Dr Mark Lewney, a physicist from Cardiff has won FameLab – the science world’s equivalent of Pop Idol and the brainchild of the Cheltenham Science Festival in partnership with NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts).
Mark’s “electrifying” performance on the physics of music, complete with electric guitar riffs, had the audience and judges at the Cheltenham Science Festival enthralled. After the audience’s rapturous applause Simon Singh, broadcaster and NESTA Fellow, and one of the FameLab judges quipped “it was alright” but swiftly went on to concede that Mark’s performance was “gob-smackingly amazing”.
Mark was presented with a cheque for £2,000 and will now enter discussions with Channel 4 on his potential career as a television science presenter. Mark will also perform at a series of live science events including the Cheltenham Science Festival 2006.
Hamish Mykura, Head of History, Science and Religion at Channel 4, and also on the judging panel said, “FameLab has proven a fantastic way of road-testing talent. The reaction of the audience in the final spoke volumes and they loved Mark. He left the opposition behind. It is exactly this kind of talent that works on TV.”
The FameLab final took place at the Cheltenham Science Festival on Saturday (June 11). Twelve finalists were whittled down to 6 during the afternoon’s live semi-finals. In the evening the final 6 each had 5 minutes to win over the audience and judging panel that also included Robert Winston, Professor of Fertility Studies and BBC Presenter, Roger Highfield, Science Editor, The Daily Telegraph, and Louisa Bolch, Science Editor, Channel 4. Talking of the high standards in the final Robert Winston said it was “humbling” to listen to the presentations.
After a voting procedure that saw the Cheltenham Festival audience voting to eliminate 2 of the 6 finalists the judges announced the two runners up, Dr David Booth an evolutionary biologist from Belfast and Dr Matt Wilkinson a zoologist from Cambridge, who each received cheques for £750, before revealing the overall winner.
On being announced the winner Mark said it was ‘unbelievable’ and went on to thank his wife, fellow competitors and all involved in FameLabTM, he encouraged anyone who entered and didn’t get through to “have another go”.
Mark, who works as a patent examiner in the UK Patent Office near Newport, was selected to go through to the FameLab final at a regional heat held in Cardiff. Over 300 individuals entered the competition at regional auditions held throughout the spring.
On the success of the FameLab initiative Susan Butler, Communications Director at NESTA said, “The need for new passionate and committed science communicators in the UK has been a growing concern for many and the interest in FameLabTM since its launch over eight months ago is indicative of this. This unusual competition is a real innovation in science and an excellent way to uncover new talent, to find the next Robert Winston or Johnny Ball. It is a further example of NESTA’s commitment to finding new ways to engage the public in science.”
Kathy Sykes, Director of the Cheltenham Science Festival said, “I have been overwhelmed by the level of interest in FameLab, hundreds of people entered revealing a thriving community of talented scientists in the UK committed to communicating. We may have our winner but we also have the other trained finalists who’ve already been offered great speaking and media opportunities. A whole new generation of communicators has been unearthed and we’re looking at ways of encouraging them to keep on talking about science.”
ENDS
For further information and images contact:
FameLab™ Media Enquiries
Sallie Robins – srPR T: 020 7249 4858 M: 07733 330344 E: sr@srPR.net
Cheltenham Festivals Press Office
Jane Eggleton / Ian George T:01242 775856 F: 01242 573902 E: jane.eggleton@cheltenham.gov.uk
Notes for Editors:
FameLab was open to anyone over 18 years old and working in science. This included science teachers, technicians, private and public sector employees; anyone working in the fields of science, technology, engineering or maths. Undergraduates in science subjects were eligible, although school pupils were not. Students studying science communication were also eligible as were people working in science centres. The competition aimed to develop new talent in science communication rather than promoting those already working in the field. In total 332 individuals entered the competition
For further details visit www.famelab.org - the hub of the competition
Dates and venues:
12 March, Manchester, Museum of Science and Industry
19 March, Bristol, At-Bristol
2 April, Cardiff, Techniquest
9 April, Glasgow, Glasgow Science Centre
14 April, London, Dana Centre
16 April, Belfast, W5
11 June, Final, Cheltenham Science Festival
Cheltenham Science Festival offers both a celebration and critical exploration of science. The Festival seeks to respond to public interest in scientific issues and to create opportunities for people to become more informed and to participate in dialogue and debate. The Festival has gained a reputation for nurturing talent in science communication, offering new opportunities for people from different backgrounds to engage different audiences in science.
NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) investing in innovators and working to improve the climate for creativity in the UK. Established in 1998 and set up with an endowment from the National Lottery (£200 million, raised in 2003 to £250 million), NESTA invests the interest to support UK innovation – visit www.nesta.org.uk to find out more.
Pfizer For over 150 years we have been producing medicines that make a difference to patients’ lives, to their families and to society. We rely on the creativity and innovation of the some 6,500 people we employ in the UK to convert basic science into novel and useful medicines. We support FameLab™ because communication is at the heart of scientific progress; particularly communication between scientist and non-scientist. FameLab™ seeks out, trains and rewards new science communicators and recognises the importance of engaging a wider public in science and its application.
The Daily Telegraph, a proud sponsor of FameLab™, is Britain's best-selling quality daily newspaper. With a dedicated science page every Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph is the natural choice for all science enthusiasts.
Channel 4 has engaged a new audience in cutting edge science with programmes ranging from event specials like The Autopsy and Cheating at Athens to major documentary strands including BodyShock and Equinox. Visit www.channel4.co.uk/famelab
© Cheltenham Festivals 2006/7