Teaching

Science and technology have revolutionized the way that people live. While technology has, for the most part, been embraced globally (for example, there are now well over 1 billion users of mobile telephones and over 100 million users of VoIP) most people still find science inaccessible and daunting. Why is there such a difference when science and technology are two sides of the same coin? Perhaps because people see the relevance of technology to their lives while science remains largely isolated in universities, labs, and other areas out of sight from the public domain. Technology has been sold to the public, science generally has not.

The principal marketplace for science is school, college, and university. Education is the advertising. If the students don't see a product they like, it will never be bought. If it isn't bought, it will not be used; if it isn't used, it will go to waste. It is the responsibility of scientists and educators to provide people from all walks of life (including other scientists and educators) with lessons that are useful to them. This means spending time designing a range of products for different target groups, trying them out, getting feedback, modifying them, and trying again. This does not mean that students will necessarily get everything that they want (anybody for a straight-A without any work?), but it does mean they will get something that is interesting and useful, that they want to have and use, for a lifetime. Once the 'software' is in place, free upgrades are available on the internet and TV, in books and magazines, at the local museum, national park, and zoo (to name but a few).

Science is the conceptual framework for and provides the means to understand technology. It provides a tool—critical thinking—as powerful and versatile as any sold as technology. It can help you shop, vote, fix a car, cook the greatest dinner, surf better, get a date (well, ok, maybe just perhaps), and much much more. Are you buying? Because we've got something to sell ...

For courses taught and outreach, please see CV.