My invited blog article How solid state physics is helping us adapt to a COVID world was published on the Routledge website as part of their Science & Everyday Life blog on April 25, 2022.
Biography
I obtained my doctorate (in experimental physics) from the University of Sussex, where I was subsequently a Visiting Fellow in Physics and Astronomy for nine years. I have worked as a science writer and broadcaster for the last 25 years. During this time I have devised and presented science programmes on BBC Radio 4, presented two mini-series and features for the BBC World Service, presented video podcasts for medical research charity the Myrovlytis Trust, and competed in a 'Boffins Special' of The Weakest Link. My articles have appeared in New Scientist, Science, Science Careers, The Times Higher Education Supplement, The Times Literary Supplement, Flipside, E&T, Focus, Physics World, Laser Systems Europe, Interactions, Materials World, Modern Astronomer, and Astronomy Now. I have also written careers material, case studies, and press releases for the Institute of Physics, and careers material and brochures for the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. My first book, the children's popular science book The Way Science Works (co-authored with Robin Kerrod) was shortlisted for the Aventis Prizes for Science Books Junior Prize. I was also shortlisted for the broadcasting category of the Association of British Science Writers' Awards in 2005. I have contributed to the popular science books 30-Second Quantum Theory and 30-Second Energy, and have written three volumes for my Outside the Research Lab undergraduate textbook series. My first solo popular science book Nuclear Fusion: The Race to Build a Mini-Sun on Earth was published in September 2022, and the 2nd edition of my undergraduate textbook Understanding Solid State Physics came out in 2021 and is used as a core text in universities around the world. In 2022 I was honoured to be the recipient of the William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics for public engagement in physics. I was equally delighted to be awarded the Institute of Physics Young Professional Physicist of the Year for 2006, and to win a Merit Award in the Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer of the Year competition back in 1994 when I was a postgraduate student. November 2023 sees the publication of my latest book Communicating Science Clearly: A Self-Help Guide for Students and Researchers.Education
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DPhil in experimental physics, University of Sussex, 1992-1996
BSc (Hons) in physics, University of Sussex, 1989-1992
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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My doctorate was in thermoluminescence.
Personal Interests
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Outside of work I collect contemporary ceramics, regularly visit art galleries and museums, enjoy learning about fashion history and steam locomotives, and keep an ever-increasing variety of cacti and succulents.
Websites
Books
Featured Title
Articles
Physicists wanted: the demand for physics skills in the UK workplace
Published: Sep 12, 2023 by Physics World
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
Features article exploring the findings of a recent report from the Institute of Physics into the labour market for physics skills in the UK and Ireland.
Soft-matter physics helps reveal whether cancers are likely to spread
Published: Jul 24, 2023 by Physics World
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
News story about a new way of predicting whether cancers are likely to spread that is based on the concept of 'jamming' from soft matter physics, and when used alongside existing prognostic methods increases the accuracy of prognoses for cancerous tumours spreading.
Biodegradable ultrasound implant could improve brain tumour treatments
Published: Jul 07, 2023 by Physics World
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
News story about a new biodegradable ultrasound device for opening the blood-brain barrier in order to enable chemotherapy drugs to pass into the brain and treat tumours that would otherwise be very difficult to treat.
To infinity and beyond
Published: Dec 09, 2022 by Times Literary Supplement
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
My review of Antonio Padilla's popular science book Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them.
Growth areas for femtosecond lasers in medical device manufacturing
Published: Nov 22, 2022 by Laser Systems Europe
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
Features article about how lasers have increasingly been used in medical device manufacturing over recent years, and how their use looks set to increase in the future, both for machining components and for marking them with tracking data to ensure they comply with the latest regulations.
From tick tock to TikTok: how humans keep track of time
Published: Aug 08, 2022 by Physics World
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
My book review From tick tock to TikTok: how humans keep track of time which discusses Chad Orzel’s A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks appeared in the August 2022 issue of Physics World and was also published online on August 8, 2022.
How solid state physics is helping us adapt to a COVID world
Published: Apr 25, 2022 by Routledge Science & Everyday Life Blog
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
Sharon Ann Holgate, science writer, broadcaster and author of Understanding Solid State Physics 2nd edition, ponders life without the technology based on solid state physics that we have all come to rely on during the pandemic
Models of reward: and the rewards of collaboration
Published: Oct 26, 2018 by Royal Society’s Research Culture Collaboration Collections
Authors: Multiple
Models of reward: and the rewards of collaboration published as part of the Royal Society’s Research Culture Collaboration Collections essays about scientific collaborations.
Advice from researchers-turned-career-counselors for their younger selves – and today’s trainees
Published: Oct 15, 2018 by Science Careers
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
Science Careers article.
Driving Materials Forward
Published: Jul 03, 2017 by Materials World
Authors: Sharon Ann Holgate
Feature about the materials and processes used by bespoke supercar and sports car manufacturers.
News
Official presentation of the 2022 William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
Official presentation of the 2022 William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for public engagement in physics by Tom Grinyer, Institute of Physics Group CEO, at the IOP’s London HQ on August 22nd.
My medal, which I am honoured to have, is ‘for work in communicating science to a wide variety of audiences and for positive representations of scientists from non-traditional backgrounds’.
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for public engagement
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
I am delighted and honoured to be the 2022 recipient of the William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for public engagement in physics. This has been awarded to me by the UK’s Institute of Physics ‘for work in communicating science to a wide variety of audiences and for positive representations of scientists from non-traditional backgrounds’.
Book review article in Physics World
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
Subjects: Physics
My book review From tick tock to TikTok: how humans keep track of time which discusses Chad Orzel’s A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks appeared in the August 2022 issue of Physics World and was also published online on August 8, 2022.
The companion website for the second edition of my book Understanding Solid State Physics went live
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
The companion website for the second edition of my book Understanding Solid State Physics went live.
2nd edition of Understanding Solid State Physics published
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
Subjects: Physics
The second edition of Understanding Solid State Physics was published on April 22 2021.
New supplementary material for Understanding Solid State Physics published
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
A new, updated version of the supplementary material for my undergraduate textbook Understanding Solid State Physics is now available online on the CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group) webpage. This includes links and further reading related to each of the chapters.
Advice for physicists working overseas
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
In my latest Physics World article, which forms part of the March 2014 Graduate Careers supplement, I discover how several physicists have successfully managed cultural differences when working overseas. The supplement is available as a free pdf download from the following page:
Further reading suggestions to tie in with Chapter 8: Living in a Magnetic World
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
'Spin revolution’, by Jon Cartwright, New Scientist, pp40-45, 11th January 2014. (Online version titled ‘Spin: The quantum twist coming to a computer near you’.)
‘They help us drive to the shops, call friends and power the planet’, by Richard Webb, New Scientist, pp38-41, 27th October 2012. (Online version titled ‘Loss of attraction: We’re running out of magnets’.)
Chartered Scientist Featured Profile
By: Sharon Ann Holgate
If you would like to read my profile, please visit the home page of the Chartered Scientist website and follow the link
http://www.charteredscientist.org/
or go direct to my profile at
http://www.charteredscientist.org/content/dr-sharon-ann-holgate