SAIP WEBINARS

Speaker: Dr. Sharon Ann Holgate

Date: 11 June 2021

Registration Link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S9cMfkzYSASXmo93NgHWQg                                                                                                

Abstract:

Join award-winning science writer and broadcaster Dr. Sharon Ann Holgate as she talks about her journey from a physics research lab to appearing on the BBC and writing for the national press. In this light-hearted presentation, Sharon Ann will reveal some of the things
she has learned along the way, and give tips on how to improve your own science communication. You’ll hear some do’s and don’ts for successful writing, suggestions for making video calls and presentations that look professional, and advice on tailoring physics
to different audiences and finding your own voice. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session where you can swap ideas with colleagues and ask Sharon Ann questions.

Brief CV:

Sharon Ann Holgate has a doctorate in experimental physics from the University of Sussex in the UK, where she was a Visiting Fellow in Physics and Astronomy for nine years, and is a Chartered Scientist and Chartered Physicist. She has worked for twenty two years as a freelance science writer and broadcaster based in the UK, with broadcast credits including presenting on the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4, presenting video podcasts for medical research charity the Myrovlytis Trust and appearing on a ‘Boffins Special’ of The Weakest Link. Her articles have appeared in Science, Science Careers, New Scientist, The Times Higher Education Supplement, E&T, Flipside, Focus, Physics World, Interactions, Materials World, Modern Astronomer, and Astronomy Now, while her first book The Way Science Works (a children’s popular science book co-authored with Robin Kerrod) was shortlisted for the Aventis Prizes for Science Books Junior Prize. She was a contributor to the popular science books 30-Second Quantum Theory and 30-Second  Energy, and her undergraduate textbook
Understanding Solid State Physics is currently in use as a core text in universities around the world. Sharon Ann has written three books for her Outside the Research Lab series; Volume 1: Physics in the arts, architecture and design, Volume 2: Physics in Vintage and Modern Transport, and Volume 3: Physics in Sport. 

She has also written careers material, case studies, and press releases for the Institute of Physics and careers material and brochures for The Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, and given talks at venues including the Science Museum in London. Dr Holgate was the Institute of Physics Young Professional Physicist of the Year for 2006, won a Merit Award in the 1994 Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer of the Year competition, and was shortlisted for the radio programme category of the Association of British Science Writers’ Awards in 2005. Outside of work she collects contemporary ceramics, is a regular visitor to art galleries and museums, and enjoys learning about fashion history and steam locomotives.       www.sharonannholgate.com