I work in the fields of science communication and screen studies and I’m interested in the relationship between movies and the public understanding of science. I conduct research into science fiction movies made between 1967-1977 and their incorporation of real-world science and imagined future science. My work also analyses how major scientific concepts and advancements have influenced onscreen representations of science. As part of my current book-in-progress I am looking more specifically at how leaders and members of religious institutions have interpreted and understood science in movies. I also work on the representation of women in STEM and the inclusion of women scientists in the processes of entertainment media production.
I contribute blog posts to the 'Science and Entertainment Laboratory', and 'Unsettling Scientific Stories', and I have also written for 'Bitch Flicks', 'The British Science Association', and 'The Guardian'. My posts tend to focus on science fiction and real world science, and representation of women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine) in science-based media.
My current research project is: 'Unsettling Scientific Stories: Expertise, Narrative, and Future Histories' - an AHRC-funded inter-institutional project (York, Newcastle, Aberystwyth) investigating the history of the future during the long 20th Century. The specific Newcastle University project 'Prospecting Futures' will survey contemporary efforts to map futures in science and SF narratives, and will explore the emergent futures generated in relation to new and emerging scientific fields.
