@ScienceGrrl Calendar 2013 - to encourage young women into science & engineering

For good role-model images of women in science and engineering careers, this might be a good resource:

 

ScienceGrrl is a network of (mostly) female scientists who are

passionate about passing on their love of science, technology,

engineering and mathematics (STEM) to the next generation

(www.sciencegrrl.co.uk, @Science_Grrl).

We're currently working on producing the ScienceGrrl Calendar 2013,

which celebrates the work of female scientists, and will be sold to our

peers, colleagues, friends and beyond. The proceeds will be invested in

projects that enable girls and young women to engage with STEM role

models, to encourage their aspirations and open their eyes to the range

of potential futures available to them within STEM. These projects

include "Breakthrough: the gender stereotypes project" and funded places

at the Mission Discovery summer school.

The calendar will feature 13 stunning images of female scientists from

a diverse range of backgrounds, showcasing a variety of science-related

careers. Three engineers on a London rooftop overlook a striking

cityscape, showing the structural impact of STEM all around us. A

medical physicist explains her work to a busy group of colleagues and a

patient in University of Manchester’s PETCT scanner. In Bristol, an

epidemiologist is surrounded by a blur of pedestrians as she examines

data for a link between cannabis-smoking and mental health. And there

are many more...

The calendar will be launched on 18 October 2012 and is available for

pre-order now:

https://sciencegrrl.wufoo.eu/forms/sciencegrrl-online-shop/.

Please share this information on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and by any

other means with colleagues, friends and family and anyone else you

think would benefit from knowing more about ScienceGrrl.

Best wishes,

Lucy Harper

Press Manager

Science Grrl Calendar 2013

Free program (Windows/Mac/Linux) - Virtual Moon Atlas

For those interested in the Moon and planning telescopic examination of it, a free program is available form Virtual Moon Atlas

Name That Asteroid! (OSIRIS-REx Competition)

NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona

 If you are a parent or teacher of a child (under 18) who is into
Space Science - this compo might very well hit the spot:
OSIRIS-REx is going to fly to an asteroid and bring back some pieces. Right now, the asteroid's name is 1999 RQ36, but we think students can do better!  The Planetary Society, MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, and the University of Arizona are asking students around the world to suggest better names for the asteroid.
Enter by December 2, 2012 to have a chance to name a piece of the solar system!
The contest is open to kids under the age of 18.  To enter, parents or teachers must fill out an online entry form with the proposed name and a short explanation of why that name is a good choice. 
Asteroids can't be named just anything, of course.  The International Astronomical Union governs the naming of big and small objects in the solar system, and they have guidelines on how to name near-Earth objects like 1999 RQ36.

http://planetary.org/get-involved/contests/osirisrex/ 

Wolfson OpenScience Laboratory - a promising online resource

From the Institute of Physics (@PhysicsNews) Classroom Physics newsletter :-

Online access to practical science with Wolfson lab
The traditional physics practical may have
had an occasional electronic facelift but
it has not changed much in decades. The
appearance is still of wooden benches,
wires and springs, for instance — very much
a hands-on environment.
Physics in professional laboratories is
different. Many physicists have no direct
physical connection with their experiments.
Actuators drive instruments and data
arrive through a computer linked to central
facilities such as CERN and satellites.
Conversations are with colleagues across
the world. It is an online environment.
The Open University has been awarded £1 m by the Wolfson Foundation to
reflect this change in practical science in its teaching. The Wolfson OpenScience
Laboratory will provide online access to practical science, not only to Open
University students but also to students across the globe. All science subjects will be
covered and many of the experiments will be relevant to schools.
The laboratory will include remote access to real laboratories and
observatories, for example optical and radio telescopes; virtual instruments such
as gamma-scattering apparatus with real data accessed interactively; immersive
3D field investigations with digitised real landscapes; and access to citizen science,
including “Treezilla”, a massive tree survey. The Open University will be collaborating
with other universities, schools and professional bodies and the priority will be
to improve access in developing countries For more information: visit www.open.
ac.uk/blogs/openscience

This includes the utterly brill Virtual Microscope - a web microscope (see screenshot above) with a selection of Histology & Pathology specimens to look at. The controls let you focus the microscope and take pictures.

FameLab UK 2013 Competition

A competition to celebrate science communicators & help them further develop their skills:
 
FameLab UK 2013
The search is on for the new voices of science communication. Over the autumn FameLab UK heats will be taking place across the country from Aberdeen to London, Cardiff to Cambridge. New for this year, and with help from the Royal Academy of Engineering, FameLab UK has also been able to produce two engineering specific heats to encourage more engineers to enter the competition and develop their skills.
If you're currently working in science. technology, engineering or maths, and think you can explain a science or engineering concept in an engaging way to non-scientists in just three minutes, FameLab wants to hear from you!
The winner of the heats will get the chance to take part in a weekend MasterClass with experts in media & communication skills, before vying for the title of FameLab UK champion at the National Final in April 2013 where they will have the chance to take home £1,750 to further their career.
So if you think you have what it takes visit http://famelab.org/uk for more information.
FameLab was set up in 2005 by Cheltenham Festivals in partnership with NESTA to find and nurture scientists and engineers with a flair for communicating with public audiences. Since 2007, thanks to a partnership with the British Council, FameLab has gone global, with competitions now held in 20 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States. Globally more than 4,500 researchers have taken part. The result is a vibrant network of exciting scientists and engineers engaging international audiences but also engaging with each other, broadening each other's views of what it means to be working in science right now. In 2013 the UK competition is supported by EDF Energy.
Dr Claire Rocks
FameLab UK Manager
Cheltenham Festivals
Tel:01242 264185
Mob: 07966 768256
cheltenhamfestivals.com
famelab.org

@cheltfestivals cheltenhamfestivals.com
Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity - Charity No 251765
The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 5-14 October 2012
Cheltenham Jazz Festival 1-6 May 2013
The Times Cheltenham Science Festival 4-9 June 2013
Cheltenham Music Festival 3-14 July 2013

Cheltenham Festivals Ltd: Charity No 251765 / Vat Reg No 100114013
109-111 Bath Road, Cheltenham, GL53 7LS

Relatively Prime series

Of interest to mathematicians and students of mathematics:

Relatively Prime is a series of eight shows all about the stories

behind mathematics that was funded through Kickstarter. The first

episode of Relatively Prime will be released on September 17th and the

series will run until November 5th, with a new episode being released

every Monday. Relatively Prime will be licensed under a Creative

Commons Attribution-Share Alike License and Samuel Hansen is looking

forward to any remixes that may result. The show will be available to

download directly at the show’s website, through the RSS Feed, and

through iTunes.

Website: http://relprime.com/

RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/relprime

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/relatively-prime/id560923828

Full press release: http://acmescience.com/shows/1687

National STEM Centre Short course: Particle Physics A-level

This free course might be of interest to Physics teachers:

YHC12262 : Particle Physics A Level on 19 Oct 2012 10.30am

At:
National STEM Centre
University of York
York
YO10 5DD

apply

Cost £0.00 Free course

About the Course

Following the success of the Astronomy Day last year we are offering a second exciting FREE event for teachers of A level Physics to refresh and update their subject knowledge and raise awareness of new approaches to teaching this key topic.

Registration and refreshments start from 10am.

The day is to be led by Dr Christina Lazzeroni, Reader in Physics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham University, with contributions from staff from the National STEM Centre (ESERO), Science Learning Centre Yorkshire and the Humber and the University of York.

The event will focus on the key learning requirements of the AQA A Level Physics Specification (section 3.1 of Unit 1).

The event is open to teachers in schools, sixth form colleges and FE colleges on a first-come, first-served basis.

There are no costs to participants.

All refreshments are provided.

For further information contact: ken.fielding@northlindsey.ac.uk

This event is co-sponsored by the LSIS STEM Support Project, the Institute of Physics and the European Space Education Resource Office.

The Virtual School: calling all biologists!

From the Society of Biology Blog - as the title says this may be of interest to any biologists:

September 11, 2012 - Frédéric Kastner fromThe Virtual School

The Virtual School’s vision is to create an innovative, free education resource that allows children from all over the world to learn about biology. To help us achieve this we’re asking for support from passionate biologists, whatever their background.

You can share your love of biology and help inspire a new generation of scientists by recording a fun 2-3 minute audio presentation. The Virtual School designers will then add images and memory triggers to your voice-over and create an engaging lesson for the KS3 and 4 curricula (that’s 11-14 year olds, and 14-16 years olds).


Interested?  Here’s how to get involved:

1. You record your 2-3 min audio explanations with our easy-to-use online tool. It is an easy and fun process!
2. Our design team enhances your explanations using effective imagery & other memory triggers to make your lesson even more impactful.
3. The final learning resources are engaging 2-3 minute learning videos for each concept across the KS3 & 4 curricula.

You can watch an example playlist about ecology on our YouTube channel by following this link.
If you’re keen to take part or have any questions please get in touch: frederic.kastner@fusion-universal.com
By contributing to the Virtual School you can help us build an amazing, free education programme to bring the best biology teaching to children who need it most, in the UK and globally. Thank you for your support.
Visit us on: http://thevirtualschool.com & our YouTube Edu Channel.
You can also follow our updates on Twitter  and blog.

Future Morph Web-site relaunch

For teachers, parents, pupils and STEM practitioners - I recommend a loo. 

The Science Council has relaunched the Future Morph website. The site is designed to provide information about the range of careers open to young people via science and maths qualifications. Originally launched in 2008, the new-look site boasts a blog, more career profiles and additional themed sections, as well as a brand new database of careers information links - the development of which has been led by the National STEM Centre.

The site is designed with pupils, parents and teachers in mind, and aims to talk to each in their language. All of the content from the previous site has been transferred so you can still find all of your favourite videos, articles and online games, and with the improved navigation of the site, we hope they will be even easier to locate.

For more information see www.futuremorph.org<../../../Promotion/www.futuremorph.org>.

Please do help us to spread the word and pass onto any interested contacts.

National Science + Engineering Competition 2012-2013

Another competition aimed at young STEM students (11-18 years old) :

Competition 2012-13

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The National Science + Engineering Competition aims to recognise and reward young people’s achievements in all areas of Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
It is open to 11-18 year olds in the UK and provides young people with the opportunity to build their skills and confidence in project based work.

Competition Entry

Thousands of young people enter the Competition every year, either as a team or an individual, via two entry routes:

• Regional: Projects showcase their work at 12 regional heats in June/July.
• Online: Projects enter a written or film application between July - October.

The National Finals

The best projects from across the UK are then invited to the National Finals, which are held in March each year at The Big Bang: The UK Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair. The projects showcase their work to over 60,000 people and compete for a range of fantastic prizes worth over £50,000, including international experience awards.

How to Get Involved

This website demonstrates to teachers, parents, mentors and competitors how young people can enter the National Science + Engineering Competition. To find out more about the Competition and to enter please see the pages on the left.
Entries are open from March - 31st October, for more information and to enter please Enter!

2012 NPL School Science Film Challenge

This may be of interest to UK Teachers & STEM practitioners:

 

The 2012 NPL School Science Film Challenge is now open for registration!

Submission deadline extended by a week to 19 October 2012

The aim of the challenge is for you to make a film, less than two and a half minutes long, describing or demonstrating some science correctly in an engaging way. Prizes are awarded for various categories, for best school entry (£500) and best film made by an independent (of school) team, including a student (£300).

The deadline for completed entries is 19 October 2012. Make sure you take a note of the important dates for your filming schedule, and to read the rules before you begin in our rules and information leaflet.

Know any other budding film makers at your school, or do you simply want to recruit your film crew? Print our poster to promote our film challenge at your school to get others on board.

If you need some inspiration, watch past entries to our film challenges on our Film Challenge YouTube channel. 

More info here 

Vacancy: Press & Social Media officer at Society for General Microbiology

The following vacancy is available at the Society for General Microbiology

Press and Social Media Officer

Purpose

The Society is looking for an experienced media professional to instigate effective publicity for the Society for General Microbiology and to maximize awareness of the Society’s products and services as well as the discipline of microbiology to key stakeholders, via the press and social media.

Terms

Currently based 5 miles South of Reading - location under review Permanent, full-time

Salary: up to £31,000k pa (depending on experience and current salary) + Benefits

For a detailed job description http://www.sgm.ac.uk/jobs/default.cfm

Closing date for applications is 3 October 2012.

No agencies please.

For an informal discussion about this post, contact Dariel Burdass, Head of Communications, on 01189881802.