Accelerator research is of great value to science, society and industry, but this technology does not traditionally feature in mainstream media, nor is it part of school curricula. Public awareness of how accelerators work therefore remains low despite their importance.
To address this challenge, the QUASAR Group at the University of Liverpool has taken a novel approach to public engagement to make the benefits of its research accessible and understandable.
Its wide-ranging outreach activities support by strategic communication have engaged tens of millions people around the globe, improved public understanding of accelerator science, triggered public debate and set best practice for science communication.
Strategy:
Holdsworth Associates worked closely with Professor Carsten Welsch, Head of Physics at Liverpool University, on a series of communication projects to make the cutting-edge research relevant to audiences beyond accelerator physicists.
For example, a series of articles and teaching resources were created for the publication ‘Science in Schools’. Using the theme of Star Wars, to make the subject more accessible to pupils, the resources supported the teaching of accelerator physics by non-specialists.
Outcomes:
- Stories generated for the mainstream and scientific media with themes such as ‘Plugging the skills gap’; ‘What’s the (anti)matter?’; ‘What have particle accelerators ever done for us?’; ‘Do you want to boldly go where science has not gone before?’ – enabled engagement with non-traditional audiences in the UK, Europe and the Americas
- News stories about new developments created coverage in media, including: BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC’s Naked Scientists, The Times, Times Higher Education and New Statesman (UK), IFL Science (USA), Horizon Magazine and EU Research Magazine (EU), Die Welt (Germany), and BBC Mundo (Spanish-speaking world) – improving awareness of Liverpool’s accelerator R&D and the projects.
- Articles in scientific and technology press – including Scientific American (USA), New Scientist, New Electronics, BBC Science Focus, Laboratory News, Physics World, UKSPA Magazine, Materials World, Science (EU), and CERN Courier deepened knowledge about the Group’s technology developments.
