Introduction to Astronomy

How does one figure out if they want to study Physics at university? Here are some resources for projects I took part in, some as participant and some as educator. They are a fantastic way to gain insight into what a career in Physics may bring!

• Fitzwilliam College Researchers in Schools Programme. This is a 8-hour programme I designed and delivered to a group of high school students, with the goal of exploring Physics & Astronomy as a subject and understanding higher education more generally. You can find the materials here.
• Listen to science podcasts! In particular, I talk about my research on the podcast CienciaEs (also available on Spotify and iTunes).
• What about hosting an event in your school where scientists come to interact with you and your fellow students and offer career advice? I was fortunate to be invited to such an event as part of International Women’s Day 2024. It was an amazing way to celebrate women in STEM together with Sixth Form students from Cambridge.
• Congreso Jóvenes Expertos - Have you ever wondered what it is like to take part in a scientific conference? This is your chance! Each year, this conference revolves around one of the Sustainable Development Goals. You can submit an abstract, and successful applications are invited to present their findings. Online participation is also available, so distance is not an obstacle! I was the invited keynote speaker on its V Edition (Feb 2024), which focused on Gender Equality. You can watch my intervention here.
• European Space Camp – A week-long summer camp for youth all over the world aged 17-20, where participants get to learn about space and rocket physics as well as participate in a hands on rocket campaign. Yes, we launched a sounding rocket!!
• Campus Científicos de Verano (Spain) – Los Campus ofrecen a jóvenes interesados por la ciencia la oportunidad de participar en proyectos científicos y tecnológicos durante una semana. Hay más de 60 proyectos de investigación en más de una decena de universidades españolas donde elegir, y poder conocer el día a día de los investigadores.
• Gee Whiz Astronomy – It is a project supported by Global Hands-on Universe. It aims to introduce high school students to astronomical research. In order to do this, we collect an analyse astronomical sequences from Las Cumbres Observatory. We have previously studied both exoplanets and eclipsing binaries.