In February, members of the Proteus team were invited to represent the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its Science family of journals, AAAS has individual members in more than 91 countries around the globe.
The 2018 meeting theme was “Advancing Science: Discovery to Application”. The aim was to highlight the critical roles of academia, government and industry in moving ideas into innovations.
EPSRC invited Proteus to go to the meeting in Austin, Texas, to specifically use our effective public engagement to talk to the visiting academics and industry leaders who would be in attendance.
Our new mobile bug diagnosis interactive game was flown over, and proved to be popular with people investigating the exhibition hall. The team were able to engage with a diverse audience, spanning a wide age range and professional background.
Professor Sir Mark Walport, Chief Executive of the newly-formed UK Research and Innovation organisation (responsible for the public funding of research and innovation in the UK) came and spoke to Proteus about the research being carried out back in Edinburgh.
It was a successful few days for Proteus and public engagement, and was a great experience for all involved.