Embedding Science in Popular Culture

在过去的十年里，除了在我的理论核物理领域建立国际研究声誉外，我还将大量时间投入到科学交流和普及活动中。萨里大学在2005年表彰了我的努力，将我提升为物理学和公众参与科学活动的联合个人主席。2007年，我被授予皇家学会迈克尔·法拉第奖章和科学传播奖，今年早些时候，我因对物理的贡献而获得了表彰勋章。我对交流我的研究并与公众接触更广泛的科学问题充满热情。我现有的EPSRC高级媒体奖学金使我能够从事由于我的学术承诺而无法完成的项目和倡议。在过去的两年里，我凭借两部三集的系列剧(原子和科学与伊斯兰教)和地平线上关于大爆炸的一小时纪录片确立了自己的电视主持人地位，这两部纪录片都是为BBC4制作的。明年(我在SMF的最后一年)，我还将制作另外三个节目：为BBC4制作一部关于混沌理论的一小时纪录片，为BBC4制作一部由三部分组成的名为Elements的化学系列节目，以及在第四频道与斯蒂芬·霍金(Stephen Hawking)和理查德·道金斯(Richard Dawkins)共同介绍英国科学史的五部分系列节目。为了继续保持这种水平的活动，我请求延长SMF的制作期限，以便继续从萨里大学物理系的学术工作中抽出一半的时间，如果没有这样的节目，我将无法证明从办公桌上抽出这么多时间是合理的。我目前的SMF让我在广播界建立了许多人脉，并在电视和广播上确立了我作为科学主持人的名声。我现在处于幸运和受宠若惊的境地，因为我很受欢迎。如果我的研究金没有延期，我将无法继续在学术研究、学术研究和公众参与广播事业之间取得平衡。我会被迫做出选择--我希望我不必这样做。今年夏天，我参加了我所在的核物理研究小组成功地向STFC提供的五年滚动拨款，价值超过200万英镑。根据完全经济成本计算，我在未来几年用于研究的拨款时间比例为38%--是所有学者中最高的。我们现在正在招聘一名新的博士后研究员，在一个我将参与了解核聚变反应动力学的新领域工作。

Over the past decade, in addition to forging an international research reputation in my field of theoretical nuclear physics, I have devoted a significant fraction of my time to science communication and popularisation activities. The University of Surrey acknowledged my efforts in 2005 by promoting me to a joint personal chair in physics and in the Public Engagement in Science. In 2007, I was awarded the Royal Society's Michael Faraday medal and prize for science communication and earlier this year received an OBE for services to physics.I feel passionately about communicating my research and engaging with the public on wider scientific issues in general. My existing EPSRC Senior Media Fellowship has enabled me to pursue projects and initiatives I would otherwise have been unable to do because of my academic commitments. Over the past two years I have established myself as a television presenter with two three-part series ( Atom and Science and Islam ) and a one hour Horizon documentary on the Big Bang, all for BBC4. Next year (my final year of the SMF) I will be making a further three more programmes: a one hour documentary on chaos theory for BBC4, a three-part series on chemistry called Elements , also for BBC4 and a five part series, co-presenting with Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins on the history of British Science for Channel 4. For this level of activity to continue I request an extension to my SMF that can continue to buy out half my time from the academic duties within the department of Physics at the University of Surrey, without which I would not be able to justify taking so much time away from my desk. My current SMF has allowed me to forge many contacts within broadcasting and to get my name established as a science presenter on television and radio. I am now in the lucky and flattering position of being 'in demand'. Without an extension to my fellowship I would not be able to continue the balance of academic research and scholarship and public engagement in broadcasting. I would be forced to choose - something I hope I do not have to do.This summer, I was part of my nuclear physics research group's successful five-year rolling grant bid to STFC, worth over two million pounds. Under Full Economic Costing, the fraction of my time on grant to devote to research over the coming few years was 38% - the highest of any academic in the group. We are in the process now of recruiting a new postdoctoral fellow to work in a new area I will be involved with in understanding nuclear fusion reaction dynamics.