Science is for Everyone Aberdeen Science Grrl...Science is for Everyone Aberdeen Science Grrl Agenda...
Transcript of Science is for Everyone Aberdeen Science Grrl...Science is for Everyone Aberdeen Science Grrl Agenda...
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Science is for
Everyone
Aberdeen Science Grrl
Agenda
19:00-19:15 Welcome and Introduction
19:15-19:30 Bethany Graves
19:30-19:45 Gabriella Thomas
19:45-20:00 Mairead Black
20:00-20:15 Break
20:15-20:30 Heather Morgan
20:30-20:45 Dafne Eerkes-Medrano
20:45-21:00 Lynda Blackadder
21:00-21:30 Open Session – Q and A
Tweet your questions @sciencequines #sci_foreveryone
About Science Grrl
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Science Grrl is a network of (mostly) women working
in Science, Engineering, and Technology And Maths.
We are a group of people who are passionate about
celebrating women in science and passing on our love
of science to the next generation. Our national
campaign is aimed at improving equality for women
working in STEM fields. By developing local networks
of women working in STEM fields, Science Grrl can
show the real face of female scientists.
Today Science Grrl from the Aberdeen Chapter are
here to talk to you about their work. We hope that by
listening to these stories you will be inspired to follow
a STEM career. The talks that you will here are going
to cover a number of different disciplines and subject
areas. Each of these jobs is very different but we think
you will pick up some common themes.
The European Union, in their Women in Research
and Innovation project have set out some reasons why
science and engineering can offer a great career and
some of the societal challenges that science and
engineering can address
Reasons why you will love science1
You can really improve people’s lives:
Getting involved in science means making a “world of
difference”. If you want to prevent the spread of disease,
improve the quality of life for people, protect the fragile
natural environment, put food into people’s hands and combat
1 http://science-girl-thing.eu/en
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poverty, then science is for you
Use your imagination and creativity
Great science is about creating, seeing connections, asking
questions, understanding how and why things work. If you
want to find out answers to “Why? How? When? What happens
if…?” and you want to invent something that no one else has
ever thought of, then you are in the right place.
Science is exciting
Want to learn to understand how animals
communicate? Study the planets? How about getting into the
social media field? Will today be the day you get the answers
to the questions you’ve been asking? Science is fun and exciting
– wake up curious.
You work as part of a team and can travel the world
Interested in an international job? A research career can open
doors to the world: work with local people and members of
your research team who can be in different countries all over
the world. Science means meeting people and learning with
and from them.
6 reasons that science and engineering needs
you.
The challenges our world faces need to be tackled by
all of us. Here you’ll find the key ideas we need to
work on together and you’ll be able to see if any of
them fire up your inner scientist!
Health, demographic change and wellbeing: You can help
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us all lead longer and healthier lives
Food security, sustainable agriculture and the bio-
economy: You can help to feed the world
Secure, clean and efficient energy: You can help find
sources of energy
Smart and clean transport: You can design cleaner and
more efficient transport
Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials:
You can help efforts to use our planet’s natural resources
carefully and take action on global warming
Innovative and secure societies: You can make the most
out of great ideas to create a safe society
Speakers
Heather Morgan Social Scientist at Aberdeen
University
Heather is a social scientist and qualitative researcher
at the Health Services Research Unit, University of
Aberdeen. Heather specialises in research where
surveillance/monitoring, ‘deviance’ and gender
intersect. She uses observational and interview
methods to gather data from people in a range of
settings. Heather is currently exploring people’s uses of
health monitoring technologies (apps, wearables, etc.)
independently of health care. What kinds of things
make them popular? Do they improve health – for
who? Could the health service learn from positive
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views and experiences to revamp mainstream health
care? Previous work has looked at self-management of
long term health conditions, interventions for
smoking in pregnancy and breastfeeding, and gender
in police CCTV.
Heather has studied at the University of Aberdeen
since 2001 and received her first degree in Law -
with French Language and Forensic Medicine - (LLB
(Hons)) in 2005, a Certificate (CertHE) in Gender
Studies and Philosophy in 2006, a Masters (MRes)
degree in Social Research in 2007 and her Doctorate
(PhD) in 2013. She was awarded Fellowship of the
Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in 2011.
Bethany Graves Marine Zoologist – Offshore
Industries Advisor at Joint Nature Conservation
Committee
Bethany started scuba diving at the age of 15 as part
of her Duke of Edinburgh skills training. A love of
the sea paired with a fondness for biology at school
meant she chose to study Marine Zoology at Newcastle
University. After graduating, she then went straight
into a Masters degree in Marine Resource Development
and Protection at Heriot Watt University in
Edinburgh. Bethany started working for the
Edinburgh International Science Festival as a Science
Communicator, at both the Edinburgh festival and
the Abu Dhabi festival. She then secured a job with
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the company on their touring roadshow, delivering
science workshops to schools all over the country in
an attempt to engage and inspire teachers and pupils.
Bethany now works for the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee as an Offshore Industries Advisor. This
involves advising the government on nature
conservation issues relating to offshore industries – oil
and gas, dredging, windfarms and even things such as
TV companies filming whales and dolphins. Bethany’s
interest in marine conservation has taken her to far
flung places such as Indonesia and Bermuda on
volunteer projects.
Gabriella Thomas Completion Engineer (Clair Field)
at BP.
In 2013 Gabriella graduated from Manchester
University with an MEng in chemical engineering.
She chose chemical engineering because it was a
challenging degree which offers a range of options
upon graduation. Gabriella has been able to gain a
breadth of experience in chemical manufacturing
(Sunchemical), Refining& Supply (ExxonMobil) and
Well operations (BP).
There are a wide range of opportunities in the energy
sector, one of these areas is Well engineering. This
essentially encompasses designing and maintaining a
conduit between the oil and gas in the subsurface
reservoir and the processing equipment at surface.
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Well engineering offers many links for those who have
ambitions to take a STEM subject.
In her final year of university Gabriella was offered a
summer internship working as a well engineer in the
BP's Global Wells Organisation. Gabriella has worked
offshore in the North Sea and has the chance to work
offshore and gain experience of well interventions,
abandonments and drilling operations. She has
visited a variety of installation, semi-subs, jack ups
and oil platforms. Gabriella feels that the energy
industry has a lot to offer engineering graduates with
upcoming challenges to meet growing energy demands
alongside an ever-quickening pace of technological
development. If this interests you, definitely consider
it.
Lynda Blackadder Data Analyst - Coastal and
Offshore Fisheries at Marine Scotland
Lynda Blackadder (nee Allan) graduated from
Aberdeen University in 2006 after completing her BSc
Hons Marine Biology and a MRes Marine and
Fisheries Science. She currently works as a Data
Analyst in the Coastal and Offshore Fisheries group
(previously known as Inshore Fisheries) for Marine
Scotland Science. Lynda has worked at the Marine
Laboratory in Aberdeen for 8 years and has been
involved in various aspects of work including;
research vessel trips, market sampling and fieldwork,
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data analysis, attending international meetings and
providing scientific advice to policy and stakeholders
on inshore fisheries and Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs).
Lynda has only recently returned to work after
maternity leave and admits that juggling home life
and work is a bit of a challenge! Her current role
involves work on the Nephrops stock assessments to
advise on the status and management of stocks in the
waters around Scotland. She has been a STEM
ambassador for 4 years and enjoys speaking to young
people about the importance of science and
mathematics in the workplace.
Mairead Black Maternity Doctor and Obstetrics
researcher
Mairead Black is a doctor in Aberdeen Maternity
Hospital. She went to Harlaw Academy then
graduated from medical school in Glasgow in 2004.
Since then she has spent nearly seven years training
to be an obstetrician (maternity hospital doctor),
while also completing a Masters degree in Public
Health and Health Services Research and having two
babies. She is researching pregnancy problems (eg.
stillbirth) and why children born by caesarean
section are more likely to develop illness (eg. asthma
and obesity). She spends part of her week doing
research, working towards a PhD, and the remaining
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time doing caesarean sections or looking after
pregnant women before and during their birth
Dafne Eerkes-Medrano Zooplankton Ecologist -
Marine Scotland Science
Dafne works as a zooplankton ecologist at the Marine
Laboratory in Aberdeen. She studies patterns, in
space and time, in the populations and communities
of coastal zooplankton. Dafne came to Scotland from
Canada two years ago. She has studied and done
scientific research in various places, including the
west coast of Canada and the United States, New
Zealand, Australia and even Antarctica.
In secondary school Dafne focused on sciences and
took chemistry, physics, math and biology. She did
her Bachelor degree in Biology at the University of
Victoria, Canada, and her PhD in marine ecology at
Oregon State University, USA. In her studies and
research she’s worked with a variety of animals
ranging in habitats from the deep sea, intertidal,
open ocean, and Antarctic. She’s done research
focused from the organism level to the community
level, and this research has covered topics ranging
from animal development and behaviour to impacts
of changing environmental conditions on animal
communities. Dafne enjoys her job at the Marine
Laboratory in Aberdeen because zooplankton are an
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important part of the North Sea food web and it’s
always interesting to participate in research cruises
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Find out more:
Follow our national campaign on twitter
@Science_Grrl or go to the website
www.sciencegrrl.co.uk.
If you are over 16, you can become a member for only
£5. http://sciencegrrl.co.uk/join/.
You can find out more about the local group on
twitter by following @sciencequines
This event has been organised as part of British
Science Week. The programme of events has been co-
ordinated by the Aberdeen Branch of the British
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Science Association, working in partnership with the
University of Aberdeen and other partners, and with
support from BP and the Scottish Government.
You can follow all the events and keep up to date via
the British Science Association Aberdeen Facebook
page.
https://www.facebook.com/britishscienceassociationab
erdeen
The programme has events for people of all ages and
interests. There is still time to book one of the other
events – the full programme can be found here:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/engage/content-
images/BritishScienceWeek2015webs.pdf
Marine Scotland Science are kindly supporting the
event by offering a venue. Refreshments have been
provided courtesy of fundraising from our Science
Ceilidh, which was also supported by local Ceilidh
band Tir-na-Nog and the Science Ceilidh Band in
Edinburgh
Feedback Form:
Event: Science is for Everyone, Aberdeen
Science Grrl
Date: 19th March 2015 Location:
Marine Scotland
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