Sadler in 2014 Wendy Sadler FInstP

FHEA Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

FLSW The Learned Society of Wales ( Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh natio ...

is a British science communicator and lecturer at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. She is the founding director of Science Made Simple, which focuses on engaging audiences with the physical sciences. Her areas of interest include inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and communicators; women in STEM; and making

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

subjects accessible to diverse audiences.

Early life

Sadler was born in 1972 and grew up in Wombourne, England, where she went to Ounsdale High School. She attended

and gained a BSc in Physics and Music in 1994. She gained an MSc in Science Communication at the Open University, where her dissertation assessed the long-term impact of science demonstration shows.

Career

Sadler started her career at

Techniquest Techniquest is a science discovery centre located in Cardiff Bay. It gives visitors a hands-on approach to science and includes a science theatre, a planetarium, and an exhibition space with over 100 interactive exhibits aimed at visitors of all ...

. She began her communications career by creating the non-verbal theatre show called The Experimentrics, which mixed physical theatre and live science demonstrations to create "a world of wordless mystery and fun". She is now a LAMDA accredited public speaker and fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts who has appeared on ITV Wales, BBC Radio and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to discuss the importance of STEM education

Public engagement

Sadler has published 19 books for children. In 2010 Sadler gave a TEDxCardiff talk titled, "Music and the Machine".

Science Made Simple

Sadler set up Science Made Simple (SMS) in 2002 with the mission to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. At the time, Sadler was an IOP Schools Lecturer. SMS develops and presents interactive performances that travel to schools and festivals across the world. They have produced shows, contributed to science television, radio programmes, and children's books, trained scientists and acted as consultants on UK research councils. In 2013, she received national media coverage for their tour of UK primary schools following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. SMS is also part of a multimillion-pound EU project investigating the use of performance as a tool to engage young people with science and society issues.

Work with the
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

Sadler is a Lecturer and Schools' Liaison Officer at Cardiff University. She is concerned about the state of science education in Wales. She is a former member of the Science Advisory Council for Wales. She Chaired and co-authored the Task and Finish report on STEM engagement in Wales for the National Science Academy and was involved in the writing of the Talented Women for a Successful Wales report.

Awards and fellowships

* 2023 - Elected a

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales (Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation ...

* 2017 - MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours * 2017 -

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize * 2015 - Leading Wales Award for Social Enterprise * 2009 -

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

medal for the Public Promotion of Engineering * 2008 - UK RC Woman of Outstanding Achievement Award * 2007 -

Descartes Prize The Descartes Prize was an annual award in science given by the European Union, named in honour of the French mathematician and philosopher, René Descartes. The prizes recognized Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievements Resulting f ...

for Excellence in Science Communication * 2007 - Institute of Acoustics' Award for Promoting Acoustics to the Public * 2005 -

Young Professional Physicist of the Year Award * 2004 - Women in Science and Engineering Excellence Award * 2004 - Welsh Woman of the Year (Science and Technology)

External links

Science Made Simple, official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadler, Wendy Living people British physicists British women physicists Members of the Order of the British Empire People from South Staffordshire District Science communicators 1972 births Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales