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This case study describes public engagement with the University of Oxford's research in Mathematical Physics via the popularization of science through the writings, public lectures and media appearances of Sir Roger Penrose. Published in 2010, Penrose's book Cycles of Time deals directly with the research contributions and has reached broad audiences via books, public lectures, TV appearances, and YouTube postings. The impact has been to engage large numbers of the public with modern theories of the origin of the universe in a mathematically non-trival way.
Euclid is a new M-class satellite selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to study the dark universe, which will exploit fundamental "Baryon Acoustic Oscillations" research originally performed at Portsmouth. The construction of Euclid is underway, overseen by Portsmouth scientists, with several millions of pounds already spent on research and development within UK university laboratories and industry (e2v), already with economic impact. By the time Euclid is launched, 606 million euros will be spent across UK and European industry (Thales, Astrium) providing significant economic impact as well as societal impact.
The Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) runs a successful programme of community engagements with local schools, science centres and tourist attractions to influence public awareness and understanding of the world-class research we perform. In 2012-13, ICG engaged with 4858 people, including 2412 school children. Through our "Cosmology Masterclass", we have inspired hundreds of A-level students from across the region; 60% said we had increased their interest in university. In 2012-13, staff engaged with 50 different schools across the UK. For the last 3 years, we have interacted with thousands of people running BBC Stargazing Live partner events, receiving almost unanimous praise from the public via our feedback.
The research underpinning Stephen Hawking's books, TV appearances and lectures has shaped public attitudes towards frontier research in cosmology. It attracts large audiences to learn about his research, and he is the most well-known scientist in the world. Highlights include the publication of his 2010 popular-science book The Grand Design, and the Discovery Channel series Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking. Further evidence of the impact of Hawking's research was the award of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom (America's highest civilian honour) and his role as narrator in the 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony watched by over 11M UK viewers.
Impact: Public outreach, education, science engagement, debate and policy development: Inspiring, informing and educating the general public, school children, educators and policy makers by communicating the results of PHYESTA astronomical research through events, movies visits and training. Influencing worldwide policy makers through the stimulation of new debates.
Significance: Improved awareness and knowledge of astronomical discoveries, and the importance of/progress in science in general. Improved teaching, enhanced motivation of school children to pursue science, supported by heightened enthusiasm/knowledge in the wider public.
Beneficiaries: The public, educators and educational organisations, governmental organisations including recreation and tourism, international organisations including the UN.
Reach: Direct interaction with ~100,000 school children and members of the wider UK public over REF period. Engagement with many more worldwide through events, TV programmes, movies, webinars, and press releases/news stories. Direct training of several 100 school teachers, and extended impact through educational resources. Influence on policy development through the UN.
Attribution: PHYESTA astronomers have both led the highly-cited research and have worked directly with outreach staff, educators, and organisations (e.g. Royal Society and STFC) to publicise and promote the impact and relevance of astronomical discoveries.
Cosmologists at UCL — based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) — conduct research into dark matter and dark energy through their involvement in a number of space missions and ground-based projects. This research has been shared with the public through a large number of talks, blogs, articles in the media, and television and radio programmes, stimulating significant public interest and discussion. Increased public understanding and interaction with the work was further achieved through a competition to improve mapping of dark matter. The research also influenced the creative practice of two artists, inspiring artworks that have been exhibited internationally and viewed by over 1 million people in total.
Dr Malcolm Fairbairn has worked alongside visual artist Carey Young to inspire contemporary artwork that have exhibited internationally and been viewed by ca. 100, 000 people. Fairbairn's research into dark matter and cosmology led to the collaboration and the artwork has engaged audiences in the UK, the USA and France, prompting visitors to contemplate scientific facts and issues they might not otherwise have considered and leading to a greater public awareness of our knowledge of the universe. Fairbairn has also used his research into dark matter to engage the general public and inspire schoolchildren in science. Since 2008 he has given around 35 talks at which the general public and schoolchildren have learned about dark matter and cosmology, directly impacting pupils who, teachers report, have been inspired by their experience and are reporting an increased aspiration to pursue science.
Galaxy Zoo (GZ) is among the most successful online citizen science project ever undertaken, relying on hundreds of thousands of volunteers to classify galaxy images. Since 2007, GZ has evolved into a "Zooniverse" of over 20 online projects, engaging nearly a million worldwide volunteers (from a range of ages, backgrounds and education) in scientific research. Most GZ volunteers report being motivated by a desire to contribute to real research, while 87% say their experience has changed their behaviour e.g. more museum visits (34%). For under-18s, 70% were encouraged to study a degree and 47% said GZ helped their schoolwork.
In collaboration with film-maker Brady Haran we have developed the YouTube channel Sixty Symbols to present topics related to research in physics to the wider public. Since the 2009 launch of Sixty Symbols we have posted 212 videos, which have amassed 21.2M views, over 200k comments, over 266k subscribers and a content approval rating of 99.4%, placing Sixty Symbols in the top 0.01% of all YouTube channels. The success of Sixty Symbols led to commissions from Google and STFC for the launch of additional science-focused YouTube channels, and to the formation of the company Periodic Videos Ltd by Brady Haran (2011). Quantitative evidence gathered by management consultants, O'Herlihy & Co, demonstrates Sixty Symbols' global reach, and significant impact on the attitudes, scientific understanding and career aspirations of its audience. Overall the impact has been on society, culture and creativity through the promotion of public engagement and discourse on science and engineering, and through educational use in schools.
Our high profile astronomy research discoveries in areas of public interest have allowed us to substantially increase the engagement of the public with science. Media appearances have led to a philanthropic donation of £200k to promote our science, the most successful public event series ever in Northern Ireland (engaging around 2000 people), a strategic partnership with Ireland's award winning science education centre W5 (reaching 26,000 people), and a 49% increase in applications to physics based degrees from NI students to UK HEIs. In 2008 we set three simple targets to substantially increase the public awareness of science and physics. The first was to increase our presence in the mass media (print, radio, TV, internet) to promote scientific research, and we have regularly reached audiences in excess of 295,000. The second was to increase the numbers of people attending science talks and events. The third was to substantially increase the application rate of school students to study physics and mathematics degrees. Through our outreach and engagement programme we have met, and surpassed, all of these targets. The impact of our research and our public outreach programme is a quantifiable societal change. Substantially more NI school students are now studying physics at third level UK HEIs.