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A smartphone application, LHSee, has enabled members of the public to understand better one of the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, by presenting interactive displays of real collision events from the ATLAS experiment including those contributing to the Higgs boson discovery. The software has enabled users to understand and be engaged with the process of discovery at the LHC and has raised aspirations for further engagement with science and the study of physics. It has been downloaded over 60,000 times and has achieved excellent user reviews and awards.
The switch-on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the discovery of a Higgs boson have stimulated interest in science and engineering, and in physics in particular, on a scale unprecedented by any other single experiment. Since 2008, UCL researchers have received a marked increase in requests for media appearances and written contributions, public talks and discussions. Many of these requests are directly related to the LHC work. While the evidence is not complete, it seems very likely that this has been a significant factor in the improved level of applications to study physics at levels from GCSE to undergraduate degree. In addition, public engagement with, and understanding of, the process of how science works has benefited.
Professor Tara Shears is one of the most recognizable faces in particle physics (PP). Her work on the matter-antimatter experiment Large Hadron Collider b (LHCb) has reached a huge audience. As an expert on PP and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), she is a point of contact for the media. She is regularly interviewed in print, and on radio and television, has appeared at Science Festivals, debated and talked at learned institutions and starred in outreach videos. As one of the most influential nationally known particle physicists, she is an excellent female role model for thousands of aspiring young physicists. At a conservative estimate, her broadcast and print work has reached over a million and her personal appearances over four thousand people.
The discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been one of the biggest science stories in recent years. John Ellis of the KCL Physics Department has significantly enhanced the impact of this scientific breakthrough by engaging the general public around the world with the landmark scientific developments. Based on his original research on the Higgs boson and other aspects of LHC physics, and drawing on work of his colleagues, Ellis has given 76 outreach talks since April 2011 in the UK and in 24 other countries. He has participated in five cultural festivals, given a Youtube presentation with over 500,000 views, made many BBC appearances and given expert analysis and interviews to UK and international print and broadcast media. The reach of the impact is truly global with an audience estimated in the millions.
Research in particle physics at Manchester has impacted on the public understanding and appreciation of science around the world by underpinning the hugely successful media impact of Professor Brian Cox, which in turn has had a strong influence on societal views of science. Audiences in their millions have been reached, especially through Cox's work on television and, with Forshaw, the writing of several best-selling books. These efforts have helped people to understand, appreciate and enjoy science, and have inspired young people to study science at school and university, contributing to a 52% rise in applications to study physics at university.
The Royal Holloway Centre for Particle Physics has long recognised the need to engage with audiences beyond academia to explain particle physics research and respond to the very high level of interest and desire for further knowledge that the public have. Through a series of coordinated outreach events and the development of hands-on demonstrations we have been generating cultural impact on a diverse audience (A-level students, school teachers of physics, young professionals, general public interested in science) by raising awareness of particle physics, engaging the public with current research, and informing the debate on its value.
The power of physics, from the largest to smallest scale, to capture the imagination is unrivalled. This has been used as a vehicle for engagement and education in a wide-ranging series of public-engagement activities over the period 2008-2013. These activities (over 130 outreach events per year) are closely linked to the full spectrum of the School's research. Here the focus is Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics and is built around live events, hands-on demonstrations, educational software development, and media work. The activities have engaged young people through schools and family groups, with a broader cross section of the general public also reached. Birmingham's leadership is evidenced through its major role at each of the Royal Society Summer Exhibitions since 2011, the delivery of extensive national and regional activities supported by the IoP and the STFC, its extensive schools' programme and wide media exposure. The activities have communicated the significance of recent discoveries in physics and astronomy, showing how research, including by Birmingham scientists, has led to these.
Large numbers of the public have been inspired and delighted by Sussex research on high-profile fundamental physics, through media coverage and cultural interpretation of this work, but also by participating in the process and contributing directly to further discoveries. Sussex research contributions to high-profile fundamental research include the Higgs boson discovery, which has had a phenomenal impact around the world, and the ESA's missions, XMM-Newton and Herschel, which appeal to an enduring curiosity and wonder about the nature of the universe. Our research underpins the pioneering Galaxy Zoo Project, which has enabled unprecedented engagement, providing a direct benefit to >200,000 participants who are directly contributing to active research, through one of the most high-profile examples of `citizen science'. The cultural landscape has been enriched through, for example, a sell-out West-End theatre play and a music/art/science collaboration at a regional Arts Festival.
Radiation hardness is key for sensors used in many nuclear medicine, space and defence applications, and for nuclear reactor monitoring and fuel handling. It is vital to academic research in the high particle fluence environments found in particle and nuclear physics. At Liverpool, the development of novel radiation-hard silicon sensor technologies was driven by sensor requirements at the LHC. This research has led to the adoption of n-implant in p-type planar silicon (n-in-p) sensors in the wider research community and by commercial suppliers of sensing devices including Micron Semiconductor and e2v (UK), Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan), CNM (Spain) and FBK (Italy).
Over a four-year period, teachers and around 16,000 pupils from all over the UK have benefited from engagement with Sussex physics research. Outcomes include enhanced science teaching in schools, an increased interest of school children in science and scientists' work, and a greater ability of school children to understand and reflect on science, leading to better-informed study choices. The UG physics population across the South East has roughly doubled over the REF period (based on numbers at the SEPnet partners), which is an important contribution to alleviating the problem of a scarcity of STEM graduates.