Ewa Nowicka has qualified for the national final of the German FameLab
04 April 2017
Yesterday, Dr. Ewa Nowicka, an IPODI fellow within the UniCat framework became a runner-up in the regional contest in Potsdam, and qualified for the national final of the German edition of FameLab.
 |
FameLab is an international science and technology communication competition, in which presenters have only 3 minutes to introduce a scientific concept of their choice to a general audience. It is organized by the British Council in more than 25 countries.
Ewa’s topic was on the ‘’GOLD RUSH’’ in chemistry, medicine, and most of all, catalysis. The jury said they “appreciated the choice of scientific subject, clear content, and the charisma of the presenter‘’. Now, Ewa has qualified for the German national final, and will be competing against 9 other scientists on the 27th of April. The winner will represent Germany in the international competition in the UK.
“I love public speaking, so in Britain I was involved in organizing many outreach activities. This is where I started to learn science communication. During popular science conferences I met the winners from previous FameLab editions. After seeing my talk they encouraged me to take part in FameLab as a participant’’, Ewa said.
Many people say that FameLab is addictive, and that once you start, you never stop trying until you make it to the final. Case in point, after reaching the semifinal in the Polish edition earlier this year, Ewa Nowicka entered the German edition of FameLab, and has now qualified for the national level. As a part of the competition she willparticipate in a 2-day masterclass training on science communication led by experts in the field. “Scientists should view science communication as a duty to make the public aware of our work”, Ewa said. ‘’When scientists communicate more effectively, science thrives’’.
 |
The German final of FameLab is open to the public and will take place live on Thursday, 27 April, 19:00 at Rudolf-Oetker-Halle, Lampingstraße 16, 33615 Bielefeld. Tickets are available for 7 euros (5 euros reduced) at Bielefeld.JETZT. The German competition is performed in German as well as in English.
Dr. Ewa Nowicka joined the Berlin University of Technology as part of Prof. Reinhard Schomäcker’s research group in August 2016. Previously she worked with Prof. Graham Hutchings at Cardiff University where she learned about Gold Catalysis. Prior to that, Ewa Nowicka studied environmental chemistry in Poznan, Poland, from 2002 until 2007. After an internship in the pharma sector in Spain, she conducted her PhD work in the field of heterogeneous catalysis at Cardiff University (graduated 2012).
In her research, Ewa Nowicka is using the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) as a mild oxidant in the oxidative coupling of methane as well as in the oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes.
IPODI is the International Post-Doc Initiative of the Berlin University of Technology; a third party funding project within the EU’s Seventh Framework Program for Research and Technological Development. IPODI is part of an initiative (“Wissenschaftlerinnenan die Spitze”) that aims to increase the number of women in leadership positions.