We’re very sorry sir but you cannot bring your emotional support dragon in here.

Folks! The REWIRE Innovation and Knowledge Centre and other associated EPSRC projects are running a call for proposals looking for someone to investigate barriers to the recruitment and retention of minoritised people in the semiconductor centre: rewire-ikc.org/engage-with-...

"you people don't burn folk and sacrifice people anymore, but that's what true faith would mean, y'see? Sacrificin' your own life, one day at a time, to the flame, declarin' the truth of it, working' for it, breathin' the soul of it. That's religion. Anything else is just ... is just bein' nice."

University of Birmingham have a live feed for the nesting Peregrines on the Old Joe clock tower. www.youtube.com/live/4dsZIFf...

Please fill out our Community Consultation survey! This will help shape the future of the National Epitaxy Facility over the next 5–10 years, in line with the UK’s evolving R&D landscape and priorities in semiconductors, quantum, AI, and telecoms. shorturl.at/AIJ1l

Really interesting concept here: including in grants a "bounty" to be paid to readers finding errors in publications arising from that grant. Kinda feel this would be unnecessary if we just supported and scrutinised peer review properly...

I am once again on a train that is simultaneously bowling along happily through the British countryside and also apparently cancelled. Or possibly not cancelled depending on where you look.

Comments I hate from reviews: (1) "Add more references so that more of the broader field is cited". Not "add more references on this specific point, which is currently poorly evidenced". Not "add content on [x] with relevant references to help the reader understand". Just add any old extra refs.

I'm looking at UKRI's EDI strategy again this afternoon... in March 2023 UKRI said they would set up a "people, culture and talent change board" to oversee progress on their EDI Strategy. 3 years on, does anyone know if this exists? I can't find evidence that it does... Has it been renamed?

My initial assumption was that this was the impact of current Trump administration policies, but the data discussed here are actually from 2024. However, we may here be seeing the impact of equal pay intiatives cancelled in the *first* Trump administration. And things may yet get even worse...

Just had to decline a review request for a computer science journal about something to do with GAN. After reading the abstract & doing some googling, I responded: "I work on GaN - i.e. gallium nitride - and not on GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks), so I have literally no relevant expertise. "

Got an email asking for further assistance with this paper. Here's my response: "Unfortunately, I am not keen to engage with the journal further on this matter given the irony of the fact that you repeatedly address me as "Miss Oliver" (rather than Professor Oliver) when..."

I had an experience in a meeting today which showed how old school note taking can actually get you ahead of the game. The meeting involved a document that's about 400 pages long. It's exactly the kind of thing that AI fans would suggest should be summarized by AI. Instead...

All set up for the #CambridgeFestival tomorrow. Anyone want to guess what our demos are illustrating?

Just declined an invitation to review a research study about gender inequities in academia. Mostly declined because I'm too busy, but also a little bit because they clearly couldn't see the irony fo sending me a paper to review on this particular topic and addressing me as "Miss Oliver."

Given we are already in the second fossil fuel crisis of the decade, I really think everyone should be talking more about the opportunity for renewables to isolate us from these shocks!

The Funding Service is such a crappy system. Just found an email telling me I was late submitting a review and panicked slightly, until I realised that I had submitted the review last week, and just within the deadline, but they sent me a message to tell me I was late anyway. 🤷‍♀️

The chair of the House of Commons science committee has described impending cuts to physics funding as “wholly unacceptable” and “a failure” in an excoriating letter to the science minister and the leader of UKRI. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Oh joy- mandatory in person interviews for applicants who get through all the (massive) initial hurdles. That's not going to have any EDI implications, is it, though I am sure it will help with demand management 😱 www.ukri.org/news/mrc-cur...

The MRC has announced a change to its investigator‑led assessment process: In-person interviews. “shortlisted applicants will be invited to an in‑person panel interview, giving them the best possible opportunity to make their case.” An Equality Diversity & Inclusion🧵 www.ukri.org/news/mrc-cur...

Folks, on #IWD2026, please be aware that the #GiveToGain slogan and hashtag arise from a private limited company who may have been set up to profit from International Women's Day. The UN set the real theme for IWD, the more ambitious and challenging #RightsJusticeAction. 1/2

This appalling fat cat wants to shut the door on all my mature students, many of whom left school after GCSE and give up a lot to go to university. I can tell him that they’re the hungriest for education and far from being unable to graduate, they regularly get the highest grades. Hateful man.

Compare and contrast the funding call in Kristy's post below with the EPSRC EDI action plan: "2.15. Ensure no short deadlines to funding opportunities. Thoughtful deadlines to enable a greater diversity of people to apply." www.ukri.org/publications...

I have completed both my ResearchFish submission and also the final destruction of my soul.

Attacks on MPs have increased, especially on women and black people. This is because a part of the population has been assured over & over that its misogyny and racism should never have been suppressed by “woke”, anti-“free speech” militants. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

I'm in no way vegan, not even vegetarian. I just... don't eat very much meat. Which from an environmental point of view is better than eating lots of meat, and is also achievable for me. I'm all for this kind of approach across much of life: don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

Oh dear: the talk I wrote and delivered to my group last week about how to craft a narrative and write a clear and engaging paper was apparently evil and wrong. Oh well, I think they enjoyed it anyway. Just consider me entertainment.

The trove of files released by the Department of Justice, illuminates Epstein’s deep interest and entrenchment in the scientific community. But the files also underscore how he used his power and money in ways that kept women out of places where they might succeed. https://bit.ly/4qWgPLz

Great to have some sunshine and to be back in the woods on the mountain bike: youtube.com/shorts/tcOqP...

JOSH AWARD 2026 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN! The winner of this national award in science communication and engagement will develop and deliver a new project to run at Science Festivals, Science Discovery Centres, or other outreach events. Full details at big.uk.com/josh/ Deadline 10 April 2026.

I’m not religious but I think for Lent I’m giving up.

Just discovered this www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

The Constance Tipper Lecture Theatre is named after this pioneering engineer. In 1939 Constance (nee Elam) was one of the first female lecturers at the Department of Engineering. Her major contribution during the Second World War was investigating the causes of brittle fracture in Liberty Ships.

Ashbourne real football! Oh, I miss the Peak District!

Another day, another journal demanding I perform a review for them for free in less than two weeks. Another email explaining that I do not accede to this approach. Why do journals think this is reasonable?

Although I actually agree that students got a rough deal during the pandemic, it's very difficult to read these accounts of them taking legal action because they think what was provided was not worth the money they paid for it. The hours and hours spent recording and editing lectures in lockdown...

This is a really interesting model - I hope it's impacts are followed up and thoroughly evaluated, because if it works, it could be adopted elsewhere.

Really excited to see this paper out online! Genuinely beautiful data from focussed ion beam tomography that show not only fascinating three dimensional structures in porous semiconductors, but also reveal some suprises about how they form. 🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The problem with Valentine's days is that it makes you painfully aware that even though we have been surviving February for roughly 7000 years, we are still only half way through.

Happy Women in science day. On this day I am thinking of all my women science mentors and Rita Levi-Montalcini who did experiments in her bedroom in defiance of Mussolini’s ban on Jews in academic and professional careers while WWII raged around her.

Sigh. We are still right here. After all this time.

I've been wondering for a while whether we need to start organising now to resist potential Farage-led ICE style activities. The resistance in Minnesota has built on well established organiser networks. We might need something similar in the UK in future.

Very true. There are Reasons that I spend so much time banging on about properly implementing safeguarding and harassment prevention programs in academia and in the broader science and tech community.

Update: I have received a repsonse from Sir Paul reiterating the Society's statement to the media: "“The Royal Society does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or bullying. That is, and will continue to be, enshrined in our code of conduct.” See www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

It used to be that if you got on a train in the UK, you would eventually get where you are going. Usually late, often uncomfortable... But you got there. Recently, when I get on delayed trains, they get cancelled mid-journey, and you get turfed off to wait for a different train, which may then...

'Several universities in England which have scored a top rating in a national teaching assessment have large gaps in degree outcomes for black students and low representation of black academics, according to a report that says equity goals should form a larger part of quality metrics.' 1/2

Bottom line: We found no systematic evidence of political censorship on TikTok post-restructuring at this point. A server outage better explains the data. But the story isn't over, and platforms need to provide the public more transparency.

Excellent thread. I think we may find we are living in interesting times.

Three weeks on. Still no response.