wears a white lab coat and huge glasses with crazy hair?

What makes a good scientist?

After winning the Imaging Zone in June 2010, Stephen Curry (aka the GingerNinja) decided to make a film about science, addressing this question: what are scientists really like?

Made with teenage school students in mind, the film is a wonderfully insightful and funny teaching resource to show your students about being a scientist and the world of science.

After his win Stephen said “I am convinced that most scientists are, like myself, pretty ordinary people who just happen to be exceedingly curious. I hope in these conversations to break apart the stereotypical image that all scientists are super-intelligent boffins. We’re not! That way, perhaps some of the viewers will be tempted to give it a go.”

Stephen interviewed six scientists at different stages of their careers, and asked them all about being a scientist, what they like about science, and what makes a good scientist. And most importantly, what their favourite type of cheese is.

And here it is! Have a watch, share it with colleagues and show it to your students, as Stephen invites them into the world of science to have a look around.

There’s more information about the film and Stephen on the I’m a Scientist – the Film site.

We would like to congratulate the following students who have been named as the student winners in their zones of the June 2011 event. The moderators thought they all asked good questions and really engaged with the event.

Zone	Student winner	School
Brain	Caitlin Stiles	Loreto Grammar School
Calcium	Bridget Warren	St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
Chromium	Aisha Ali	Birchfield Independant Girls School
Cobalt	Katie Feather	Great Marlow School
Copper	Kye Clark	Dover Grammar School for Boys
Ecology	Melissa Tucker	Kingsmead Commuity School
Energy Generation	Hussein Shariff	Buxton School
Evolution	Andrew Wood	Tiffin School
Forensic Science	Michael White	Saltash.net Community School
Genes	Hannah Darby	John Hanson Community School
Healthy Ageing	Sam Andrews	Bryn Celynnog
Iron	Rosamund Needham	Toftwood School
Manganese	Sian Jackson	The Warwick School
Marine Science	Catherine Lam	Shaftesbury School
Microbiology	Hannah Grimes	Churston Ferrers Grammar School
Nickel	Maggie Byrne	Amberfield School
Phosphorus	Sophie Michel	East Bergholt High School
Quantum	Luke Davies	Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School
Scandium	Ben Allenby	Loughborough Grammar School
Sports Science	Georgia Turnbull	Walton High
Sulfur	Tara McGough	Tile Hill Wood School and Language College
Titanium	Ahmed Mohamed	Ernest Bevin College
Vanadium	Matthew Braithwaite	All Saints RC High

Well done to all the students above! They have now received their student winners certificates and WH Smith vouchers.

We would also like to thank all the other students who participated. Everyone contributed to the brilliant chats and thought provoking questions which often challenged the scientists.

As one scientist said ”Students know an awful lot, and really think about some amazing things about life, the world, and the universe“. And we agree.

We’ve been wondering what’s the best question in I’m a Scientist, and we’d like you to help us choose. So we’re running a competition.

There are so many amazing questions in I’m a Scientist, from ‘Would You Lick Jam Off An Old Man’s Foot Or Drink Toliet Water For An Hour And Why?‘ to ‘If gravitons travel at the speed of light, and the escape velocity of a black hole is greater than the speed of light, how is it that the gravitons can escape from the black hole?‘. And a question which often perplexes me, ‘Why are people annoying?‘

Some of them are clever, and insightful. Some of them are deceptively simple, but pose questions most scientists have stopped asking themselves. Some are just hilariously funny.

Sometimes, a seemingly simple question gets an unexpectedly interesting answer. A student in March’s Forensics Zone asked, ‘What’s your ringtone?‘. Mark Hill, who investigates road traffic accidents for the police, answered:

To me, that answer that tells us more about the reality of doing Mark’s job, than any amount of in-depth questions would have done.

What’s YOUR favourite I’m a Scientist question? You can browse the site here, or use the search box to find questions on particular topics.

Any student question on the site is eligible, it doesn’t have to be from 2011.

Prizes

The five best suggestions get goodie bags of glittering sciencey books, kindly donated by our friends at New Scientist, the Institute of Physics, The Guardian and the Wellcome Trust. AND, most importantly, a much sought-after I’m a Scientist mug, as modelled above by our lovely scientists.

First prize: Full set of 4 sciencey books – 2 Last Word books from New Scientist; ‘Why does E=MC2?’ by Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaw; How to Live Forever & 34 Other Really Interesting Uses of Science by Alok Jha. All in a stylish Wellcome Trust canvas bag. And an I’m a Scientist mug.

Runners up prizes: 2 books, bag and mug.

To enter

Twitter: tweet a link to the question, with your explanation of why it’s great, and the hashtag #iasbestQ.

Email: If you’re not on twitter, you can email admin@imascientist.org.uk, with iasbestQ in the subject line.

Competition closes Monday 5th September. We’ll pick what we think are the best questions based on the questions, the answers, and the reasons given. The judges decision is final.

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers” – Voltaire

Thank you all of you, it’s been an absolute blast!

After two weeks of intense debate, stimulating chats and thought-provoking questions, I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! draws to an end.

The five scientists in each zone have battled it out for your votes. The scientists have been eliminated one by one, to reveal the winner in each zone. So, congratulations to the following scientists:

Brain	Suzi Gage	University of Bristol
Calcium	Drew Rae	University of York
Chromium	Tom Crick	UWIC
Cobalt	Jen Gupta	University of Manchester
Copper	Emily Robinson	University of Manchester
Ecology	Zara Gladman	University of Glasgow
Energy Generation	Suze Kundu	UCL
Evolution	Sam Tazzyman	UCL
Forensic Science	Anna Williams	Cranfield University
Genes	Jim Caryl	University of Leeds
Healthy Ageing	Amy Reeve	Newcastle University – Centre for Brain Ageing and Vitality
Iron	Evan Keane	Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany
Manganese	Wei Xun	Imperial College London
Marine and Underwater Science	Dave Sproson	Institute for Climate & Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds
Microbiology	Cat O’Connor	Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosytem Health, University of Glasgow
Nickel	Ian van der Linde	Vision & Eye Research Unit (VERU), Postgraduate Medical Institute, Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge)
Phosphorus	Barbara Guinn	University of Bedfordshire
Quantum	Ceri Brenner	University of Strathclyde/Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Scandium	Carys Cook	Imperial College London
Sports Science	Helen O’Connor	Self Employed Sport and Exercise Psychologist
Sulfur	Gemma Sharp	University of Edinburgh
Titanium	Paddy Brock	Institute of Zoology
Vanadium	Rika Nair	Imperial College London

The winning scientists all receive £500 to spend on science communication, and we can’t wait to see their wonderful ideas put into practice!

Thank you, and commiserations, to all the other scientists. You’ve been brilliant participants and each and every one of you contributed to the success of this year’s event.

Thank you to all the teachers for your enthusiasm and involvement and finally thanks to all the students! Your brilliant chats and thought provoking questions have kept the scientists on their toes, and made this year’s I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! the biggest event yet.

Students, please remember to fill our feedback survey, so we can make I’m a Scientist even better in the future.

To take part in future events, scientists and schools can sign up now.

And finally, a BIG thank you to our funders, the Wellcome Trust. Wellcome support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities, and are dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health.

Thank you also to RCUK and their Lifelong Health and Wellbeing programme for sponsoring the Healthy Ageing Zone, the Institute of Physics for sponsoring the Quantum Zone, and Nelson Thornes, the home of Kerboodle.

See you next time!

Sarah Walker	NASA Astrobiology Institute	I apply ideas from physics to problems in astrobiology, particularly the origin of life.
Kimberley Bryon	UCL	I look at how neurons talk to each other in the brain.
Julia Griffen	Univeristy of Bath	I use bugs, specifically bacteria, to make  compounds which I can transform into drugs which can be used to treat diseases and illnesses like diabetes.
Drew Rae	University of York	I try to answer the question “How do we best make sure that dangerous things such as aeroplanes, trains and power stations don’t kill people”.
Amy MacQueen	Babraham Institute	Trying to understand what goes on inside white blood cells to help protect us from infections and diseases.

Schools

Convent of St Jesus & Mary’s Language School, London
Tanglin Trust School, Singapore
Cantell Maths & Computing School, Southampton
Ralph Thoresby School, Leeds
Westhoughton High School, Westhoughton
Wardle High School, Rochdale
St Mary Redcliffe & Temple School, Bristol
Sacred Heart College, Omagh

Chromium Zone

Scientists

Tom Crick	UWIC	I’m a (computer) scientist and I make microprocessors run more efficiently by using mathematics to prove when computer code is optimal; this can have a big effect on our use of these devices, as we are all restricted by a dead battery on a mobile phone!
Tim Millar	University of Southampton	From crayfish and kilimanjaro to cancer: how living without oxygen can show us targets for disease.
Sarah Thomas	University of Edinburgh	Hi, I’m doing a project for Cancer Research UK and I am developing a blood test for all types of cancer that will help doctors diagnose cancer in patients early, as diagnosis is often tricky as the symptoms of cancer are so varied.
Derek McKay-Bukowski	Science and Technology Facilities Council	I am building a radio-telescope in the Arctic that other scientists can then use to explore the universe.
Dayla Soond	Babraham Institute	I study how the immune system fights off infection, battles cancer and occasionally messes up and causes disease on its own.

Schools

Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Hove
Dixons City Academy, Bradford
Overton Grange School, London
The Rochester Grammar, Rochester
Birchfield Independent Girls School, Birmingham
Sherrardswood School, Wewlyn
Loughborough Grammar School, Loughborough
Sanday Community School, Orkney

Cobalt Zone

Scientists

Mona Gharaie	University of Manchester	Reduce CO2 emission by energy conservation technology.
Michael Taggart	Newcastle University	I study how, in pregnant women, the muscle cells of the uterus work to push out the baby during labour and, also, why this sometimes happens too soon or too late risking the lives of tiny babies.
Joseph Finlayson	Leeds	Limitless: Examining how drugs and diet can boost brainpower.
Jen Gupta	University of Manchester	I study some of the most extreme objects in the universe – galaxies known as Active Galactic Nuclei, which are spewing out far more energy from their centres than can be explained by the stars.
Emma Bennett	University of Reading	I’m studying plant pods to try and make crops which have more seeds that contain lots of really important nutrients, which could help feed the world one day.

Schools

Convent of St Jesus & Mary’s Language School, London
Garibaldi College, Mansfield
Oulder Hill Community School, Rochdale
Wanstead High, London
Great Marlow School, Marlow
Ysgol Dinas Bran, Llangollen
Furze Platt Senior School, Maidenhead

Copper Zone

Scientists

Philippa Demonte	University of Leeds	I am a geophysics student, and my main interest is in active volcano monitoring. I am part of the Volcano Research Group at the University of Leeds, and will be at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory during the June dates.
Kate Clancy	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign	I study how our environment and behavior affect our reproduction and hormone levels, and what that means for things like contraception and IVF.
Jamie Gallagher	University of Glasgow	Growing tiny nanoscale crystals which absorb heat and turn it straight into useful, free electricity.
Emily Robinson	University of Manchester	Understanding the secret double agent inside your body which is attacking your brain… Your immune system!
Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo	University of Southampton and Queen Mary College	Gravity, disorder and why time seems to flow towards the future.

Schools

Melksham Oak Community School, Melksham
Oasis Shirley Park, Croydon
Trinity Academy, Doncaster
Wyedean, Chepstow
Swindon Academy, Swindon
Alderbrook School, Solihull
Haringey 6th Form Centre, London
King Henry VIII School, Coventry
Carrick Academy, Maybole
Dover Grammar School for Boys, Dover

Ecology Zone

Scientists

Nicolas Biber	University of Plymouth	How our plastic waste affects the environment.
Jessica Chu	University of Nottingham	To study the Malaysian rainforest plants for possible anticancer activities.
Edward Codling	University of Essex	I am a ‘Theoretical Ecologist’: I use maths and computer simulations to study the behaviour of animals (including humans) and their interactions with the environment they live in.
Christine Switzer	University of Strathclyde	My research focuses on sustainable methods for cleaning contaminated land and water.
Zara Gladman	University of Glasgow	After habitat loss, the introduction of non-native species is the biggest cause of extinctions worldwide: my research focuses on the non-native North American signal crayfish, and the impact that this aggressive invader has on plants and animals in Britain.

Schools

Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Hove
Mill Hill County High School, Worcester
Aylward Academy, London
Kingsmead Commuity School, Wiveliscombe
Abingdon School, Abingdon
Matthew Moss High School, Rochdale
Sirius Academy, Hull
Trentham High School, Stoke-on-Trent

Energy Generation Zone

Scientists

William Eborall	University of York	I’m working with a small sea creature called a “gribble” to learn how it is able to eat and digest wood so that we can use this to make petrol for our cars out of farming waste.
Suze Kundu	UCL	Materials Chemistry; solar energy conversion by splitting water using sunlight to make hydrogen for fuel, solving the world’s energy crisis!
James Marrow	University of Oxford	I study why metals and ceramics fail, particularly those in nuclear reactors, so we can make them stronger and safer.  I study how cracks happen, using 3D X-ray images.
Michael Dodd	University of Oxford	Understanding how the heart changes it’s fuel during heart disease.
David Ingram	University of Edinburgh	My work is with wave and tidal energy conversion machines which are trying to generate electricity by converting mechanical motion into electrical energy.

Schools

Blackfen School for Girls, Blackfen
Hillside School, Aberdour
Deyes High School, Liverpool
Buxton School, London
West Thames College, Isleworth
Heanor Gate Science College, Heanor
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Engineering College, Skelmersdale
Tiverton High School, Tiverton
Stone Hill, Doncaster
Huddersfield Home Educators, Huddersfield
St Marys, Worcester

Evolution Zone

Scientists

Vera Weisbecker	Institut for Spezielle Zoologie, Jena University	I look at how animals (particularly mammals) evolved to look the way they do, and what role their development plays in today’s mammalian diversity; the technical term  of this research is “Evolutionary Developmental Biology”.
Steven Daly	University of Nottingham	I study the structure of molecules to see if they have interesting or useful properties, and to see if we can explain some of the unanswered questions about where life came from.
Sam Tazzyman	University College London	I use mathematics to look at animal mating and evolution – what animals find sexy and why, amongst other things.
Katie Marriott	University of Leeds	I am discovering how and why we are all aliens using chemistry.
Ed Morrison	University of Portsmouth	Evolutionary psychology, especially facial attractiveness.

Schools

Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Hove
Philomena’s School, Carshalton
Tiffin School, Kingston Upon Thamas
Addey & Stanhope, London
The Grange School, Aylesbury
Bury College, Bury
Birchwood High School, Bishops Stortford

Forensic Science Zone

Scientists

Sue Carney	Ethos Forensics	I examine and interpret body fluid and DNA evidence from items connected to a crime, considering whether the evidence supports the alleged crime or some other version of events, and if asked, go to court to explain my interpretation as an expert witness.
Shane Cooper	University Of Lancashire	A forensic scientist who helps students to fall back in love with science, I am researching these little antennas on your chromosomes to naturally treat cancer cells. I have varied experience from autopsies to identifying a person from old chewing gum.
Richard Case	National Policing Improvement Agency	I work in policing as a Fingerprint Expert (I look at fingerprints found at crime scenes and see whether I can work out who left them), but also give advice to police forces in other areas of Forensics; such as CSI work, DNA and footwear.
Craig McKenzie	Robert Gordon University	I solve puzzles for a living and I was a forensic scientist in Edinburgh and now teach forensic and analytical science in Aberdeen specialising in forensic and environmental toxicology.
Anna Williams	Cranfield University	I’m a Forensic Anthropologist, which means I examine skeletons, bones or fleshed bodies from crime scenes or mass disasters to work out as much as I can about the person – who they were, how they lived and especially how they died.

Schools

Convent of St Jesus & Mary’s Language School, London
Oasis Shirley Park, Croydon
Smithycroft Secondary School, Glasgow
North Chadderton School, Oldham
Gladesmore Community School, London
Saltash Community School, Saltash
Woodkirk High Specialist Science School, Wakefield
Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School, Oldham

Genes Zone

Scientists

Richard Badge	University of Leicester	Most of your genes stay still, but we work on the ones that move around and they’re doing it right now!
Prateek Buch	UCL Institute of Ophthalmology	I research ‘gene therapy’ for inherited diseases that cause blindness.
Liz O’Day	Harvard / Lizzard Fashion	A picture is worth a thousand words- using structure to probe function (noncoding RNAs in breast cancer- what do they look like and how do they work?).  I also own a clothing company where we promote science through fashion- we make geek chic.
Jim Caryl	University of Leeds	I run a fitness gym for bacteria, the ‘Gene Gym’, to see whether being resistant to antibiotics actually makes bacteria unhealthy.
Amelia Markey	University of Manchester	Developing a miniaturised device for breaking open cells, copying the DNA and storing the DNA.

Schools

Tile Hill Wood School and Language College, Coventry
Unity College,  Blackpool
Ralph Thoresby School, Leeds
British International School, Budapest
John Hanson Community School, Andover
Admiral Lord Nelson School, Portsmouth
Sacred Heart, London

Healthy Ageing Zone

Scientists

Ollie Russell	Newcastle University	Stopping mitochondria from replicating damaged DNA, a process that can cure mitochondrial disease.
Georgia Campbell	Newcastle University	My work focuses on DNA deletions in mitochondria, the only organelle in the human body to contain it’s own genome, and how these spread to cause mitochondrial disease or contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers or Parkinson Disease.
Andy MacLeod	University of Edinburgh	I look for genes that cause differences in our ability to think, to help fight the decline in thinking ability as we get older.
Amy Reeve	Newcastle University – Centre for Brain Ageing and Vitality	I am investigating what causes brain cells to die in Parkinson’s disease.
Alex Munro	Newcastle University	I’m looking at the way people eat protein across the day and the type of protein they eat, and whether this can explain or predict their level of physical capability in older age.

Schools

Fitzharrys School, Abingdon
City of London Boys School, London
Abbeyfield School, Chippenham
Croydon High School, Croydon
St Marys Catholic Comprehensive School, Ilkley
Chigwell School, Chigwell
Nonsuch High School, Surry
Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School, Pontypridd
Mount House School, Tavistock
St Brigids, Denbigh

Iron Zone

Scientists

Ryan Ladd	University of Bath	Submarines which swim like penguins or fish and evolve!
Kath O’Reilly	Imperial College, London	I look at why vaccination works!
James Hargreaves	University of Wales Institute, Cardiff	I try to understand why bread rises during baking, how to create chocolate and why cupcakes are always yummy and soft on the inside!
Evan Keane	Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany.	I search for dead and dying stars – neutron stars and black holes, the most extreme laboratories in the Universe!
Ailsa Powell	University of Oxford	I try to discover more about how the parasite that causes malaria works and use this information to design new drugs to cure Malaria.

Schools

Arnold Hill School, Nottingham
Chantry High School, Worcester
The Ridgeway School, Swindon
Sir John Hunt Community Sports College, Plymouth
The Sutton Academy, St Helens
Toftwood Junior School, Dereham
Oakwood Park Grammar School, Maidstone
Bay House School and Sixth Form, Portsmouth
Loughborough Grammar School, Loughborough
Glyncoed Comprehensive School, Ebbw Vale

Manganese Zone

Scientists

Wei Xun	Imperial College London	I try and find if the things we are exposed to on a daily basis (nurtients in diet, the air we breathe etc) can affect people’s health in the long term, in terms of diseases such as  cancer.
Verity Nye	National Oceanography Centre, Southampton	I work on reproduction and biogeography of animals living in deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments.
Simon Trent	Cardiff University	Why are some kids hyperactive, inattentive and impulsive? Its all in the brain.
Rebecca Handley	Institute of Food Research	I work on a bacteria called Campylobacter. It is the most common cause of food poisoning and I’m trying to figure out how it survives on food.
David Armstrong	University of Oxford	My work is centred around understanding the physical properties of high performance materials for building nuclear fusion power reactors, which is basically learning how to keep a star inside a box.

Schools

Abraham Guest High School, Manchester
Court Moor School, Camberley
Mangotsfield School, Bristol
Longdendale Community Language College, Hyde
The Warwick School, Redhill
Furze Platt Senior School, Maidenhead

Marine and Underwater Zone

Scientists

Sean Clement	Blue Ventures	Marine Biologists working to preserve critically endangered tropical marine habitats worldwide, one coral reef at a time…
Ozge Ozkaya	Leicester University	Understanding how the daily biological clock works in krill, the most abundant life form in the antarctic ocean.
Gloeta Massie	The University of Queensland	I’m studying the very venomous blue-ringed octopus and the super deadly toxin they have!
Dave Sproson	University of Leeds	Meteorology/oceanography/climate: currently looking at how sea-spray may provide the energy required to power hurricanes and  typhoons.
Clare Woulds	University of Leeds	I study the wierd and wonderful animals at the bottom of the sea, and try to figure out what they eat. To do this I have to sail the oceans, and sometimes even go in a submarine.

Schools

Trinity Academy, Doncaster
Saltash Community School, Saltash
The Gilberd School, Colchester
Uplands Community College, Wadhurst
Shaftesbury School, Shaftesbury
Broadoak Maths and Computing College, Weston-Super-Mare
The Matthew Arnold School, Staines
Great Sankey High School, Warrington
Brockenhurst College, Brockenhurst

Microbiology Zone

Scientists

Pamela Lithgow	Institute for Animal Health	I work with a tiny virus which goes inside the cells of a pig and makes them really ill, I am trying to work out what cells it goes in so we can stop it.
Johnson Soronnadi	Microbiology Department Ulster Hospital, Belfast	I search and identify extremely small living things (microrganisms) in samples of patients sent to the laboratory using range of equipments e.g microscope and identify drugs(antibiotics) that will cures the patient if bugs are present.
Holly Shelton	Imperial College London	I study the ability and consquences of different flu strains to infect humans, like the recent swine flu pandemic strain and the bird flu strains.
Darren Braddick	University of Warwick	Trying to defeat antibiotic resistance of S. pneumoniae through better understanding.
Cat O’Connor	University of Glasgow	I’m a final year PhD student looking at how cattle and badgers create the unusual geographical pattern of the bug that causes bovine tuberculosis, an expensive disease that can infect many mammals, including humans, in Great Britain.

Schools

Smithycroft Secondary School, Riddrie
East Bergholt High School, East Bergholt
Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham
Spen Valley Sports College, Liversedge
Thomas Alleynes High School, Uttoxeter
Kendrick School, Reading
Marshalls Park School, Romford
Wick High School, Caithness
Carlton Bolling College, Bradford

Nickel Zone

Scientists

Sarah Cook	Institute of Environmental Sciences / RPS Energy	Using bacteria to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater.
Rhys Phillips	EADS Innovation Works	Researching methods to protect aircraft against lightning strikes + present a science radio show.
Ian van der Linde	Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge)	I conduct experiments that help us understand how humans see and interact with the visual world.
Helen Fletcher	University of Oxford	Protecting children and adults in Africa from tuberculosis disease by developing better vaccines.
David Corne	Heriot-Watt University	Making computers smarter – especially about analysing, designing, and predicting things.

Schools

Garibaldi College, Mansfield
Walton High, Milton Keynes
Jewish Community Secondary School, New Barnet
Robert Blake Science College, Bridgwater
Amberfield, Ipswich
The Nobel School, Stevenage
Park-High School Colne, Burnley
The Marlborough School, Woodstock

Phosphorus Zone

Scientists

Jo Hulsmans	Warwick university	Nitrogen fixation: why are some plants very good at it but most plants very bad.
James Jennings	University of Nottingham	Using environmentally-friendly fluids – between gas and liquid form – to make tiny bouncy balls with many uses.
Barbara Guinn	University of Bedfordshire	Development of cancer vaccines which would remove residual cancer cells in first remission and prevent or delay relapse.
Andy Norton	University of Oxford	Listening in: I crush teenie-weenie little ceramic samples, listen to the noise that they make, and use a big microscope to work out what happened and what made all those clicks.
Alice Jones	Goldsmiths, University of London	Neuropsychological, brain imaging and behavioural genetic investigations of behavioural difficulties in children.

Schools

Melksham Oak Community School, Melksham
East Bergholt High School, East Bergholt
St Angela’s Ursuline School, London
Yardleys School and Science College, Birmingham
Trinity CE High School, Hulme
The Manor School, Nottingham
Stanwell School, Penarth
Malcolm Arnold Academy, Northampton

Quantum Zone

Scientists

Philip Dolan	University of Oxford	Making better computers, “quantum computers” out of a ultra pure diamonds.
Monica Jung De Andrade	The University of Texas at Dallas	The nanotechnology is changing and will continue to change the manner we see the world.
James Monk	University College London	I’m analysing the proton collision data from the Large Hadron Collider (at CERN); protons are made up of a soup of other particles, so their collisions can be quite messy!
Ceri Brenner	University of Strathclyde/Rutherford Appleton Laboratory	Accelerating particles by firing high power laser pulses onto small targets of  material with a view to build a miniture and flexible particle accelerator that can be used for various applications, from medical to fusion energy research.
Arttu Rajantie	Imperial College London	I use our knowledge of particle physics to try to understand what happened in the very early universe, immediately after the Big Bang.

Schools

Kingsbury High School, Kingsbury
Simon Langton Girls Grammar School, Canterbury
Toynbee School, Chandlers Ford
Lampton School, Hounslow
St Anne’s Catholic School, Southampton
Davenant Foundation School, Essex
Queen Elizabeths Grammar School, Faversham
Allerton Grange School, Leeds

Scandium Zone

Scientists

Simone Bijvoet	University of Stirling	I am studying if playing house or pretending to be batman helps you to become more creative when you’re older.
Katherine Jones	GlaxoSmithKline	Working in the lab, designing and making potential new medicines.
Jeremy Green	King’s College London	How cells make the body starting from fertilisation up to making the brain.
Christopher Phillips	‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai’i	I’m a British Sci-communicator teaching astronomy in Hawai’i – from 14,000ft at the summit of Maunakea all the way down to the sun and surf on the beaches of Kona.
Carys Cook	Imperial College London	I am trying to answer the question: Will Antarctica’s ice sheets melt?

Schools

Fitzharrys School, Abingdon
Lordswood Girls School, Birmingham
Henry Beaufort School, Winchester
Mount Tamar School, Plymouth
Hetton School, Houghton Le Spring
Deptford Green, London
Loughborough Grammar School, Loughborough
The Marlborough School, Woodstock
The Willows SSS, Guildford

Sports Science Zone

Scientists

Stuart Mourton	Bangor University	My work involves investigating the various ways we learn and perform skills; from simple tasks such as reaching for objects, to performing large complex movements like playing a tennis stroke or kicking a football.
Martin Lindley	Loughborough University	Exercise and dietary impact on sports performace, health and disease.
Mark Burnley	Aberystwyth University	I study how the muscles use energy during exercise, and also how the muscles and brain get tired (fatigue).
Jenni Tilley	University of Oxford	Investigating how tendon’s properties are affected by disease and injury so that, when people like David Beckham tear their Achilles tendon, Doctors have a better idea of how to fix it.
Helen O’Connor	Self Employed Sport and Exercise Psychologist	What makes champions? And what mental skills can we learn from them? Psychology is a legal performance-enhancer and can give athletes that extra “edge”.

Schools

Melksham Oak Community School, Melksham
Walton High, Milton Keynes
Holy Rood High School, Edinburgh
Inverness High School, Inverness
St. Joseph’s College, Dumfries
Thistley Hough High School, Stoke-on-Trent
Marshalls Park School, Romford
Budmouth College, Dorset
Queen Elizabeths Grammar School, Kent
The London Nautical School, London
Beechfield Secure Unit, Copthorne

Sulfur Zone

Scientists

Judith McCann	University of Manchester	Developing new materials which have properties which change depending on their environment, this is useful as the materials are used in the body so can respond to different temperatures, enzymes or pH changes.
Gemma Sharp	University of Edinburgh	I’m building a computer model of how different proteins and genes are involved in human pregnancy and labour, in an attempt to find out why some babies are born prematurely and what we can do to prevent this.
Diana Samuel	University of Glasgow	Super sellotape: how the sticky toe pads of tree and torrent frogs could be used to make cool bioadhesives.
Akshat Rathi	University of Oxford	Taking inspiration from nature, I build complex but very useful molecules. Constructing these molecules precisely the way nature does is very hard to do in the lab.
Aime Fournier	National Center for Atmospheric Research	Use maths to help computers focus on important weather and climate phenomena.

Schools

Tile Hill Wood School and Language College, Coventry
East Bergholt High School, East Bergholt
Dixons City Academy, Bradford
Somervale School, Midsomer Norton
The Duston School, Northampton
Claremont High School, London
Mountfitchet Maths and Computing College, Stansted Mountfitchet
Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green
St Martin’s Catholic School, Hinkley

Titanium Zone

Scientists

Phil Denniff	GlaxoSmithKline	Many pharmaceutical drugs have not been studied or approved for use by babies and children, I am working on dried blood spots, this will allow the drug dose to be tailored to a child’s requirement.
Paddy Brock	Institute of Zoology	I study the weird and wonderful Galapagos sea lion, working to understand how the introduction of domestic dogs to the Galapagos islands affects sea lion ecology and health.
Michael Wharmby	University of St Andrews	I design colourful new materials, called metal organic frameworks, which will capture carbon dioxide from power stations, helping to fight climate change.
Eva Bachmair	University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health	Hi, I am working with platelets the special cells in our blood which are able to stop bleeding from wounds and I try to find out if and ho we can alter their ability to do that with our diet.
Chris Jordan	Jodrell Bank Observatory	I’m a support engineer working to on the Radio telescopes at Jodrell bank Observatory, and my mission is to keep the astronomers happy by keeping the data flowing.

Schools

Oulder Hill Community School, Rochdale
Ernest Bevin College, London
William Brookes School, Much Wenlock
Chichester High School For Girls, Chichester
Hambleton and Richmondshire PRS, Northallerton
Hurstpierpoint College, Brighton
Hardenhuish, Chippenham
Carrick Academy, Maybole
Portree High School, Ilse of Skye

Vanadium Zone

Scientists

Chandrika Nair	Imperial College London	I am a microbiologist trying to understand how bacteria make the poison cyanide in the lungs of Cystic Fibrosis patients and how to stop them.
Matthew Dickinson	Uclan	Piston Power !!!!.  Creating better greener engines through the power of nano-technology.
Lyndsey Fox	University of Leeds	I research climate variability 17 to 15 million years ago by studying microfossils. The world was much warmer during this time, so learning more about it will help scientists understand climate change in the future.
Julie Greensmith	University of Nottingham	I develop artificial immune systems to fight computer viruses and also use biosensors to measure people’s thrill levels during extreme experiences like rollercoasters and motorbikes.
Alex Davenport	Barts and the London School of Medicine and dentistry	I work on blood cancers and the testing of a particular drug which we believe will be able to repair the ability of the immune system to fight the cancer.

Schools

Arnold Hill School, Arnold
Kingsbury High School, London
Yardleys, Birmingham
Lucton School, Leominster
Oaklodge Special School, London
All Saints RC High, Rossendale
Chepstow Comprehensive School, Chepstow
The Chantry High School, Worcester

The next I’m a Scientist event, in June, will be the biggest ever. Wondering what zones we’ll have? Well wonder no more!

Themed zones

Sports Science Zone
Quantum Zone (sponsored by the Institute of Physics)
Microbiology Zone
Marine and Underwater Science Zone
Healthy Ageing Zone (sponsored by Research Councils UK)
Genes Zone
Forensic Science Zone
Evolution Zone
Energy Generation Zone
Ecology Zone
Brain Zone

General Zones

Phosphorous
Sulphur
Calcium
Scandium
Titanium
Vanadium
Chromium
Manganese
Iron
Cobalt
Nickel
Copper

Themed zones will have scientists who all work on something related to the topic of the zone. The topics were mainly chosen by teachers, because we believe in listening to our participants as much as possible. General zones will have a mix of scientists, from all different areas of science.

We’re particularly excited about our two sponsored zones – Quantum Zone (all about very very small things), sponsored by the Institute of Physics, and Healthy Ageing (all about research into living healthily and happily as we get older), sponsored by Research Councils UK and their friends at the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Research Programme.

We’re also very grateful to Kerboodle, the personalised online learning service for teachers and students, for their support and sponsorship.

And, as always, enormously grateful to the lovely Wellcome Trust, who provide the bulk of our funding. We couldn’t do it without them!

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! is like the X Factor, for scientists, on the computer. And YOU are the judges.

Teenagers like you talk to real live scientists and then pick which ones should get a prize of £500 to communicate science.

Teenagers also have a say in which scientists get to take part.

Each scientist who wants to compete has written a one-sentence description of their work. We want to know if you think they should be included.

You can rate them here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/528779/I-m-a-Scientist-Rate-the-Scientists-June-2011

Who do YOU think should be included?

I decided to donate my prize money to a science organisation in the developing world. I spoke to Alejandra Palermo, International Projects Manager at the Royal Society of Chemistry, who suggested donating the money to the Ghana Chemical Society (GCS).  The Ghana Chemical Society is a professional association with membership of chemists, biochemists, pharmacists, chemical engineers and technicians.  It organises annual workshops, seminars and conferences on issues of national and international significance. It also collaborates and advises government, industry and society.

They will use the money to support a conference in Ghana, the theme of which will be “Actions and Innovations to meet the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation”.  This will follow on from a similar event held in 2010, on the theme “Safe Water and Good Sanitation for all: The role of chemistry, industry and society”.  The Millennium Development Goals are targets set out by the United Nations to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women.  Water and sanitation are key issues for sustainable development in Ghana and the GCS aims to bring out actions and innovations on safe water and good sanitation. £500 will allow the GCS to sponsor six students, selected from the five main public universities in Ghana, supporting their travel, accommodation, meals and participation in this event.

I had originally intended to put the prize money towards the cost of my own attendance at a conference.  Although I tried a number of sources, I was not able to get the extra money I needed to cover all the expenses of a suitable conference.  Conferences can be very expensive, as you need to cover your registration fee, travel, accommodation and food. I am pleased that the money will allow not one but a number of students to attend this highly worthwhile conference in Ghana, and I’m sure that both the students and the GCS will benefit greatly.

For information on The Pan Africa Chemistry Network, which supports science in Africa including organisations such as the GCS: http://www.rsc.org/Membership/Networking/InternationalActivities/PanAfrica/index.asp

Joseph
Winner of Chemicals zone in June 2010

The prize money for winning the Brain Zone (March 2010) went towards attending the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego.  This is a massive meeting where 30,000 neuroscientists from all over the world get together to share their research and discuss new developments and ideas.  My PhD student, Keith Duncan, gave a talk entitled “Chronometric TMS shows hemispheric asymmetries in the time course of ventral occipito-temporal processing consistent for both visual words and objects.”  Needless to say, the title alone brought the audience in droves and the feedback was great. 

In fact, the whole process helped to land Keith a new position when he finished his PhD in September and he is now doing a postdoctoral research fellowship at the prestigious Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging (London).  So in addition to help publicizing some of our most recent work, the award directly contributed to furthering Keith’s academic career and to top it off, he’s applied to be in the next I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! where hopefully he can keep up the grand tradition!

We would like to congratulate the following winning students from the March 2011 event. The moderators thought they all asked good questions and really engaged with the event.

The students winners of I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! are:

Name	School	Zone
Andrew Wood	Tiffin School	Argon
Benjamin Case	Mangotsfield Secondary School	Chlorine
Erin Ibbetson	Broadoak Mathematics & Computing College	Forensic Science
Samuel Porter	The Kings School, Devon	Potassium
Ahmad Dehghani	West Thames College	Space
Calvin Mallion	Chafford Hundred Campus	Stem Cell Research

Well done to all the students above! They have now received their student winners certificates and WHSmith vouchers.

We would also like to thank all the other students who participated. Everyone contributed to the brilliant chats and thought provoking questions, which made this year’s I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! one of the most exciting and fun events yet.

Thank you all of you, it’s been an absolute blast!

After two weeks of intense debate, stimulating chats and thought-provoking questions, I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! draws to an end.

The five scientists in each zone have battled it out for your votes. The scientists have been eliminated one by one, to reveal the winner in each zone. So, congratulations to the following scientists:

Argon	Julian Rayner	Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Chlorine	Murray Collins	Institute of Zoology – London School of Economics
Forensic Science	Mark Hill AND Jamie Pringle	Forensic Collision Investigation & Reconstruction Unit, Sussex Police/Keele University
Potassium	David Pyle	University of Oxford
Space	Adam Tuff	The University of York
Stem Cell Research	James Chan	Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Imperial College London

The winning scientists all receive £500 to spend on science communication, and we can’t wait to see their wonderful ideas put into practice!

Thank you, and commiserations, to all the other scientists. You’ve been brilliant participants and each and every one of you contributed to the success of this year’s event.

Thank you to all the teachers for your enthusiasm and involvement and finally thanks to all the students! Your brilliant chats and thought provoking questions have kept the scientists on their toes, and made this year’s I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! one of the most fun, and busiest, events yet.

Students, please remember to fill our feedback survey, so we can make I’m a Scientist even better in the future.

The next I’m a Scientist event will be taking place from the 13^th to the 24^th of June. Scientists and schools can sign up now to take part.

See you next time!