CURRICULUM VITAE AND INTERVIEWS
To see the interviews I have been featured in, and the invited contributions I have made, please click here.
For a brief summary of my work please
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Full member of Association of British Science Writers.
Member of Equity.
Member of the Institute of Physics; awarded Chartered Physicist status June 1999.
Member of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.
Awarded Chartered Scientist status October 2004.
April 2002-March 2011, Visiting Fellow in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sussex.
AWARDS:
Institute
of Physics
Young Professional Physicist of the Year 2006.
The Indian
Particle Man shortlisted
for 'The
best scripted/edited radio programme on a science subject' category of
the
Syngenta ABSW Science Writers' Awards 2005.
The
Way Science Works shortlisted
for the Junior Prize in the Aventis (now Royal Society) Prizes
for Science Books, 2003.
Merit Award winner in 1994 Daily
Telegraph Young Science Writer of the Year competition.
EDUCATION
AND JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS:
1992-1996 D.Phil in Physics, University
of Sussex, using thermoluminescence to study defects in
crystals.
Scientific papers published: "Thermoluminescence
of Calcium Fluoride doped with Neodymium" J.Phys.Condens.Matter
6(1994) 9255-9266; "Cathodoluminescence and depth profiles of
tin in float glass" J.Phys.D 27(1994) 1757-1762.
Abstracts published: "Analysis of Glow
Peaks Near Room Temperature" in proceedings of Luminescence and ESR
Research Seminar, University of Sussex, 1995, ISBN 1874465 23 1; two
abstracts
(on papers mentioned above) for 1993 International Conference on
Luminescence,
Connecticut USA.
1989-1992 BSc (Hons) in Physics, University of Sussex.
Final year project: Defect
studies in window glass.
1986-1988
BTEC
Diploma in Science Northbrook College.
Awarded
the Blue Circle
Industries Prize for BTEC Diploma in Science (Second Year), 1988.
TEACHING,
PRESENTING, AND OTHER
ACTIVITIES AT UNIVERSITY:
1994-1996 also employed by the department as a Teaching Assistant,
concurrently
taking a Teaching and Learning Course. My teaching duties between 1993
and 1996
included preliminary year workshops, undergraduate teaching labs (1st
and 2nd
year), tutoring two 1st year courses, and jointly supervising a 3rd
year
project.
1994/95 Consultant Tutor for Open
University
Summer
Schools, explaining
research/life as a research student.
Summer 1994 conceived, produced and co-presented a video of department
to show
to prospective candidates on admissions day.
Summer 1992, Tutor and live-in chaperone on "Girls into Physics"
summer school at Sussex University, designed to encourage 15-16 year
old school
girls to study Physics.
1990-1991 Chairman of School Joint Committee (a staff/student
committee) for
department. Organised and fronted large social events, improved
departmental
facilities and liaised between students/staff/faculty university wide.
1992-95 Term-Time. Guided tours of some laboratories for prospective
students
or their parents.
1993-94 Student Liaison Officer for department. Liaised between
students and
faculty, organised Fresher's events, helped solve students'
academic/personal
problems, chased up non-attendees, helped on interview days.
TRAINING:
Throughout 2011, took BBC Safeguarding
Trust
Dilemmas
modules in: Radio
(v2); Journalism (v1); Online (v2); Factual TV (v2); Factual Drama
(v1);
Observational Documentaries (v1); and TV (v1).
February
1997, attended an Editing Skills Workshop run by the University of
Sussex.
1978-1984
attended weekly elocution/drama lessons, and took exams in spoken
poetry and
prose at the Poetry Society, London.
PRE-UNIVERSITY
SCIENTIFIC WORK
EXPERIENCE:
6 months (Oct 1988-Mar 1989) as a Medical Laboratory
Scientific Officer,
Biochemistry Department, Worthing Hospital. Duties included testing
blood for
rheumatoid arthritis.
6 weeks (1987) at Eurotherm plc (manufacturer of industrial temperature
controllers), on production lines and in quality control department as
part of
my BTEC Diploma in Science.