display post on home

Send #WomenInSTEM around the globe

By Dr Heather Williams / February 10, 2017

To mark the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we present <insert drum roll here> this guest blog from Alice Gray, science blogger, creator of Gray Matter and the driving force behind some limited edition goodies which are being sold in aid of ScienceGrrl: “You have brains in your head. You have feet…

Read More

8 Reasons Why Kids Should Science More [Infographic]

By Dr Heather Williams / February 9, 2017

Teacher? Parent? Big kid? Michael Hervas of Psysci.co recently sent this nice infographic which we wanted to share with you. He says: “We firmly believe that children should be encouraged to learn about science and be involved with science as much as they possibly can be, even from an early age. And we believe this…

Read More

In for the long haul

By Dr Heather Williams / February 1, 2017

This always happens. Someone somewhere makes a stand against something. A big, bold gesture that commands attention, that challenges the status quo. Fairly shortly after, we hear the question: “But what difference did it make?” So it was that this article appeared in this week’s Metro, questioning the impact of the women’s marches which occupied…

Read More

‘Boss it!’ – ScienceGrrl at Kensington Town Hall

By Dr Heather Williams / October 19, 2016

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea hold an annual two-week Celebration of Science, discussing everything from bird eggs to smart cities and high-performance sports. On their opening day seven ScienceGrrls descended – on a mission to ‘boss it’. In this guest post, Dr Jess Wade reports back on an eventful panel discussion: The celebrated Dr…

Read More

Hurrah for Hephzi!

By Dr Heather Williams / October 19, 2016

Congratulations to skin biology researcher, ScienceGrrl member and ScienceGrrl Essex chapter lead Hephzi Tagoe, who was awarded with the New Researcher Prize by the Royal Society of Biology last week at an awards ceremony celebrating excellence in science communication. The award was given for her commitment to science communication, in particular her Shaping Healthy Attitudes and Protecting the…

Read More

Project FAB

By Dr Heather Williams / September 29, 2016

ScienceGrrl sponsored a prize at this year’s Conference for Astronomy and Physics Students in Glasgow, for the best presentation about work towards improving inclusion and diversity in physics. The winner was Fraser Baird, who is working towards an MSc in Physics with Astrophysics, and also oversees Project FAB – an STFC-sponsored outreach initiative in primary schools. In…

Read More

So ‘Brexit means Brexit’ – so what next?

By Dr Heather Williams / September 14, 2016

Ahead of the UK referendum on membership of the European Union, scientists largely came out in support of voting to Remain in the EU. But, on 23rd June, those voting Leave secured a narrow majority. In recent weeks, UK government ministers have affirmed that ‘Brexit means Brexit‘ and ‘Brexit means leaving the European Union‘ but there…

Read More

The New Generation of Engineers: A Photography Project

By Guest Blogger / July 13, 2016

ScienceGrrl was formed out of a collective desire to showcase and celebrate women in Science and Engineering careers – and a collective frustration with the approaches some organisations were taking to advertise these careers to young women. We had a firmly held belief that appealing to girls was not about making science ‘pink’ but instead…

Read More

Lancashire Science Festival – Draw a Scientist

By Dr Heather Williams / July 6, 2016

For the last 4 years, ScienceGrrl has been delighted to participate in Lancashire Science Festival at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in Preston. The festival comprises talks, shows, and a packed show floor of exhibitors who showcase science to local school children over two days, and then to over 10,000 members of the public…

Read More

What does a physicist look like?

By Dr Heather Williams / June 15, 2016

In April, the Institute of Physics (IoP) released the results of a survey of their membership, entitled ‘What does a Physicist Look Like?’ The results represent 13% of IoP members, which doesn’t sound like many, but interestingly the age profile mirrors the known profile of the membership. Even more interestingly, 44% of respondents were under 29…

Read More

Revisiting ISSET

By Dr Heather Williams / April 27, 2016

ScienceGrrl began by producing a 2013 calendar showcasing the real work of a diverse mix of women in STEM, and some of the funds went towards sending a team from Oaklands School in Tower Hamlets to the Mission Discovery summer school, organised by the ISS Educational Trust. With Tim Peake running a marathon in space…

Read More

Meet Fatima: Stories of social exclusion & science

By Tania Browne / April 15, 2016

This week we at Science Grrl are delighted to bring you a guest post from Emily Dawson, on the particular issues for young women at the intersections of class and race.  What happens when being passionate about science isn’t enough to help you do science stuff? I first met Fatima in 2010 as part of…

Read More

Kicking the Elephant Out of the Room

By Dr Heather Williams / March 31, 2016

Our network of ScienceGrrl members runs to over 400 nationwide. Where possible, we link our members with local chapters, headed up by enthusiastic chapter leads. Chapters provide opportunities for informal networking, peer support, and grass-roots activism and public engagement, often in partnership with local initiatives. This post is the first in a short series by Sarah Hughes, our…

Read More

Pleased to Meet You…. Franzi Sattler

By Tania Browne / March 24, 2016

Hello! Who are you, what’s your job title and what do you do all day? Hello!   My  name  is  Franzi,  I  just  turned  28, and  I  was  born  and  raised  in  Berlin, Germany.  I’m   currently  a  2nd  year  Master  student  and  this  summer  I  will  get  my   M.Sc.   in Evolutionary  Biology,…

Read More

Eleni Charalambous – a passion for science that keeps on growing

By Dr Heather Williams / March 16, 2016

It’s British Science Week, and many of our members are busy sharing their love of science with the world, and particularly young people who are considering their strengths and abilities and beginning to decide of the type of career they may wish to pursue. It’s natural that those who are so enthusiastic about their scientific work will quietly  –…

Read More

Why I Hate Tim Peake (just a bit…)

By Tania Browne / February 22, 2016

      I have a confession to make. I really hate Tim Peake. Well actually that’s not strictly true. I’m sure he’s a great guy, and would love to buy him a pint and have a natter when he gets back down to earth. What I mean is, I hate the tired old trope…

Read More

UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2016

By Dr Heather Williams / February 15, 2016

The United Nations designated 11th February the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. We joined with our colleagues all over the world via social media to celebrate, invited you to join in…and my word, you did! The hashtag associated with this initiative, #womeninSTEM, was trending as the second most popular topic on Twitter…

Read More

Tim Hunt – ScienceGrrl responds

By Dr Heather Williams / June 15, 2015

For the last week, discussions around women in science in the UK have largely centred on remarks made on Monday 8th June by Sir Tim Hunt, at the World Conference of Science Journalism, as part of a speech he gave during a lunch sponsored by female Korean scientists and engineers: “Let me tell you my trouble with…

Read More

High heels, running shoes and accelerator physics

By Guest Blogger / April 1, 2014

I’m Suzie Sheehy and I’m an accelerator physicist. I am privileged to work with an amazing collection of inspiring, smart, lovely people at RAL, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford in the UK. As someone who loves to travel

Read More
Jenna Stevens-SMith

Bioengineer on a mission

By Guest Blogger / March 2, 2014

“My name is Jenna Stevens-Smith and I am a bioengineer.” When I tell people that, 90% of the time their first response is “Really?” It used to annoy me that people didn’t think I looked like I could be a scientist or engineer, but now I quite enjoy the conversation that follows and the slight…

Read More