The following people have all agreed to give one or more talks, workshops or demonstrations over the course of the astro.CAMPhw weekend, and we are very excited to have such an excellent range of speakers. Many of them will be around for the whole weekend and will also be taking part in star gazing, question and answer sessions, and will be available for informal discussions in the bar.
Our list of guests will grow during the months between now and astro.CAMPhw so check back here regularly to see the latest updates, or to be kept up to date on all our news and updates you can follow us on facebook or twitter.
Click on the item titles after each person's information to be taken to details of the talks, etc, they are giving.
Simon Singh
Simon grew up in Wellington, Somerset and then went to Imperial College London, where he studied physics, before completing a PhD in particle physics at Cambridge University and at CERN, Geneva. In 1990 he joined the BBC's Science Department, where he was a producer and director of programmes such as Tomorrow's World and Horizon. In 1996 he directed Fermat's Last Theorem, a BAFTA award winning documentary about the world's most notorious mathematical problem. Since then he has written a number of national and international bestselling popular science books, including Fermat's Last Theorem, Big Bang and his most recent work, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets.
As well as writing, Simon gives lectures and has been involved with various science communication projects. You can find out more about Simon and his work on his website at simonsingh.net.
Ed Trollope
Ed studied at several UK universities before cruelly being exiled to "get a job and a haircut!" After originally studying space physics he turned to the dark side (spacecraft engineering), then realised how poorly structured his code was and opted for software engineering too. Now he works in Germany, where he helps to land robots on other worlds and predict the weather. When he's not commanding spacecraft he's busy explaining where the limits of our scientific knowledge lie, as the founder of science website Things We Don't Know (dot com). But he still hasn't had that haircut.
Things We Don't Know seeks to break the paradigm in which we always seem to hear about science in the past tense, by explaining the questions we're still working on, and why we haven't been able to answer them so far. By helping people to discover the mysteries that surround us, TWDK aims to help bridge the gap between researchers and the wider public and dispel some of the myths and confusion that surrounds science today. TWDK have pledged to use the majority of their profits to fund scientific research, and communicate the results. You can read more about Ed and his work at TWDK on their website, ThingsWeDontKnow.com.
Prof Paul Roche
Paul is Director of the Faulkes Telescopes Project, the UK National Schools' Astronomer and the Space Ambassador for Wales. He has spent over 20 years researching massive stars, neutron stars and black holes, and working in astronomy education, outreach and science communication.
Paul's current role primarily involves astronomy education and outreach, and in particular promoting online STEM education through robotic, Internet-controlled telescopes, located on Hawaii and Australia (the Faulkes Telescope Project). He set up the "Down 2 Earth" educational programme, which is now run in collaboration with the National Museum of Wales, and funded by STFC and the Royal Astronomical Society.
At the University of South Wales, Paul heads a small group dealing with both astronomical research and education/outreach, and teaches on the BSc in Observational Astronomy. You can find out more about Paul and his work on the USW Staff Directory.
Emma Wride
Emma studied Astronomy at the University of Glamorgan, and is now the AstroCymru Project Officer at the University of South Wales. AstroCymru is an education project, funded by the Welsh National Science Academy, aimed at engaging and enthusing school children in STEM subjects. Emma delivers astronomy-related primary school workshops (including 3D shows) across Wales for FREE.
You can find out more about Emma and her work on the AstroCymru facebook page.
Alastair Leith
Alastair has been interested in astronomy since he was a teenage boy in London's East End, having been inspired by the legendary Halley's Comet. His interest has been on and off the back burner with college and the lack of a garden making it difficult to pursue his hobby. However in recent years he has been responsible for building one of the largest and most diverse online Astronomy communities, and has helped pioneer Astronomy and Social Media.
Alastair also formed the successful Online Astronomy Society Academy which is one of the few organisations offering GCSE Astronomy by remote learning. His own particular interests are Astronomical Spectroscopy (for which is currently writing a book) and Solar Astronomy. He is also getting to know his new NEQ6 Mount.
You can read more about Alastair and his work on his blog page.
