Engineering PhD Student Success at Science Slam
Published: 4 August 2015
The third annual Graduate School Science Slam was held on 2nd July 2015 at Cottiers Theatre and the PhD student presentations and Science Slammer cocktails were again a potent mix! The event was attended by over 130 academics, students and members of the public.
 |
 |
The third annual Graduate School Science Slam was held on 2nd July 2015 at Cottiers Theatre and the PhD student presentations and Science Slammer cocktails were again a potent mix! The event was attended by over 130 academics, students and members of the public.
Eight students from across the College of Science and Engineering presented their research in ways it has never before been presented. From particle and theoretical physics, to molecular gastronomy by way of Glaswegian’s eating habit, to volcanoes and malaria, it was a fascinating evening with some really excellent work on display.
The winner was Jumai Abioye from the School of Engineering who presented her work on ‘editing genomes’ and won the £500 prize. Her research is focused on the development of tools to selectively cut specific DNA sequences out of the genome in an attempt at developing a therapy for viruses, such as HIV, that insert their genetic information into the DNA of the cells they infect.
Jumai said of the event: “Participating in and winning the Science Slam was very exciting for me. It was the first science communication event I have taken part in. I believe the Science Slam allows for great interaction between young researchers and the public and can provide a middle ground to tackle important issues in an exciting way and still share knowledge. I had very good support from the Science Slam team, a chance to meet other science communication enthusiasts, and I am delighted to have won.”
Second and third prizes were awarded to Sapphire Wanmer and Sean O’Brien for their respective presentations ‘Exploding Interactions and Predicting the Unpredictable’ and ‘Inspired by the Greeks: A Chemical Trojan Horse for the World’s Biggest Killer’.
The regular Science Slam host Sian Bevan was on hand to introduce the presenters, tell the only funny (or only) joke about Atomic Kitten, and make us all laugh a lot. Thanks to her work at the Science Slam, Sian has been commissioned to compere the wedding of two of our audience members! Science can really help make things work out for the best! If you would like Sian to be mistress of ceremonies at your wedding you can contact her via Twitter.
Our Dean, Professor Susan Waldron, said of the event: “It was an amazing night! It is always impressive to see the lengths our PhD students will go to in communicating their passion for the research. This was a varied Science Slam; with many talented students presenting their work in entirely different ways (including a ukulele version of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Sounds of Science’ which became ‘Smell of Science’ in the hands of James Ward Taylor). I would urge to come along next year! The Science Slam represents the fun side of research life and is a great tonic for all the hard academic work.”
All the photos of the event are available at https://flic.kr/s/aHskhdBXWK and the videos on the Graduate School facebook pages.
First published: 4 August 2015