x-change says goodbye to Sue Nelson

After four years the x-change says farewell to its host - writer, broadcaster and BBC’s very own Gossip Girl, Sue Nelson. With no question out of bounds, Sue has travelled around the UK with the British Science Festival, lighting up the x-change with her style, wit and enthusiasm. From Nobel Prize winners to PhD students, politicians to the Pope’s astronomer, Sue has interviewed them all and the British Science Association would like to thank her for all her hard work and dedication.

If you or someone you know think you could be the new face of the x-change, email events@britishscienceassociation.org

Talk about science

National Science & Engineering Week (NSEW) 2011 is drawing ever closer and the British Science Association’s creative juices have been fizzing, sizzling and popping behind our theme of Communication.

This year we’re interested in the psychology of communication and are preparing a number of nationwide projects, including public polls asking whether your pet can understand you and which phrases wind you up the most. We’re also supporting Teachers TV online classroom debate on Junk Food Science.

The real success of NSEW is at the grassroots level with events and activities taking place all across the UK. If you want to get involved in our Communication theme, find out more at http://www.nsew.org.uk/.

New CREST Partnership in Wales

The Welsh Assembly Government’s National Science Academy has introduced CREST and CREST Star Investigators to enable more young people to get hands-on experiences of science and technology.

This initiative will enable the British Science Association to deliver tailored support for schools to provide high quality STEM enrichment activities for young people using the CREST Awards framework.  CREST across Wales is being established with start-up grants available to schools and colleges. The programme is working with the Welsh-based organisation See Science, a network of educators. 

British Science Association Honorary Fellows announcement 2010

Revd Professor Michael Reiss, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Professor Marcus du Sautoy, Emeritus Professor Christopher Donald Frith, Professor Richard Wiseman, Vivienne Parry and Peter Hatfield were all awarded Honorary Fellowship at this year’s British Science Festival dinner which took place on Thursday 16 September at Aston University.

Honorary Fellows are individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the aims and purposes of the Association by promoting openness about science in society and engaging and inspiring adults and young people directly with science and technology.

Bradford succeeds in bid to win British Science Festival

The British Science Festival – Europe’s largest and most high profile public science event – will be coming to Bradford in September 2011. The announcement was made jointly by the British Science Association and the University of Bradford.

The British Science Association also announced the appointment of astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell as its President-Elect for 2011. Dame Jocelyn will assume the Presidency on the first day of the Festival and deliver her Presidential Address on the theme ‘Science and culture - science as culture'.

The event proposal process is also now open and organisations, institutions and businesses from Yorkshire and elsewhere are invited to submit proposals to be part of this huge public event. If you are interested in getting involved in the Festival, please email festival@britishscienceassociation.org

Welsh winner receives national volunteering award for services to science

Dr Neville Evans from Morganstown in Cardiff has been named Volunteer of the Year by the British Science Association. He has received the Walter Bodmer Award for Volunteers in recognition for his hard work and dedication in his role as Secretary of the South Wales branch.