Katherine "Kate" McAlpine (born 1985) is an American

science journalist Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists, and the public. Origins Modern science journalism dates back to '' Digdarshan'' (means showing the d ...

. In 2008, while working at CERN, McAlpine wrote, produced and performed in the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

video "Large Hadron Rap" under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"alpinekat". As of September 2018, the video has been viewed over 8 million times. McAlpine has contributed articles to publications including ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

'', ''

ScienceNow ''Science'', also widely referred to as ''Science Magazine'', is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. It was first published in 188 ...

'', ''

Physics World ''Physics World'' is the membership magazine of the Institute of Physics, one of the largest physical societies in the world. It is an international monthly magazine covering all areas of physics, pure and applied, and is aimed at physicists in ...

'' and '' Chemistry World''."Articles"
retrieved July 12, 2012 , McAlpine is a

web content Web content is the text, visual or audio content that is made available online and user encountered as part of the online usage and experience on websites. It may include text, images, sounds and audio, online videos, among other items placed wi ...

specialist and writer at the

University of Michigan College of Engineering The University of Michigan College of Engineering, branded as Michigan Engineering, is the engineering wing of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With an enrollment of 7,133 undergraduate and 3,537 ...

Life and education

McAlpine was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and grew up in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. She earned dual degrees in Physics (B.A., Honors) and Professional Writing (B.A.) in 2007 from Michigan State University,

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, where she was

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

."Resume"
retrieved June 4, 2010

Science rap videos

Large Hadron Rap

The

video is a technically accurate but simplified introduction to the Large Hadron Collider operated by CERN. The video explains its purpose, methods and significance using rap lyrics, created by McAlpine mostly during her commutes on buses and trams to and from work. The video appeared on July 28, 2008, its music was written by Will Barras, and according to the video credits, the dancers "prefer to remain anonymous". The video has become a viral hit, surpassing eight million YouTube views since July 2012.Rap about world's largest science experiment becomes YouTube hit
. ''Telegraph''. Last Updated: July 13, 2012Bogo, Jennifer (August 1, 2008).

. ''Popular Mechanics''. McAlpine stated one reason for creating the rap as, "I mostly wanted to explain what the project was about and hopefully when people - I hope they will - look a little more closely at what it is and not be sucked into the scaremongering about black holes."AP Shotlist 9 September 2008
retrieved September 24, 2008 Commenting on the impact and reception of the rap video among school-aged children, McAlpine stated "I was really hoping that this would get taken into classrooms. I don't imagine that elementary school children and most middle school children will understand it very well, but a lot of parents have e-mailed me saying 'I have a nine-year-old, or a seven-year-old, and I showed them your rap and they really love it.' So if elementary kids can get excited about it too, that's just great."

Black Hole Rap

At the end of 2009, McAlpine released a new rap video on

dealing with the unfounded fears surrounding experiments in CERN that could lead to the creation of a black hole which eventually would swallow the entire earth.

Rare Isotope Rap

McAlpine released a rap video on

for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. This video describes the basic purpose and capabilities of the facility, which was recently awarded to Michigan State University.

N3UROCH!P Rap

In 2007, McAlpine released a rap video on

detailing neural programming.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McAlpine, Katherine 1985 births Living people 21st-century American physicists American women rappers People associated with CERN Michigan State University alumni Nerdcore artists American science journalists American women journalists Writers from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Women science writers Musicians from Cedar Rapids, Iowa 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American women writers 21st-century women rappers