Toby Hendy (born 11 July 1995) is a science communicator and YouTuber who focuses on educational content relating to

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Early life and education

School

Hendy attended

Katikati College Katikati College is a co-educational Year 7 to 13 school. It is located in the town of Katikati which is approximately northwest of the city of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Principals * 1935: Mr S. M. Kemp * 19 ...

in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. In 2011, she was selected by the Royal Society of New Zealand as one of two national delegates to attend the USA International Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2012, she won first place in the secondary school category of the NZ Eureka Awards for Science Communication.

University

Hendy obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

, majoring in Physics and Mathematics, at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. She was awarded an Aurora Astronomy Scholarship that enabled her to take an overseas trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Carnegie Observatory,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, Macdonald Observatory Texas,

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, NRC Observatory Victoria and CHFT Hawaii. Hendy went on to do her Honours year at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

in Canberra. In 2017, Hendy started a PhD at ANU focusing on using nanoindentation to examine the mechanical response of plant cells to applied pressure. She was awarded a Westpac Future Leader's Scholarship. During her time as a PhD student she placed runner-up in the Australian national finals of the FameLab science communication competition for her presentation 'Poking Plants'. Her honours thesis title was ‘Examining the mechanical response of ''

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land. A winter a ...

'' using nanoindentation and Finite Element Modelling’, where she received class honours with a grade 93/100 for her thesis. In 2018, Hendy discontinued her PhD studies to pursue YouTube full-time.

Career

Hendy has been uploading videos to YouTube since high school. In August 2020, Hendy announced that she is working on a mathematical stop-motion short film, 'Finding X', supported by the Screen Australia Skip Ahead initiative. It was released on 25 January 2022. In 2023, she appeared on season 5 of the travel competition show '' Jet Lag: The Game'', which was filmed in New Zealand. She and Sam Denby won, making her one of two undefeated players of the game, along with Michelle Khare of Season 8.

Awards

* 2012 NZ Eureka Awards for Science Communication * 2013 UC Aurora Astronomy Scholarship * 2015 Haydon Prize for top graduating physics student * 2017 Westpac Future Leader's Scholarship * 2018 FameLab Australia runner-up * 2020 Screen Australia Skip Ahead Grant * 2024 Young

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

nominee for Queensland

References

External links

Tibees YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendy, Toby 1995 births Living people Science communicators Australian YouTubers University of Canterbury alumni Australian National University alumni Education-related YouTube channels Australian women physicists YouTube channels launched in 2011 New Zealand expatriates in Australia