For educators
For teachers
We currently offer CPD training for specific workshops, such as particle physics masterclass, how to use robotic telescopes in school and more. We can train individuals or groups in the school premises. We also offer guidance and support in technical matters such as using data loggers in class and setting up more advanced physics A-level experiments. We provide easy to read documentation so that anyone can set up these experiments in the future.
For university researchers
We offer guidance and support to university researchers in building public engagement workshops. We design and create resources that target a specific age group with the aim to inform and educate the audience on current research in physics and astronomy. Examples of our work are demonstrated in the “Clocks and Gears” workshop and “The world of fundamental particles” workshop. Please contact us if you have an idea you want to explore.
Testimonial
“I feel extremely privileged to have met and collaborated with Maria over the last several years, since she joined the School of Physics and Astronomy at Birmingham in 2013. Maria is excellent in her work, punctual and accurate, with all the details thoroughly thought-out in advance. She has a kind and calm personality, making collaborating with here exceptionally pleasant. Each of my discussions with Maria gave me something to think about! Maria is an invaluable collaborator, as she combines a unique set of skills:
1) Excellent understanding of Physics (she is a physicist)
2) Extensive experience in teaching at secondary and university levels (she has taught at secondary schools in England and Greece, as well as in the University of Birmingham at Foundation and Undergraduate levels.)
3) Artistic capabilities (she is a musician)
4) Understanding of the research landscape and methods (she has a PhD in Musical Acoustics).
She uses her well-rounded education and broad experience, to create, innovate, and to provide unique novel insights! In her role as a school liaison officer she developed new outreach activities that lead to several publications (e.g. Phys.Educ. 51 (2016) 5, 054003 and Phys.Educ. 54 (2019) 1, 015013) and her work has been presented in several relevant conferences. I was particularly impressed by the undergraduate module on Physics of Music and Sound that she designed, developed, and delivered. Among other innovative aspects, this module included fantastic demonstrations of musical instruments (the Theremin being a personal favourite!).
We worked closely together in the CREATIONS project, a Horizon2020 EU-funded project (2015-2018). She was instrumental in our group achieving and surpassing the allocated performance indicators, contributing crucially to the success of the project. She was responsible to substantially expand the physics teachers’ network for West Midlands, and this provided privileged access to young students. Together with colleagues from STFC and Exeter, we also developed nation-wide public engagement activities.
Maria always made time to discuss about new activities. She provided insightful constructive feedback on our “Particle Dance” (Phys.Educ. 55 (2020) 2, 025018) and “Physics and Visual Arts” (Phys.Educ. 53 (2018) 5, 054001) activities, and supported the delivered workshops. She was key to the success of these efforts. Maria has a true passion about physics outreach, and I was able to see it first hand in our work in the Committee of the Institute of Physics West Midlands Branch. She was also organising the IoP Evening Lectures series at the University of Birmingham, a lecture series renowned for their quality and for the large audiences they attracted.
Maria is a truly outstanding individual, and I am really excited she is pursuing her vision to bring physics closer to people. I very much look forward to seeing her new ideas materialising and to collaborating with her in the future.”
Kostas Nikolopoulos, Professor of Physics at University of Birmingham