Each SEPnet partner has an Outreach Officer with experience working on many different types of Outreach and Public Engagement projects, across many different types of audiences.
Nuala O’Flynn – University of Hertfordshire
Nuala is the SEPnet and Ogden Outreach Officer for the Deparment of Physics, Astronomy and Maths at the University of Hertfordshire. Nuala joined the SEPnet team at the end of 2019 after graduating from the University of Sheffield in 2019 with a BSc (Hons) in Physics and Astrophysics. From research of the educational inequalities in physics derived from writing her dissertation on ‘Investigating the reasons why women continue in Physics post-16’, the Diversity in the Culture of Physics Summer School and working in two secondary schools, she was inspired to focus her career aspirations on outreach and public engagement.
Nuala’s work within SEPnet involves school outreach, teacher CPD, supporting public engagement with research and managing the SEPnet Year 3 STEM careers project and the Cosmic Curiosity project, a collaboration between the University of Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire Libraries.
Jen Gupta – University of Portsmouth
Jen Gupta is the SEPnet/Ogden Outreach Officer for the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth. Jen has extensive experience in communicating physics to a range of audiences, from delivering schools lectures at the Royal Institution, to performing astronomy-themed comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to providing expert views on TV and radio. She has a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Manchester. Jen manages the Festivals project and is taking part in the Shattering Stereotypes pilot project.
Eliza Hunt – Queen Mary University of London
Eliza is the Outreach Officer in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary University of London. Eliza has an MChem degree from the University of Liverpool, and recently completed her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bristol. During her PhD, she took part in extensive outreach activities with Bristol ChemLabS and developed a passion for science communication.
Eliza’s role at Queen Mary University involves coordination and delivery of physics and chemistry outreach activities to schools and inspiring the next generation of scientists!
Sadie Jones – University of Southampton
Sadie’s role as Astronomy Public Engagement Leader and SEPnet Outreach Officer involves co-ordination and management of all the astronomy outreach and public engagement activities from the Physics and Astronomy department at the University of Southampton. A large part of this role involves managing a team of undergraduate and PhD students who work in the Soton Astrodome Mobile planetarium. Sadie also designs astronomy workshops, such as #SotonAstroArt and research talk for an array of community public engagement events including Light Up Poole and Southampton Science and Engineering Festival.
Darren Baskill
– University of Sussex
Das is the SEPnet Outreach Officer at the University of Sussex in Brighton. He has decades of experience of public outreach for all ages, from his days at the University of Leicester and at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and has appeared on TV, radio, online and in print. In addition to outreach, Das teaches an introductory astronomy lecture course to students from all across the university (both arts and science students) as well as lab techniques to the physics students. He is also an experienced astrophotography, having initiated the Astronomy Photographer of the Year international competition whilst at the Royal Observatory.