Dr Peter Hatfield, Muhammad Hamza Waseem and the Department of Physics outreach team have all been recognised at the recent SEPnet Public Engagement Awards for their outstanding work in engaging the public with physics. The awards recognise excellence in public engagement and the judges of the awards commented that the quality of nominations was exceedingly high this year and they had some extremely tough calls to make.
Outreach news
22 March 2021
This month we ran our annual Physics: Lab to Life event where we welcomed over 170 curious people to take a virtual tour of the Department. The online visitors uncovered how physics is changing our lives by exploring how we transform our cutting-edge research into ideas and technology that has a tangible impact.
Over 15 researchers told their stories about the work they do across a range of different areas, including next-generation solar cells, rapid-virus detection, weather prediction and quantum computers.
8 March 2021
Oxford’s Department of Physics is partnering with the Institute of Physics to offer a brand new programme of tutoring and mentoring to local school students who want to study physics at university. The 14-month programme, Levelling Up: Physics, will provide 40 sixth-formers with a programme of dedicated physics tuition from a specialist A-level tutor. The students will also be part of a mentoring programme run by the Department of Physics; students will be paired with undergraduate physicists who can provide insight into what it’s like to study physics at university.
4 March 2021
Name: Sian Tedaldi
Job title: Outreach Programmes Manager
What are you currently working on?
March is a busy time for planning events and next week we have Physics: lab to life. We are also starting a new project with the IOP called Levelling Up which aims to help prepare under-represented sixth-form students for studying physics at university.
1 February 2021
For the last ten years, we have thrown open the doors at the Department of Physics for our Stargazing event – an afternoon and evening of fascinating talks, hands-on activities and, not surprisingly, telescopes. Not wanting to disappoint this year, the team rose to the challenge of pandemic-proofing the event and Stargazing Oxford @Home was born.
7 December 2020
How 10-year-olds are getting a taste of cutting-edge science
A programme run by the Department of Physics at Oxford is giving pupils in years 5 and 6 the opportunity to take part in a real science research project, learn how scientists study viruses and meet the scientists themselves.
3 November 2020
The Department of Physics is running a new mini-series of lectures entitled ‘Challenges and Changes’ and hosted by Dr Alex Ramadan [she/her].
7 October 2020
‘Ensuring that our doors are open to all is something that we are continually working on,’ says Kathryn Boast, Access Officer for the Department of Physics. ‘Showing young people what it means to be a physicist – or someone who supports a physicist’s work – is an important aspect of demystifying this world and that’s why, in spite of COVID-19, we went ahead with our annual summer school this year.’
7 October 2020
Physics can be a hard sell. Just like its stablemate, maths, people can be quick to write it off as not for them – but yet is everything and everywhere. It’s fascinating. It’s life and the universe. And, yes, it is also quite hard. Faced with such an uphill battle, how does the Department of Physics outreach team ‘reach out’ to school children and community groups to convince them otherwise? To encourage different voices into the field? What does the team do to achieve its objectives of increasing diversity in STEM for school children and increasing access for disadvantaged students?
31 January 2020
Ever wondered how you can measure the speed of light with marshmallows or wanted to find out more about the largest telescope on Earth? The Department of Physics opened its doors for its annual Stargazing event on Saturday 25 January and welcomed some 1,209 keen and curious visitors of all ages.
