Edinburgh and South East Scotland Branch Committee
The committee members of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Branch come from a variety of backgrounds and bring diverse experiences into the activities. The committee can be contacted through the contact form (please make this a link to the contact form).
Branch officers
Dr. Stephan Matthiesen
Project Manager, School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh; and freelance translator and editor.
Position in the Branch: Chairperson (since 2008); Committee member (since March 2007).
After studying physics, mathematics and geology and obtaining a PhD in Geoscience, Stephan found that the division between the different disciplines are rather too restrictive and got interested in many other areas, in particular psychology and neurosciences.
He views science as an activity with many faces. The obvious aspect is that scientific discoveries can produce something useful, a cure for a disease or an electronic gadget. But science is also a journey of discovery and self-development, on which one learns much about the world and about oneself. One discovers that the obvious and easy answers to a problem are not always the right ones. Developing critical thinking skills is the key – and they generally help you to live your life in a complex world. Just like solving a puzzle or a crime, or like climbing a mountain, a scientific quest needs some dedication and perseverance to get through the difficult and tedious bits, but the view from the summit and the satisfaction of having solved a problem are worth the effort.
Stephan enjoys to help people develop their critical understanding of the world and of themselves.
Web: Stephan Matthiesen's Page and Science-Texts: Editorial team for scientific texts
Nigel Over
Manufacturing/Technical Consultant and Project Management (fitted around caring for a disabled child)
Position in the Branch: Branch Secretary - Committee/Member (since 2008); Chairperson (from 2003 to 2007); founding member.
Nigel studied Engineering at Brunel University and has remained in the profession ever since. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Science and Engineering Ambassador. He has had a very active role in outreach ever since he became a member of the Coventry Branch of the BA Youth Section (BAYS) in 1983. In the 25 years he has been involved with the BA, Nigel has served on Council / General Committee and as a Trustee for the Association, as well as being active with the Engineering Section, History of Science Section (founding member, Secretary and Recorder), delivering inaugural science week activities in the West Midlands, and serving on the organisational committee for the annual Festival of Science. In 2003 Nigel fully supported the formation of the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Branch and accepted the position of Chairman on the newly formed committee.
He is keen to promote access to science for more challenging audiences, particularly those with learning difficulties. Nigel is an active campaigner for Special Needs / Additional Support Needs as the national chairman for ENABLE (Young Family Support Committee) as well as being part of the Inclusive Learning Network, and a member of Local Authority SEN Parents Forum. He is very passionate about science and the communication of science which is very well shown by his previous activities and his 25 years of voluntary experience in the BA. In 2008 Nigel's contributions were recognised by the BA with the presentation of the Sir Walter Bodmer National Volunteer of the Year Award.
Julia Kennedy
PhD Research Student, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh
Position in the Branch: Branch Secretary - Events (since 2008); Committee member (since 2007)
The encouragement Julia received from staff at secondary school helped her to find a love for science. These same teachers helped her continuation to University to follow this. Ever since then she has been inspired to give others this opportunity too.
Julia takes great pleasure in seeing people of all ages taking an interest in science, learning new things and discovering how much there is to learn about the world we live in. Having done outreach for eight years, and with a plan to eventually become a secondary school teacher after satisfying herself with her current research, the BA is offering her a new perspective on outreach and opening doors to taking part in new projects.
Web: Julia Kennedy at the University of Edinburgh and Cryogenic Instrumentation Research Lab
Sam Yoffe
PhD Research Student, Particle Physics Theory Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh
Position in the Branch: Treasurer (since 2008)
Sam enjoyed studying maths and science at school and eventually went on to study physics at university. It was several enthusiastic teachers who developed his interest and led to his involvement with science outreach and the BA. He believes that anyone who takes an interest in science should be encouraged and that motivating and educating future scientists is extremely important. Science is fun, and Sam finds it very rewarding to help people discover this and hopefully understand something they had maybe never considered before.
Web: Sam's University homepage
Ordinary Committee members in alphabetical order
Dr. Patricia Erskine
Development Officer, College of Science and Engineering, The University of Edinburgh (Public Engagement with Science).
Position in the Branch: Committee member (since 2007).
Patricia is professionally and personally passionate about public engagement with science.
She co-ordinates the science engagement activities of the College, develops collaborations with partners and helps to raise funding to develop the University’s public engagement in science activities. All of this is working towards embedding a culture of public engagement in the institution. She works with many professional scientists and communicators from different disciplines, but as a chemical engineer has particular interests in engineering engagement. She also enjoys visiting science festivals and science centres, and going to science talks and events. Patricia enjoys to see links develop between scientists, artists and designers partially through developing SCI-ART collaborations. She also has an interest in finding ways to include science activities in her local Parent Teacher Association’s events.
Web: College of Science and Engineering, The University of Edinburgh
Jane Ilsley
Education Programme Manager, WTCRF Education Programme, Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (Western General Hospital).
Position in the Branch: Committee member; Branch Treasurer (2003 - 2008); founding member.
Jane runs research training courses and seminars for all health professionals starting out or actively engaged in clinical research.
She has previously worked in science communication taking science workshops in to schools (over the years has worked for the University of Edinburgh Schools of Chemistry, Biological Sciences and the SCI-FUN Science & technology Roadshow) and developing training for PhD students to communicate their research. Her long standing interest in public engagement with science developed during her PhD – trying to explain her research to friends and family!
Web: Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (WTCRF) Education Programme
Anton Immink
Communication and Development Officer, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling.
Position in the Branch: Committee member; Branch Secretary (2007 - 2008).
Anton is professionally and personally interested in public engagement in science, particularly in the areas of natural resource management and international development.
Anton finds the role that non-scientists play in science particularly interesting, for example how agricultural systems develop through the trial and error of farmers. Also, in looking at the strategic vs. applied science to understand where the happy medium is, if it exists. The question “Does the ‘general’ public really want to understand the science behind the things that influence them?” is an important one and influences him to partake in activities of the BA and in other science outreach projects.
Former committee members
The current committee would like to thank all former committee members and acknowledge their contributions:
Revised 21 February 2009
Branch officers
Dr. Stephan Matthiesen
Project Manager, School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh; and freelance translator and editor.
Position in the Branch: Chairperson (since 2008); Committee member (since March 2007).
After studying physics, mathematics and geology and obtaining a PhD in Geoscience, Stephan found that the division between the different disciplines are rather too restrictive and got interested in many other areas, in particular psychology and neurosciences.
He views science as an activity with many faces. The obvious aspect is that scientific discoveries can produce something useful, a cure for a disease or an electronic gadget. But science is also a journey of discovery and self-development, on which one learns much about the world and about oneself. One discovers that the obvious and easy answers to a problem are not always the right ones. Developing critical thinking skills is the key – and they generally help you to live your life in a complex world. Just like solving a puzzle or a crime, or like climbing a mountain, a scientific quest needs some dedication and perseverance to get through the difficult and tedious bits, but the view from the summit and the satisfaction of having solved a problem are worth the effort.
Stephan enjoys to help people develop their critical understanding of the world and of themselves.
Web: Stephan Matthiesen's Page and Science-Texts: Editorial team for scientific texts
Nigel Over
Manufacturing/Technical Consultant and Project Management (fitted around caring for a disabled child)
Position in the Branch: Branch Secretary - Committee/Member (since 2008); Chairperson (from 2003 to 2007); founding member.
Nigel studied Engineering at Brunel University and has remained in the profession ever since. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Science and Engineering Ambassador. He has had a very active role in outreach ever since he became a member of the Coventry Branch of the BA Youth Section (BAYS) in 1983. In the 25 years he has been involved with the BA, Nigel has served on Council / General Committee and as a Trustee for the Association, as well as being active with the Engineering Section, History of Science Section (founding member, Secretary and Recorder), delivering inaugural science week activities in the West Midlands, and serving on the organisational committee for the annual Festival of Science. In 2003 Nigel fully supported the formation of the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Branch and accepted the position of Chairman on the newly formed committee.
He is keen to promote access to science for more challenging audiences, particularly those with learning difficulties. Nigel is an active campaigner for Special Needs / Additional Support Needs as the national chairman for ENABLE (Young Family Support Committee) as well as being part of the Inclusive Learning Network, and a member of Local Authority SEN Parents Forum. He is very passionate about science and the communication of science which is very well shown by his previous activities and his 25 years of voluntary experience in the BA. In 2008 Nigel's contributions were recognised by the BA with the presentation of the Sir Walter Bodmer National Volunteer of the Year Award.
Julia Kennedy
PhD Research Student, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh
Position in the Branch: Branch Secretary - Events (since 2008); Committee member (since 2007)
The encouragement Julia received from staff at secondary school helped her to find a love for science. These same teachers helped her continuation to University to follow this. Ever since then she has been inspired to give others this opportunity too.
Julia takes great pleasure in seeing people of all ages taking an interest in science, learning new things and discovering how much there is to learn about the world we live in. Having done outreach for eight years, and with a plan to eventually become a secondary school teacher after satisfying herself with her current research, the BA is offering her a new perspective on outreach and opening doors to taking part in new projects.
Web: Julia Kennedy at the University of Edinburgh and Cryogenic Instrumentation Research Lab
Sam Yoffe
PhD Research Student, Particle Physics Theory Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh
Position in the Branch: Treasurer (since 2008)
Sam enjoyed studying maths and science at school and eventually went on to study physics at university. It was several enthusiastic teachers who developed his interest and led to his involvement with science outreach and the BA. He believes that anyone who takes an interest in science should be encouraged and that motivating and educating future scientists is extremely important. Science is fun, and Sam finds it very rewarding to help people discover this and hopefully understand something they had maybe never considered before.
Web: Sam's University homepage
Ordinary Committee members in alphabetical order
Dr. Patricia Erskine
Development Officer, College of Science and Engineering, The University of Edinburgh (Public Engagement with Science).
Position in the Branch: Committee member (since 2007).
Patricia is professionally and personally passionate about public engagement with science.
She co-ordinates the science engagement activities of the College, develops collaborations with partners and helps to raise funding to develop the University’s public engagement in science activities. All of this is working towards embedding a culture of public engagement in the institution. She works with many professional scientists and communicators from different disciplines, but as a chemical engineer has particular interests in engineering engagement. She also enjoys visiting science festivals and science centres, and going to science talks and events. Patricia enjoys to see links develop between scientists, artists and designers partially through developing SCI-ART collaborations. She also has an interest in finding ways to include science activities in her local Parent Teacher Association’s events.
Web: College of Science and Engineering, The University of Edinburgh
Jane Ilsley
Education Programme Manager, WTCRF Education Programme, Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (Western General Hospital).
Position in the Branch: Committee member; Branch Treasurer (2003 - 2008); founding member.
Jane runs research training courses and seminars for all health professionals starting out or actively engaged in clinical research.
She has previously worked in science communication taking science workshops in to schools (over the years has worked for the University of Edinburgh Schools of Chemistry, Biological Sciences and the SCI-FUN Science & technology Roadshow) and developing training for PhD students to communicate their research. Her long standing interest in public engagement with science developed during her PhD – trying to explain her research to friends and family!
Web: Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (WTCRF) Education Programme
Anton Immink
Communication and Development Officer, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling.
Position in the Branch: Committee member; Branch Secretary (2007 - 2008).
Anton is professionally and personally interested in public engagement in science, particularly in the areas of natural resource management and international development.
Anton finds the role that non-scientists play in science particularly interesting, for example how agricultural systems develop through the trial and error of farmers. Also, in looking at the strategic vs. applied science to understand where the happy medium is, if it exists. The question “Does the ‘general’ public really want to understand the science behind the things that influence them?” is an important one and influences him to partake in activities of the BA and in other science outreach projects.
Former committee members
The current committee would like to thank all former committee members and acknowledge their contributions:
- Philippa Collins: 2007 to 2009
- Stuart Monro*: 2003 to 2008
- Tony Weir*: 2003 to 2008
- Jane Ewins: 2007 to 2008
- Clytie Robinson: to 2008
- Kerstin Doig*: 2003 to 2008
- Eoghain O'Keeffe: 2006 to 2007
- Sheila McCartan: 2006 to 2007
- Anne Gray*: 2003 to 2007
- Martin Smith*: 2003 to 2007
- Briony Curtis*: 2003 to 2006
- Yasmin Babaie*: 2003 to 2005
- Catherine Henderson*: 2003 to 2005
Revised 21 February 2009
