CASS Public Engagement Prize Awarded to Café Science Innovator Dr Ben Vincent
Discipline: Psychology
Who: Dr Benjamin Vincent
What: CASS Public Engagement Prize Awarded to Café Science Innovator Dr Ben Vincent
Since its inception in 2007, Café Science Dundee, a lecture series that brings scientists of all disciplines and the public together in a relaxed, informal setting, has gone from strength to strength. About to embark upon its fifth season in 2011-12, Café Science now constitutes a popular Dundee institution, thanks to the help of a small team consisting of individuals from the two Dundee universities, as well as various local institutions. Café Science was originally co-founded by Dr Ben Vincent together with Sheryl Mitchell of Scottish Enterprise Tayside. In recognition of his innovative work in setting up and building the reputation of this fantastic lecture series, Dr Ben Vincent was awarded with the first-ever College of Arts and Social Sciences Prize for Excellence in Public Engagement With Research. The judges for this award were very impressed by Ben’s work with Café Science, in particular because of the new opportunities his effort has provided for researchers within CASS to showcase their own research, and the unique opportunity now created for Dundee’s academic and cultural community.
Science in the City: Interactive Psychology Exhibits for Kids at Dundee Science Centre Discipline
Discipline: Law
Who: Dr Alissa Melinger; Dr Josephine Ross
In 2010, two Psychology lecturers from CASS both actively participated in ‘Science in the City’, a public engagement initiative in association with SENSATION, Dundee’s local science centre. The exhibits set up by Alissa and Josephine were part of the ‘Create and Inspire’ course designed to give opportunities for research scientists to interact with children, teachers and parents alike. Alissa’s exhibit was entitled ‘How We Speak, which was designed to make children more aware of their own ability to talk. She also had a presentation on phonetics that included a fascinating x-ray of a man producing various sound combinations. Josephine’s was designed to explain to children and adults, through games, how the onset of self-awareness alters the way we perceive the world. Families, Primary School pupils and teachers visiting the exhibits reported having fun, and leaving with a clearer understanding of psychological and psycholinguistic research.