Ada Lovelace Day Live! 2019, our annual ‘science cabaret’ in celebration of women in STEM, was held on the evening of Tuesday 8 October, again at The IET. Playing host to the UK’s most fabulous women in STEM, ALD Live is an entertaining evening of geekery, comedy and music suitable for everyone over the age of 12. If you’d like a taster, our videos from 2018 are available on YouTube along with videos from 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013!
Book signings and stall
Konnie Huq, who was Blue Peter’s longest running female presenter, was on hand to sign copies of her new children’s book, Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World. This was a great opportunity to get some personalised Christmas presents bought early, particularly for daughters and granddaughters!
We once again had the fabulous Vivian Archer from Newham Books on hand to sell you the very best science books by or about women. The book stall was available from 6:30pm until the performance starts at about 7:30pm.
Cash bar
As usual, the cash bar was open for the hour before the performance so we encouraged people to get there early, relax with a beverage, and enjoy themselves perusing our book stall!
Our awesome speakers
Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Jocelyn Bell Burnell inadvertently discovered pulsars as a graduate student in radio astronomy in Cambridge, opening up a new branch of astrophysics – work recognised by the award of a Nobel Prize to her supervisor. She has subsequently worked in many roles in many branches of astronomy, working part-time while raising a family. She is now a Visiting Professor in Oxford and Chancellor of the University of Dundee. In her spare time she gardens, listens to choral music and is active in the Quakers. She has co-edited an anthology of poetry with an astronomical theme – ‘Dark Matter; Poems of Space’. Photo by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Wikipedia: Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Dr Bala Chaudhary
Dr Bala Chaudhary is a scientist and professor of ecology in the Department of Environmental Science and Studies at DePaul University in Chicago. She studies how plants, soil, and microbes interact in an effort to solve global environmental problems like biodiversity loss and climate change. Dr Chaudhary is a recipient of the United States National Science Foundation CAREER Award — considered among the nation’s most prestigious awards for early-career faculty. Prior to academia, she worked as an environmental consultant in Los Angeles designing habitat mitigation plans for endangered species. She has a PhD and Master’s from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor’s from the University of Chicago. Photo by Justina Lee.
Twitter: @BalaChaudhary
Web: balachaudhary.com
Dr Katie Steckles
Dr Katie Steckles is a mathematician based in Manchester UK, who gives talks and workshops and writes about mathematics. She finished her PhD in 2011, and since then has talked about maths in schools and universities, at science festivals, on BBC radio and TV, at music festivals, as part of theatre shows and on the internet. Photo by Steve Kirkby.
Twitter: @stecks
Web: katiesteckles.co.uk
Yolanda Ohene
Yolanda Ohene is a bio-physicist at University College London where she is completing her PhD on developing new MRI techniques to image the brain. Yolanda is an avid science communicator, having featured on the BBC Tomorrow’s World Live, given talks at Cheltenham Science festival, Wilderness festival and in Einstein’s Garden at Greenman festival. Yolanda is also a co-founder of the Minorities in STEM network (@MinoritySTEM) to connect, support and promote those studying and working in STEM subjects from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Twitter: @y_ohene
Hayley Loren
Over the past 10 years Hayley has worked within the energy industry, primarily offshore wind, as an engineer and project manager. She’s worked on major energy construction projects around the world and in 2018 was awarded one the Telegraph’s Top 50 Women in Engineering. Alongside her job as an engineer Hayley spoke at high-profile events within the UK and has created multiple engineering/science videos with a reach of over 30k on social media. Hayley now uses her experience to help companies and institutions to engage with their audiences, primarily through video creation, speaking and presenting.
Twitter: @Thehayleyloren
Web: hayleyloren.com
Roni Savage
Roni Savage is an award winning chartered engineering geologist who works in the construction industry. Her company, Jomas Associates, assesses ground conditions before any buildings or structures can be constructed and design foundations that keep buildings standing; clean up contamination in the ground and ensuring all sites are suitable for use. Roni volunteers with YMCA and Mayor’s fund for London, supporting the social mobility campaign, and helping other women find their feet and pursue dream careers. She is a regular speaker at events and provides free mentoring and coaching. She has appeared on Skynews Sunrise, promoting female bosses and gender balance.
Twitter: @SavageRoni
Web: jomasassociates.com
Dr Sally Le Page
Sally Le Page is a biologist, YouTuber and science communicator and her personal mission is to bring science further into pop culture so that people enjoy and appreciate it in the same way they enjoy music, sport or literature. She makes videos about science and biology on her YouTube channel, Shed Science, and has worked closely with companies such as General Electric and Discovery to share her passion for science to an audience of millions. Her PhD was on fruit flies and how family ties affect how they behave towards one another.
Twitter: @Sallylepage
YouTube: youtube.com/sallylepage
Helen Arney
Once again, we were delighted to confirm that comedian Helen Arney was our compère for the evening.
Science presenter, comedian and geek songstress Helen Arney appears on TV, radio and in theatres across the world. You might have seen her explaining physics while riding a rollercoaster for BBC Coast, singing the periodic table on Channel 4 News, hosting Outrageous Acts Of Science on Discovery or smashing wine glasses with the power of her voice in Festival of the Spoken Nerd – whose third show “You Can’t Polish A Nerd” is out now on DVD and for download. Photo by Paul Clarke.
Twitter: @helenarney
Web: helenarney.com
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Venue
We are very grateful to our venue partner, The IET Women’s Network. The IET is one of the world’s leading professional societies for the engineering and technology community, with more than 150,000 members in 127 countries and offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. The IET provides a global knowledge network to facilitate the exchange of ideas and promote the positive role of science, engineering and technology in the world.
Website: www.theiet.org/women
Twitter: @IETWomenNetwork
How do I get to The IET?
The IET has comprehensive travel information on its website.
Is the venue accessible?
Yes, and The IET has information about accessibility on its website. If you have particular accessibility questions that are not answered here, please email us and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
With thanks to our sponsors
Ada Lovelace Day is dependent on the generosity of its partners, volunteers and supporters for survival. We would like to thank J.P. Morgan, Xero, UCL Engineering, Red Hat, Jane Street, Digital Science, Huge Shark, SchoolDash, WORK180, Software Impacts, The Data School, Present Indicative and Meromorf Press for their support in 2019.
We are always looking for sponsors, so please take a look at our sponsorship prospectus or get in touch for more information.
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