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What motivated you to engage the public with your work?

I began my degree in 2001, the first introductory lecture involved all engineering disciplines (approx 300 people). As I walked down the steps of the lecture theatre I was unable to see any female students. I had attended an all girls school so wasn't aware that A Level subjects such as physics which are essential to engineers were not as popular with girls so I was surprised by the lack of female engineers in my year. I began my PhD at The University of Manchester in October 2006 and decided that I wanted to encourage more pupils especially girls to pursue a career in engineering and science. I received an email from the Widening Participation team asking for ambassadors to help out at certain events. I went along to help with a 'Physics Tricks' session, this is an afternoon of experiments aimed at year 9 pupils to show them how much fun physics can be. I thoroughly enjoyed the session and asked to be involved in all the events that were being held by the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Science. Since then I have been heavily involved in events that are aimed at Primary Schools (Ice-Cream Fun - where we allow the children to make ice-cream using liquid nitrogen), Secondary Schools (Maths Squad - a series of 3 days that show the children that maths is 'hands on' too, Physics Tricks, and Girls in Aerospace) and Colleges (Open Days - I would talk to both the parents and children about the job possibilities and would show them a table top experiment). All of these events aim to encourage the pupils to consider engineering and science in a new exciting context, during these events I give a 30 minute talk about my project and summarise some potential career opportunities within engineeringI hope that the work I have carried out has made more pupils (including girls) aware of engineering and some of the exciting careers within my discipline.

Describe the public engagement activity you have done.

I have been a key ambassador within Widening Participation at the university and have been heavily involved in the 'hands on' activities, such as Physics Tricks, Maths Squad, Ice-Cream Fun, and College Open Days amongst many others. The aim of these events is to raise awareness of, and aspiration to, higher education amongst individuals from underrepresented groups, the university aims to encourage applications from the most gifted and talented individuals regardless of geography, school, socio-economic status or ethnic grouping. I have also organised and participated in 'Girls in Aerospace' events. The challenge provides an exciting 'hands on' experience to girls aged 13-16. The aim of the event is to design and build your own hovercraft, which must be raced against each other at the end of the day. My role is to encourage and support their ideas so that they can prove to each other that girls can do engineering successfully. I usually break the day up by talking to the girls about life as a female engineer and give them the opportunity to ask questions about my experiences in engineering and at university in general. We have taken this event to many locations across the North West including Lancashire, Cumbria, Merseyside and Greater Manchester. Since 2006, I have been a student co-ordinator for WiSET (women in engineering, science and technology). This is aimed at supporting all women in the university that are in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Science from undergraduates to professors. WiSET aims to promote female graduates to develop careers in STEM. I have organised external and internal speakers to come and share their experiences and offer advice, I have provided a series of networking opportunities to encourage interdisciplinary understanding as well as skill based workshops and industrial visits.

What are your top tips for other researchers?

1. Natural enthusiasm will be present if you enjoy your subject, so its important present your subject in a fun yet informative way.

2. Attempt to relate your subject to something that is familiar to the public, i.e. something in the public eye, sports or familiar technologies such as mobile phones or computers etc.

What are your top resources to support your engagement work?

1. The university's widening participation department

2. WiSET (Women in Science Engineering and Technology)

What would you say to encourage another researcher to engage with the public?

There are many reasons to talk to the public about your subject area, however it is vitally important that we engage potential students and therefore future researchers into certain subjects such as engineering. This subject is not discussed in detail in schools and therefore school pupils do not fully understand what potential careers or research areas entail. By engaging with the public you are opening new doors to future researchers which will help to broaden and advance your subject in the future.