Interviews on wonder, curiosity and creativity
Jack Kirby is Group Head of Collections Services for the Science Museum Group. He has worked with diverse communities in London and Birmingham and curated collections of national significance. Jack has responsibility for caring for, digitising and managing the Science Museum Group's internationally outstanding collection. Based in Manchester, UK, he leads teams across five museums and two collections facilities, from County Durham to Wiltshire.
John broke the world record for paper aircraft distance in 2012; a record he still holds. Author of four books of original designs, John has been called the world’s foremost expert on paper airplanes. His planes are recognized around the globe, and one was featured in the movie “Paper Planes”. His books have been translated into... Continue Reading →
Bruce Drinkwater is an Engineer and Professor working at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. His interests span many applications of ultrasonics including imaging, condition monitoring as well as ultrasonic levitation, tractor beams and haptics. In 2015 he co-invented the world’s first stable ultrasonic tractor beam, in 2017 he demonstrated the levitation of wavelength-scale objects and in 2019 the levitation and manipulation of multiple objects.
Dr Gavin Buckingham was awarded his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Aberdeen (UK) in 2008, before moving to Canada to take up a position as a postdoctoral fellow in the Brain and Mind Institute at Western University in Canada. His work there mostly focused on how we perceive weight of, and interact with, objects in the world around us. Around this time, he developed a particular interest in illusions, which have fascinated him ever since. He is currently a senior lecturer in the Department Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter, where he leads the Object Interaction Lab
Danielle worked at Jodrell Bank Observatory as a Senior Radio Frequency Engineer until 2006 when she took up a lectureship at The University of Manchester. Following on from the success of her 2014 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures “Sparks Will Fly: How to Hack Your Home” and wishing to develop a citizen science project during the 2016 European City of Science, she co-founded and developed the “Manchester Robot Orchestra”. In 2018 she was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Medal for excellence in communicating science to the public. She is involved in the astronomical instrument, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), is the UK lead for amplifiers for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope and has worked with NASA and ESA on the development of instrumentation for researchers exploring the Big Bang.
A Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, problem solver, maker and Judge on the recent series of BBC Robot Wars. Lucy's an inventor and Founded the Guild of Makers. She has a PhD in Bubbles (Fluid Dynamics), a City in Guilds in Woodturning and a Cycling Proficiency Certificate.
Tim Hunkin trained as an engineer, but then became a cartoonist (drawing a strip for the Observer called ‘The Rudiments of Wisdom’ for 15 years). His next career was in television (writing and presenting three series called ‘The Secret Life of Machines’ for Channel 4). He then worked for museums, curating and designing exhibitions and building interactive exhibits. Since 2001, he has mainly been making arcade machines for his ‘Under the Pier Show’ amusement arcade on Southwold pier and ‘Novelty Automation’ in London.
Dr. Marty Jopson is an accomplished scientist. Although he has a PhD in plant cell biology and a Natural Sciences (Botany) degree from Cambridge university, he is comfortable explaining the whole gamut of scientific subjects. He has been involved in making science television programmes for over twenty years. In that time he has worked extensively behind the camera but also in front as the long standing (8 years +) science presenter on the BBC1 flagship programme, The One Show. When not on television, Marty performs his distinct brand of much acclaimed, hair-raising and flammable science on stage at science festivals around the country. He is the author of two popular books on “The Science of Everyday Life” and “The Science of Food”.
Words on Wonder 