Academics from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences triumphed at the recent Public Engagement and Entrepreneurship awards, which recognise outstanding staff and student achievement throughout Queen Mary.
Dr Magda Osman receiving her award from Principal Simon Gaskell
Two out of the fourteen awards went to SBCS academics at a packed ceremony held on Monday 9 November 2015, including one of only three awards for outstanding individual achievement. Celebrating excellence in public engagement, academic enterprise and student enterprise, the awards are a chance to shine a light on the long tradition of staff and students at Queen Mary connecting their research activities to wider society.
Senior Lecturer in Psychology Dr Magda Osman won the Hawking award for her work in engagement, including public debates she has organized and taken part in, articles in magazines and newspapers, podcasts and TV work, and presenting to the Bank of England and The Government's Nudge unit. Named after Lucy Hawking, novelist and daughter of Steven Hawking, this prestigious award is given to an individual to acknowledge their critical thinking in the field of public engagement.
Senior Lecturer Dr Christophe Eizaguirre won the Influence Award for his science-led conservation in Cape Verde [PDF 261KB], which combines science and education to develop a programme to protect endangered marine turtles in Cape Verde. This award celebrates where research has been used to change the way things are done, in this case affecting the behaviour of an entire local population and the work of related NGOs.
Winner of the Engagement Award Magda Osman commented: "This goes to show that there can be a happy coincidence between thinking a certain way and being acknowledged for it! But this opportunity wouldn't come with out the help and support of the school and college."
Christophe Eizaguirre commented: “This prize means a lot to us as it rewards the work we do with many different international and national NGOs, as well as rewarding the invaluable work done by Cape Verde University students and local communities to protect turtles.”