see also

This is apples and oranges. Once they worked, they worked better and better. It took a long time to make them work / useful. You think fusion energy should be like a prototype solar panel from day dot. Im saying fusion is only now reaching its prototype readiness stage of your deployment model.

Most recent results not included. Logarithmic scientific progress on a difficult question over time included.

Joining new technician networks meant a new set of conferences, equity themes and foci for improving the work we do. Can still use social media to share the insights of papers and conferences in lovely long threads though! #makeithappen

In the technician role I went straight to a public meeting to promote the UK's fusion energy project locally, very agenda driven communication. Then a real challenge to layering the messages - school careers in STEM with every year group in turn!

Lots of great charities working in this space. Smashing stereotypes to make sure everyone can see themselves in science, technology or engineering careers. We get together for #LGBTSTEMinar and do #LGBTSTEMday at our home bases.

Speaking of out scicomm, going to Pride is a fantastic, targeted way to communicate. Have to change the explainers a wee bit so they suit the mood though! Love doing the ED&I work, the insights on the department committee and workshops at events like CUWiP teaching communication.

As well as talking down and up there's been a lot of genuinely 'out' communication. The late night science museum events are great. You cant talk down to people - have to frame your topic in a way that invites them to contribute their thoughts too!

And then there's writing 'up' for your own industry. Keeping engaging content while persuading people who already broadly know the answers why your version of it is the one they should give attention!

At the other end there's also been lots of SciComm to 'talk up' including engaging with big meetings of senior people who really force you to fine tune your work to one or two key reasons to care.

As I say, so many science fairs and school events to put flesh on the bones of curriculum concepts and talk seriously about science, engineering and technical careers as viable options. Challenging to discuss fusion things simply as well as accurately.

One of my absolute favourites was spending time with Technology in Play at the NRM communicating scientific ideas to a very young audience and pushing hard the STEAM concept of creativity in scientific thinking!

Continuing the education theme Ive spent time with the Isaac Physics programme helping young women and disadvantaged young people do well in exams. Have written questions based on online simulators for it and been an 'expert' replier to online questions from students.

Scicomm went international when I & colleagues entered the Spark! essay contest. Exploring nuclear power's niche in a democratised and decarbonised grid of the future, we finalists were invited to Paris to meet political & industry leaders.

The Fusion Masterclass workshop I built to introduce postgrad subject matter at high school level (incl. maths problems) made it big. Written for the Headstart programme, it was published and then part of York's Binding Blocks programme. Phys. Educ. 54 044001, doi.org/10.1088/1361...

The biggest was a fusion energy podcast called A Glass of Seawater. We did chatty episodes on technical topics with big guests. Curated a twitter handle sharing news and explainers of nuclear fusion science and tech. It won an Institute of Physics science communication prize.

A physicist who loves communicating. Thread of some of my favourite scicomm projects on top of academic posters and talks, ED&I, science fairs, lab tours, workshops, teaching and blowing minds at parties… 1/ ‘Through a Plasma, Darkly’