EDI

I am committed to making a positive contribution to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) in academia and am supportive of underrepresented groups including women, BAME, LGBTQIA+, people with disability and students from state schools.

Female Scientists
Together with Ulrike Böhm, I am running the facebook page ‘Physikerinnen’ for female physicists. Every week, we highlight an excellent women in physics (from student to professor) as ‘female physicist of the week’. A collection of features can be found on the webpage of the Equal Opportunities division of German Physical Society.

I took part in the 2020 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting online discussion on Women in Science, you can watch a video in the Lindau Mediatheque. At Newcastle I recently organised a social for gender minorities in STEM and a small-scale postcard campaign to highlight “hidden figures” in the sciences.

If you are looking for a female speaker for outreach purposes, you can have a look at lists like
– GAGE – 500 women scientists

LGBTQIA+ Networks, Outlists and Ally Lists
It can be a big help to LGBTQIA+ students, research associates, and staff to have a network of contacts who are LGBTQIA+ themselves or are supportive allies (like myself). To help build such a network, some colleagues and collaborators are choosing to put their names on so-called “Out lists” and “Ally lists” – publicly indicating that they are LGBTQIA+ or that they are allies supportive of LGBTQIA+ people, and that they are willing to be contacted to discuss things like the LGBTQIA+ climate at their institution and in their city. Here are the links to some organisations and collected lists relevant for areas touching my field of research:

The Trans Physics Discord server is an online space for transgender and non-binary physicists — from enthusiasts to professors! — to socialise, network and support one another. All trans people and allies are welcome, and so far we have over 100 members from across the UK and overseas.”

Students from state schools & disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds
93% Club – a charitable social enterprise dedicated to improving social mobility in the UK
Newcastle University PARTNERS summer school programme

BAME
BBSTEM – a network to inspire the young Black British generation to pursue STEM subjects in university and beyond
BWIS Network – a network for Black Women In Science
Cite Black Women+ in Physics Bibliography
African American Women in Physics 
Black in Astro – celebrating and amplifying the Black experience in space-related fields

Disability
There are a wide range of physical and mental factors affecting access to and involvement with science, here are just a few interesting projects aimed at bridging this gap

  • Audio Universe using sonification make the solar system accessible to the visually impaired in an audio planetarium show, directed by my Newcastle colleague Dr Chris Harrison
  • Tactile Universe to make astrophysical images accessible to the visually impaired using 3D printing