Soapbox Science Brighton 2024 was held on Brighton & Hove beach on Saturday 1st June 2024, when we were graced with wonderful weather and enthusiastic crowds throughout the event!
Soapbox Science host events across the UK and the world that celebrate women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Medicine). The events are designed to help break down barriers and challenge stereotypes about who a STEMM researcher is, providing an opportunity for the public to enjoy, learn from, question, and be inspired by, some of our leading scientists.
Staff in the School of Life Sciences and the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences lead the Sussex team organising Soapbox Science Brighton, but contributing scientists come from universities all over the South East of England. There's no middle person, no PowerPoint slides, no amphitheatre – just remarkable women in science who are there to amaze the public with their latest discoveries.
Read on to find out a little more about what they've been working on, from the mysteries of Dark Energy to how an understanding of our natural environment can help us to recycle plastics...
The Soapbox Science speakers - Brighton 2024
Dr Ferheen Ayaz is a Research Fellow at 6G Lab, part of the School of Engineering and Informatics at the University of Sussex. She is working on the Network Plus project: A Green, Connected and Prosperous Britain. She is formulating energy-efficient solutions for electric vehicle charging enabled by 5G communications.
"My work explores positive side of 5G communications and the role of the telecommunications industry in creating net-zero, which is one of the global environment goals. My Soapbox Science talk encouraged the public to appreciate technology and its positive effects. Also, it motivated the audience to move towards electric vehicles, ultimately contributing towards environmental sustainability and net-zero. The demand for electricity has risen with the increase in number of electric vehicles (EVs). It is challenging to meet the growing demands sustainably. My talk explained how EVs can provide the surplus energy of their batteries to charge other EVs, maintain demand-supply balance and reach zero emission goals."
Emily Thrift is a PhD student researching plastic pollution within terrestrial mammals in the UK. This research is the first to look at these voles, mice, shrews and hedgehogs in the UK and found microplastics in all the species tested. Her latest work which will be peer reviewed soon looks at the way microplastics enter the European hedgehog through looking at both supplementary feed and wild prey species.
"Speaking at the Soapbox Science Brighton event was a fantastic opportunity to share my research on the challenges faced by European hedgehogs in the UK. It allowed me to engage with a diverse audience about the often-overlooked issue of plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems. A highlight was when a little girl told her mum she loved hedgehogs and wanted to help after hearing my talk. It was rewarding to see people leave discussing this important issue!"
Susmita Aown is a third year PhD student at the University of Sussex working on the ecology, biology, and behaviour of Philaenus spumarius, also known as the meadow spittlebug. Susmita has been collaborating with lavender and grapevine farmers in Sussex and Kent to survey their farms for the presence of her study insect and is also doing a three-month placement at the RHS Wisley, working as an Entomologist on the Pathology Advisory and Diagnostics team.
“I loved talking to the people in Brighton about my work on the meadow spittlebug. Many people have noticed ‘cuckoo-spit’ in their gardens but didn't know what it was, so I was pleased to explain the mystery! Cuckoo-spit is a foamy layer produced by young meadow spittlebugs after feeding on plant tissue - it helps to keep them moist and cool in hot summers!
Understanding what meadow spittlebugs eat is very important, because the insect helps to spread the bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, which has badly affected olive orchards and vineyards in Europe. The highlight of my day was a discussion about using insecticides to manage ‘pests’ like the meadow spittlebug. With several members of the public concerned about the effect of meadow spittlebugs feeding on their garden plants, I explained that though meadow spittlebugs feed on plant water, they do not harm the plant growth and are not considered a ‘pest’. It was a great opportunity for me to highlight the harmful effects of generalised insecticide and pesticide use. I hope that the audience at my presentation will think twice next time they intend to buy a ‘bug killer’ for their gardens!"
Professor Claire Smith is a multi-award winner, BAFTA nominated Scientist and Science Educator. Her work is focused on how we can understand the human body, and push the boundaries of our assumptions. Her recent work on the Channel 4 documentary “My Dead Body” brought about the first public dissection on TV, to critical acclaim. She has published over 100 research articles on the human body and how to teach using deceased donors. She has authored 9 textbooks including Gray’s Surface Anatomy and Ultrasound. Professor Smith teaches a range of undergraduate and postgraduate students in a laboratory environment and is a member of the Court of Examiners for the Royal College of Surgeons.
"I was really impressed by the level of interest and engagement at SoapBox Science. All ages wanted to find out if they had the muscle “Palmaris Longus” in their arm, which is absent in varying degrees of the population and this led to brilliant discussions of why our bodies differ and what that might mean to us as individuals, but also in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions."
Hannah Hersant specialises in sport performance analysis, with over seven years experience in higher education and practice. She has been lecturing in sport science and performance analysis for 5 years, and has worked as an analyst for British Canoeing, England Netball, Surrey Storm and Saracens Mavericks Netball Club. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Kent, in which she is completing a detailed exploration of the strategies and tactics implemented within centre passes in professional British Superleague netball.
"On the day we addressed some of the key stats regarding women in sports, from both a research and applied perspective. For example, of the top 100 paid athletes in the world, none of these were female. In sport science research, only 6% of papers use exclusively female participants, creating major issues for representation of females within sport. Therefore, it is important that we address the issues or representation from the bottom-up, by getting more young girls interested in STEM subjects, and I think Soapbox provides an excellent starting point for this."
Jess Lock is a second year PhD student at the University of Sussex, working with the Experimental Particle Physics group. Her work focuses on developing opaque scintillator technology with the LiquidO consortium. She has also worked with on the NOvA neutrino experiment, based at Fermilab in the USA, as a part of the computing team.
"Soapbox Science was unlike any outreach I've done before. It was amazing to talk to all different types of people at all different levels. We talked about fundamental scientific research leading to inventing technology which becomes commonplace, like how we use particle detectors at home in smoke alarms! It was fantastic how people engaged with the more relatable parts of particle physics, such as applications in the medical field or luggage scanners at an airport!"
Amber Shepherd studied for an integrated Master's in chemistry at the University of Sussex, which she completed in 2021. She is currently working towards a PhD in quantum technology at the University of Sussex in the Ion Trap Cavity-QED and Molecular Physics group. Her project aims to build a molecular clock to test fundamental physics.
"At Soapbox Science I was talking about our experiment to try and detect dark matter with a particular focus on the lasers we are using to do this. It was a fantastic day! The sun was out and lots of people came by. I had a great time chatting with people about lasers and dark matter, and I learned some interesting things from the other talks going on."
Matilda Clark has been interested in science since she was a child. After much deliberation between biology and chemistry she decided to study biochemistry at the University of Leicester. Here she discovered a passion for proteins and understanding how small changes in their structure can cause a big difference in their activity. She also completed a one year placement at medical research charity LifeArc where she learnt how express proteins and test them. Combining this with a passion for protecting our environment she chose to undertake a PhD looking for enzymes that would degrade plastics. She is now in her fourth year and spends her time investigating the activity of plastic degrading enzymes at different temperatures to see how they could be applied in an industrial setting.
"Speaking at Soapbox Science was an amazing opportunity. It was great to talk to members of the public and dispel some myths about plastic recycling while giving people hope for the future. We had some great thought provoking questions from the public and I feel like I could have spoken to them all day!"
Jo Herbert is a final-year PhD student at the Centre for Enzyme Innovation, University of Portsmouth, where she is part of the Sequencing and Bioinformatics Group. Her expertise spans molecular, microbiological, and evolutionary studies of microorganisms, developed through her undergraduate degree in Veterinary Bioscience at the University of Surrey and her Masters in Evolutionary Microbiology at the University of Cambridge.
"Alongside my double-act partner, Matilda, I presented to the public our work at the Centre for Enzyme Innovation. Our goal is to source novel enzymes from microorganisms in the environment and engineer them to be more effective at breaking down various types of plastics for industrial use. This not only helps prevent plastic from ending up in landfills but also allows the breakdown products to be repurposed. These products can be used to recreate high-quality plastics or to manufacture valuable items such as paracetamol or vanilla flavoring, reducing our reliance on crude oil.
We aimed to inform the public that research is underway to create solutions to the seemingly hopeless problems often highlighted in the news. Scientists are working diligently behind the scenes to bring these solutions within reach for real-world application. The plastic problem will be conquered!"
Dr Eva-Maria Mueller is currently an Ernest Rutherford Fellow and proleptic lecturer at the University of Sussex studying the large scale structure of our Universe to decipher the mystery of Dark Energy. Previously, she was a Dennis Sciama Fellow at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravity at the University of Portsmouth, and a research fellow at the University of Oxford. Eva-Maria gained her PhD from Cornell University researching extensions to the cosmological standard model.
“At Soapbox Science, I shared my research on deciphering the mysteries of dark energy and the accelerated expansion of the universe. By examining patterns in the galaxy distribution across the night sky, I'm on a mission to decode the cosmos' hidden physics. The event was a fantastic platform to promote science and connect with the public. Sharing these insights felt incredibly rewarding, and I hope it sparked curiosity and inspired the next generation to chase their passion for unravelling the universe's deepest secrets.”
Dr Liat Levita has dedicated her career to unravelling the complexities of adolescent development through her work as the head of the Developmental Affective Neuroscience lab. Her research takes a translational approach, bridging insights from neuroscience and psychology to understand the human adolescent period comprehensively. Dr Levita did her UG degree in neuroscience at the University of St Andrews and her PhD at the University of Cambridge. She is currently a Reader in Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Sussex.
"Soapbox Science Day was a blast! The audience's engagement, genuine interest, and fun interactions were amazing. I started by asking people to shout out their first thoughts about teens. Many negative responses came up, which we listed on a board—it was a bit shocking but not surprising. My aim was to shatter these misconceptions and highlight how incredible teens are. I emphasized that adolescence is a prolonged developmental period—from puberty to the mid-twenties—marked by incredible brain changes. We discussed the role of experiences in positive brain development and the evolutionary advantages of sensation-seeking in teens. We also spoke about the importance of not pathologizing heightened emotions during the teen years, emphasizing adolescence as a sensitive period crucial for fostering healthy behaviours. Supporting young people during this normal developmental phase is vital. The insightful questions and deep interest from the audience were inspiring—I just want to do it again!"
And finally, a huge thank you to our fantastic organising team:
For further information about past Soapbox Science events, please check out the link below. We hope to see you all again next year!