Kathryn Boast

Science Communicator and Physicist

I am a science communicator, which means I work with researchers to understand their discoveries, and then find exciting ways to explain them to other people. This could be anything from writing news articles to making videos or creating science shows. We’ve even made a giant, interactive art installation showing a glowing crystal structure!

I started out as a researcher searching for dark matter, which is mysterious extra “stuff” in the universe that we can’t explain. I worked on the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, which is essentially a giant bucket of liquid xenon that we’re hoping some dark matter will crash into.

I’ve always been interested in the bigger picture – trying to understand why the universe is the way it is. But I found I was just as happy for someone else to do the research, as long as I got to find out the answer! As a science communicator, I still spend a lot of time understanding brand new discoveries and exciting bits of science, and I spend all day around researchers and laboratories – I just don’t have to do the nitty gritty work to make the results happen!

I work with the ‘Quantum Materials’ research group in Oxford Physics. A quantum material is anything that needs the theory of quantum mechanics to explain its properties. This covers all sort of things, from superconductors to fridge magnets. A lot of the work we do explores why certain materials have these weird properties, and how we might be able to use them in future technologies.

Say Hi to Kathryn on Twitter here!

Check out Kathryn’s Global Science Show entry…