Summary
Wendy Sadler MBE FInstP FHEA FLSW is a British science communicator and lecturer at Cardiff University. She is the founding director of Science Made Simple, which focuses on engaging audiences with the physical sciences. Her areas of interest include inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and communicators; women in STEM; and making STEM subjects accessible to diverse audiences.[1]
Early life edit
Sadler was born in 1972 and grew up in Wombourne, England, where she went to Ounsdale High School.[2] She attended Cardiff University and gained a BSc in Physics and Music in 1994.[3] She gained an MSc in Science Communication at the Open University,[4] where her dissertation assessed the long-term impact of science demonstration shows.[5]
Career edit
Sadler started her career at Techniquest.[6][7]
She began her communications career by creating the non-verbal theatre show called The Experimentrics, which mixed physical theatre and live science demonstrations to create "a world of wordless mystery and fun".[8] She is now a LAMDA accredited public speaker and fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts who has appeared on ITV Wales, BBC Radio and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to discuss the importance of STEM education[9][10][11][12][13][14]
Public engagement edit
Sadler has published 19 books for children.[4]
In 2010 Sadler gave a TEDxCardiff talk titled, "Music and the Machine".[15]
Science Made Simple edit
Sadler set up Science Made Simple (SMS) in 2002 with the mission to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.[16] At the time, Sadler was an IOP Schools Lecturer.[17] SMS develops and presents interactive performances that travel to schools and festivals across the world.[18] They have produced shows, contributed to science television, radio programmes, and children's books, trained scientists and acted as consultants on UK research councils.[19] In 2013, she received national media coverage for their tour of UK primary schools following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[20] SMS is also part of a multimillion-pound EU project investigating the use of performance as a tool to engage young people with science and society issues.[21]
Work with the Welsh Government edit
Sadler is a Lecturer and Schools' Liaison Officer at Cardiff University.[22] She is concerned about the state of science education in Wales.[23]
She is a former member of the Science Advisory Council for Wales.[24] She Chaired and co-authored the Task and Finish report on STEM engagement in Wales for the National Science Academy[25] and was involved in the writing of the Talented Women for a Successful Wales[26] report.[1]
Awards and fellowships edit
- 2023 - Elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales[27]
- 2017 - MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours[28]
- 2017 - Institute of Physics William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize[29][30]
- 2015 - Leading Wales Award for Social Enterprise[16]
- 2009 - Royal Academy of Engineering medal for the Public Promotion of Engineering[31]
- 2008 - UK RC Woman of Outstanding Achievement Award[32]
- 2007 - Descartes Prize for Excellence in Science Communication[33][34]
- 2007 - Institute of Acoustics' Award for Promoting Acoustics to the Public[35]
- 2005 - Institute of Physics Young Professional Physicist of the Year Award[36][37]
- 2004 - Women in Science and Engineering Excellence Award[38]
- 2004 - Welsh Woman of the Year (Science and Technology)[39]
External links edit
- Science Made Simple, official website
References edit
- ^ a b "Wendy Sadler -". science made simple. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- ^ "Science advocate receives MBE in Queen's birthday honours - Compass Media Relations". Compass Media Relations. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ House, McKenzie. "Wendy Sadler". Cardiff University.
- ^ a b "Amazon.co.uk: Wendy Sadler: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle". www.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Research and Evaluation -". science made simple. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ Turner, Robin (15 July 2010). "Rugby pundit Jonathan Davies adds to his honours". walesonline. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Speaking to...Wendy Sadler - Speaking of Science". Speaking of Science. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "About - The Experimentrics". The Experimentrics. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ ScienceMadeSimpleUK (3 July 2013), Wendy Sadler on Why We Need Science In Schools - The Wales Report, BBC, retrieved 28 December 2017
- ^ Wendy Sadler (7 April 2012), Wendy on Alan Titchmarsh show 26th Oct, retrieved 28 December 2017
- ^ Ignite Cardiff (19 December 2013), Science Vs Ghosts (Ignite Cardiff 14 - Episode 2 - Wendy Sadler), retrieved 28 December 2017
- ^ BBC. "BBC - Radio 4 - Leading Edge 10/03/2005". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Silent science show targets children". BBC News. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Inspiring young scientists". News. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ TEDx Talks (13 June 2010), TEDxCardiff - Wendy Sadler - Music and the Machine, retrieved 28 December 2017
- ^ a b "Social Enterprise 2015". Leading Wales Awards 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ Physics, Institute of. "Five IOP members receive Queen's Birthday Honours". www.iop.org. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "20Twenty Graduate named Winner at Leading Wales Awards 2015". Cardiff Metropolitan University. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Newsmakers" (PDF). Interactions: The Newspaper of The Physics Community. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "News". www.astro.cf.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "The EU funded PERFORM Project -". science made simple. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Wendy Sadler". People. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Is Wales in a science-education crisis? - SoapboxScience". SoapboxScience. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ perform-research.eu/about/partners/sciencemadesimple/
- ^ "Welsh Government | National Science Academy". gov.wales. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- ^ "Talented Women for a Successful Wales" (PDF).
- ^ Wales, The Learned Society of. "Wendy Sadler". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- ^ "100-year-old leads Welsh Queen's honours". BBC News. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ Physics, Institute of. "IOP Award Winners 2017". www.iop.org. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ Tesh, Sarah (30 June 2017). "Scientists honoured by the Institute of Physics - physicsworld.com". physicsworld.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Engineering Explained in Cardiff wins Academy Award". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ WISE. "Women of Outstanding Achievement". www.wisecampaign.org.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ Wightwick, Abbie (8 March 2007). "Scientist collects international prize". walesonline. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "European Commission : CORDIS : News and Events : Descartes prizes awarded to outstanding projects and communicators". cordis.europa.eu. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Past Winners | ioa". www.ioa.org.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Wendy Sadler | Women's Engineering Society". dev.wes.org.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ WalesOnline (3 February 2005). "Another top award for science promoter". walesonline. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ WalesOnline (18 November 2004). "Wendy's appliance of science is rewarded". walesonline. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ Post, North Wales Daily (3 January 2008). "Ex-minister joins board of Welsh think tank". northwales. Retrieved 28 December 2017.