The Isaac Newton Trust is delighted to support the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science and the Public through the Strategic Research Grants programme. Dr Mariam Rashid works as the Centre’s Engagement Associate and is directly supported by this grant.
Mariam studied an integrated masters in Physics at Durham University, spending a year at Osaka University before moving on to her PhD in Cosmology at the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. She is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public, here in Cambridge.
The centre is comprised of a research arm as well as an innovation and translation arm. Mariam works in the latter, taking the centre's cutting-edge research on dialogue and translating it into engagement events.
The centre's flagship project is The Hopes and Fears Lab — a space where scientists and publics (we recognise the diversity of 'the public' in pluralising the word) can spend 15 minutes discussing their hopes and fears for our shared, scientific future.
In May, Mariam presented this project at EUSea —the European Science Engagement Association's annual conference. The 'mini manifesto' recently published by the centre gave conference goers — and anyone who is interested in the Lab model — a one-stop guide to delivering their own.
Mariam told us, "It was such a fantastic opportunity to attend and present at EUSea. They had a record number of applications this year, and I was honoured to be given the space to speak. I'm very grateful to the organisers, and to all of the other delegates who showed great enthusiasm for the project. Really looking forward to the international Lab events we now have in the pipeline!"
We are so proud of how much Mariam has contributed to this project and are excited to see how Mariam and the lab develop in the future.
Image credit: EUSEA photography team
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