Yahoo News Teesside University researcher flying the flag for region in competition
A PhD student at Teesside University has been named the regional winner of a competition aimed at finding the best new voices in science, technology and engineering.
The North East heat of FameLab UK was hosted at Teesside University, where 12 talented researchers presented their work to the public and a panel of judges within a three-minute time frame. Zoë Bell's winning project explored the use of microscopic living organisms that can consume plastic waste as an alternative to landfill and recycling. As a regional winner, Zoë will now progress to the national competition at Cheltenham Science Festival in June, with the chance to be crowned Britain's top science communicator.
The national winner will represent the UK at the FameLab International live online final, competing against researchers from around the globe. Zoë is currently completing her PhD at Teesside University's National Horizons Centre, where she also works part-time as a research technician and special lecturer, and serves as a warden in the University's student accommodation.
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Zoë said: "I was encouraged to submit a video entry, which in itself was a bit daunting, as it took me out of my comfort zone. I didn't think I would even make it through to the next round of in-person presentations at the regionals."
"Giving the presentation itself is all a bit of a blur, so it was a massive surprise to realise I had won. The penny only dropped when the judges starting talking about my project as they announced the winner."
Zoë, who is from Ashington in Northumberland, said: "I applied to study at Teesside University for the PhD project, supervised by Dr Hong Gao. It was her project which attracted me to apply, along with the fact I'd be carrying out my research at the National Horizons Centre."
Steph Bales, Director of Research and Enterprise at Teesside University, said: "We were delighted that Teesside University was selected as a regional partner to host this competition." It not only provided an opportunity to showcase the high quality of research taking place across our region and demonstrate the breadth of expertise, we were also overjoyed to see Zoë, who is one of our own researchers, achieve regional success and secure her spot in the final."
Zoë is also involved in organising and promoting the popular Pint of Science Festival which aims to make research more accessible to the public. The festival, led by academics and partners from Teesside University's National Horizons Centre, will be taking place at The Forum in Darlington on 13 and 15 May.
