In conversation with Angela Saini
29 June 2021 - 17:00
Join us for a captivating conversation between two superwomen of science communication as we celebrate the finale of this year’s Unsung Heroes of Science competition.
Angela Saini is an award-winning science journalist and broadcaster. Her influential books on scientific sexism and race science have been celebrated by critics and readers alike, winning prizes and nominations in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Professor Alison Woollard is a biochemist and Public Engagement Champion at the University of Oxford who researches biological mechanisms relating to ageing and development. She presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2013 with a three-part series on the remarkable transformation of single cells into complex organisms.
In this conversation, Alison and Angela will share their passion for inclusivity in science, exploring Angela’s research into the past, present and future of discrimination and inequity in science.
Alison will then go on to announce the winners of the 2021 Unsung Heroes of Science video competition, which challenges 16-18s to make a two-minute video about a scientist who they think deserves more recognition.
RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKET ON EVENTBRITE
Taking place from 17:00-18:30, this event is free to attend and open to all. Registration via Eventbrite is available above. If you would prefer not to use Eventbrite, please email outreach@hertford.ox.ac.uk.
All the UK competition entrants who are shortlisted will receive a signed copy of Angela’s latest book, Superior: the Return of Race Science, which was named book of the year by The Telegraph, Nature and Financial Times. The top prize for UK entrants will be a VIP behind-the-scenes tour of the Royal Institution’s world-famous Christmas Lectures.
About Angela Saini
Angela Saini is an award-winning British science journalist and broadcaster. She presents science programmes on the BBC, and her writing has appeared in New Scientist, The Sunday Times, National Geographic and Wired. Her latest book, Superior: the Return of Race Science, was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and named a book of the year by The Telegraph, Nature and Financial Times. Her previous book, Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong, has been translated into thirteen languages. Angela has a Masters in Engineering from the University of Oxford and was a Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Alison Woollard
Prof. Alison Woollard is an Associate Professor in Biochemistry and a Tutorial Fellow of Hertford College at the University of Oxford. Alison received her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of London before undertaking her PhD in Oxford (1995). Following a Medical Research Council fellowship in Cambridge, Alison returned to Oxford in 2000 to take up her fellowship at Hertford College and a University Lecturership in the Biochemistry Department. Her research focuses on developmental genetics in the nematode model organism C. elegans, a tiny, transparent worm. In 2013, Alison gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on ‘Life Fantastic’, which explored the frontiers of developmental biology and uncovered the remarkable transformation of a single cell into a complex organism. She is also Oxford University’s Academic Champion for Public Engagement with Research.
About Unsung Heroes of Science
2021 marks the third year of the Unsung Heroes of Science competition, which challenges 16-18-year-olds to make a two-minute video about a scientist who they believe deserves more recognition. Many scientists in history faced discrimination in their lives, and their stories are rarely part of the canon of the science we are taught. By encouraging young people to hunt out these scientists and share their stories with flair and creativity, we hope to shine a spotlight on these unsung heroes of science.
We now have a collection of over 40 shortlisted videos about under-appreciated scientists available for anyone to watch – and together they’ve been viewed more than a hundred thousand times. In addition we have a set of teaching resources with worksheets, PowerPoints and lesson plans based around the videos.
You can find all of the videos and more information about the competition at www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/unsungscience.