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University scientist comes out top with schoolchildren

Friday, 02 July 2010

Joseph Cook

'I entered because I thought it looked like a great opportunity to engage with schools and show children how exciting science is.' Joseph Cook

Joseph Cook, from the School of Pharmacy, has been voted top scientist in a poll by schoolchildren across the country. He wowed the students in I'm a Scientist, Get me Out of here - an online science event, which is described as 'school science lessons meet the X Factor'!

Through the web forum students quizzed scientists and chose which one deserved a prize of £500 to help them further communicate their work.

Joseph won the Chemical Zone, answering questions as diverse as ‘How often does an obese person fart compared to an average size one?' and ‘Why can't we time travel?'

Joseph is a postdoctoral research assistant investigating a new method for producing hydrogels that could be useful in the development of contact lenses and babies' nappies.

"I didn't expect to win because the other people in my group were very good at answering the questions and they put a lot of effort into the event," said Joseph.

"I entered because I thought it looked like a great opportunity to engage with schools and show children how exciting science is."

The event organisers said: "Congratulations Joseph! The students voted you their favourite scientist and the most worthy of the £500 prize to communicate your science work. Your readiness to answer any and every question has been fantastic - you were a wonderful contestant. We wish you all the best in your research into hydrogels."

Joseph plans to use his prize money to attend a conference connected to his research area.

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