Description
Science cannot be conducted in a social vacuum. Enabling individuals to bring their whole selves to work promotes the ability to form diverse teams who can draw from a range of perspectives to provide better decision-making and open up exciting new avenues of inquiry. In the diversity space, a significant amount of attention is placed upon understanding challenges in attracting and retaining women and girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). Many of these challenges are shared by LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, plus more) colleagues, people of different races, people with disabilities (both visible and invisible), and different social class. In this talk, I will explore recent research around the issues of LGBTQ+ in STEM, as well as initiatives to queer up science spaces and science up queer spaces to promote and embrace a more equal, diverse and inclusive STEM culture.
Biography
Dr Ben Britton is a materials scientist and engineer, based at Imperial College London. He leads the Experimental Micromechanics Group (www.expmicromech.com) and the groups’ research focusses on understanding the behaviour of materials at the micro- to nano-scale using advanced electron microscopy and micro-scale mechanical testing for aerospace, oil & gas, and nuclear power. Dr Britton is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (IOM3). In 2014 he won the IOM3 silver medal (outstanding contribution to materials science, engineering, and technology by an individual under 30) and in 2016 he was awarded the RAEng/Engineers Trust Young Engineer of the Year Award as one of the UK’s “future engineering leaders”.
Pride in STEM (http://www.prideinstem.org/ and @PrideinSTEM) is a LGBTQ+ charitable trust established to promote visibility, intersectionality, and improvement in STEM. It is led by an independent group of volunteers and runs frequent events including OutThinkers to provide role models and showcase STEM talent in the LGBTQ+ community. Pride in STEM were one of the organisations that spearheaded the LGBTSTEM day (celebrated internationally) and we were nominated for the Gay Times Honours in 2017.
PLEASE NOTE: staff and students at Imperial can follow the lecture live on the day via this videostream link (requires College login). We hope to make a video recording of the event available shortly afterwards.