St Mary’s Wins Award for Community Physics Events

The School of Sport, Health and Applied Science at St Mary’s University, Twickenham has received an award for a series of educational physics events hosted as part of National Science and Engineering Week. National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW) is organised by the British Science Association and is the UK’s widest grassroots celebration of science and engineering. During the week schools, communities and higher education institutions are encouraged to hold their own educational events with awards going to those who showcase the best public engagement during NSEW. As part of the week (14th – 23rd March), St Mary’s Applied Physics Department held a series of activities for pupils at local schools and sixth forms called ‘The Wonder of Physics’. The event included a series of talks, discussions and workshops, which fed into the curriculum and enhanced the students existing lessons. One of the most popular activities over the course of the three-day event was the workshop which gave pupils the opportunity to use simple household items to create their own physics experiment such as a vortex and an electromagnet. St Mary’s Lecturer in Applied Physics Dr Elisabetta Canetta said, “We are delighted to have been awarded the runner-up prize in the STEM Institution category. It is not only recognition of St Mary’s University work in the field, but also of the high quality of the physics events organised by the Applied Physics Department. It was amazing to see the large interest that our physics events stirred in the local community and London area. Over the three days we had about 150 people attending and we got extremely positive feedback. We are now planning the next series of physics events for the NSEW 2015.” The events were judged by a member of the British Science Association and with some strong competition, St Mary’s was named as runner-up in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Institution category and was awarded £200, which will be used towards organising a bigger and better event next year. The University was commended for its high level of organisation and the level of engagement that the activities offered, with students given the opportunity to get hands-on with the experiments. There was also an inaugural lecture from St Mary's Head of the School of Sport, Health and Applied Science Prof John Nicholson about the impact of physics on our daily lives, which attracted more than 40 academics and members of the community. St Mary’s BSc Applied Physics Undergraduate Programme was launched in September 2013 and is run in conjunction with the nearby National Physics Laboratory (NPL).