commentary: courtney williams

and motivation. It’s incredi- Luring young people bly invigorating to be in with high-energy an environment like CERN where, for a change, enthusiasm for science

is the norm. As I sat in secondary-school physics lessons, Through being made I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. My interest in an Ignition* Creative physics had been diluted to homeopathic levels Spark—one of 10 people by rote learning and mindless calculations. I was ages 14 to 21 given grants ready to give up and become a medic. for creative work in sci- My epiphany came while studying Science for ence, technology, engi- Public Understanding as an extracurricular activity. neering, or mathematics as As part of this we had to write a report on a popu- part of a regional initia- lar science book; I chose “Warped Passages” by tive—I’ve been given opportunities to look into . I was instantly hooked. It was a science communication. I want to do my best million miles away from what we were doing in to ensure that no one misses out on what physics class, and it inspired me to continue with phys- can offer. Following from my trip to CERN and ics and find out about other things beyond the the work I did at Sheffield I’m especially keen on Photo: Meilin Sancho classroom. publicizing the lesser-known Being a bit of a nerd, I googled “sixth form experiments going on around the world. I believe science bursaries” and came across the Nuffield that being relatively young and new to physics Science Bursary Scheme, which allows students myself has helped me in explaining concepts and in their final two years of secondary school to talking to young people; and while I doubt my own undertake a four-to-six-week research project in writing has yet convinced anyone of the wonder their summer holidays. In the summer of 2008 that lies in physics, I hope that one day it will. I secured funding to work in the neutrino astro- As a young person who almost dropped physics group at the University of Sheffield. This physics at school, I believe we need to do much meant a four-hour commute daily for my whole more work if we want to inspire the next genera- six-week holiday, but it ended up being worth it! tion of potential physicists to carry the subject on My project consisted of two elements that beyond obligation. In the UK, a cultural shift is formed background work for the Acoustic Cosmic clearly needed; based on my experiences with stu- Ray Neutrino Experiment, which aimed to detect dents from elsewhere in the world, I think that one ultra-high-energy neutrinos by “listening” for possibility is to introduce science fairs at school the sound pulses they were theorized to produce and county levels, and to hold winners of science when entering seawater. The first part concen- competitions in the same regard as winners of trated on background noise with an aim to filter sporting competitions. it out. I studied data recorded by the ACoRNE Subjects like particle physics and astrophysics detector and looked for echolocation calls, can interest students in a way that the physics attempting to figure out what kinds of animals routinely taught in schools simply doesn’t. were making the noise. The second part involved Ensuring there are people who can competently simulating the sound pulses triggered by an communicate these ideas will hopefully help us incoming neutrino in a water tank and looking at inspire students to carry on with the subject and how a detector responded. It was very exciting solve the big problems in the future. The to know that I was actually contributing to research national curriculum needs to take advantage of and not just fetching cups of tea for people. these concepts to prevent putting people off I took this project to the 2009 Big Bang UK science for life. Perhaps with these efforts, the Young Scientists and Engineers Fair, then on to could prove to be my the 2009 EU Contest for Young Scientists, generation’s Apollo program. where I was awarded the EIROforum CERN Prize. symmetry | volume 8 issue 1 february 2011 Last summer I spent a week at CERN, the Courtney Williams is a student at Imperial European particle physics laboratory in Geneva. College London. Her writing has appeared in IoP How much I enjoyed it can be demonstrated by Interactions and E&T Education. Her website can be found at www.courtneywilliams.co.uk. how eager I am now to take part in their summer student program. Through my experiences I’ve been lucky enough to meet lots of different peo- ple, from fellow students to renowned scientists, and I’ve also gained a lot in terms of confidence

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