This episode was first published in May 2024

This month on People Doing Physics, we have a voice very familiar to listeners; Simone Eizagirre Barker, PhD student in the Quantum Optical Materials and Systems group at the Cavendish.

Following a winding path into Optical Physics, Simone previously dipped her toes into Nanotechnology in the Cavendish’ NanoDTC, and Chemical Physics at the University of Edinburgh. Her interdisciplinary background builds on her fascination for figuring out how the world works, whether looking at quantum systems or how to structure the perfect argument. Outside of science, Simone has been involved in student magazines, debating clubs, improv theatre, and podcasts, most notably (in our opinion) as one of the founding members of this very podcast. She also produces a fortnightly segment for Basque public broadcast radio’s Faktoria Magazina.

In this episode, Simone talks about finding her way through a multi-disciplinary career in science, the importance of communication, and how to publish your first academic paper at the age of 16...

• Simone’s group and research are on the Quantum Cambridge website.
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you!
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Hosts: Jacob Butler and Vanessa Bismuth

Recording and editing: Chris Brock

Welcome back to a world of People Doing Physics! For this first episode of 2024, let us introduce you to Richard King, the Undergraduate Lab Manager at the Cavendish Laboratory. Richard oversees the practical side of the undergraduate physics course, managing the team that designs, develops, and deploys lecture demos and undergraduate experiments. A former electronic engineer, his background was in circuit design and computing before he joined the Cavendish in 2008.

With Richard, we talk about how Cambridge has changed over the years, what it’s like going from fast-paced industry to the sedate world of the university, the processes involved in setting up practical work for hundreds of undergraduates, and what exactly he was doing wandering around Costa Rica with photographs of old airfields last year.

• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey! Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you.
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

• Host: Jacob Butler
• Recording and Editing: Chris Brock

This month, our guest is Dr Sam Gregson, better known as YouTube’s Bad Boy of Science. Formerly a Cavendish particle physicist working on the LHCb experiment at CERN, Sam found that he enjoyed finding ways to engage non-specialist audiences with fundamental physics more than submitting himself to peer-review and moved into science communication.

The founder of LHComedy, CERN’s first ever comedy show, he now runs science education shows that have played in venues as diverse as the Royal Institution and The Green Man Festival. His Hunting the Higgs talk was recently performed for hundreds of school students here at the Cavendish, and has been seen by tens of thousands around the world.

Alongside this, he blogs, podcasts, and regularly posts videos to YouTube covering current scientific stories and in-depth breakdowns of complex particle physics. Today, we’ll talk about what drove him to look for the most fundamental building blocks of the universe, why he now subjects himself to audiences of teenagers, and how he feels particle physics research can make a better case for itself… Stay with us!

Useful links

• Check Sam's website The Bad Boy of Science and his YouTube channel: Welcome to the Bad Boy of Science YT channel!
• To learn more about the LHCb experiment, check the CERN website: LHCb |CERN
• LHComedy, CERN's 1st ever comedy show founded by Sam in 2013 , is still available online: LHComedy

Share and join the conversation

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you!
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Episode credits

• Hosts: Vanessa Bismuth and Jacob Butler
• Recording and Editing: Chris Brock