Journalism
I spent five years covering science and technology as a staff reporter, and continue to do so as a freelance journalist.
Most of this time was spent at E&T writing daily news, features, and reviews. My areas of interest span AI, energy, policy, and science and technology in society.
I continue to write an E&T column, Dear Evil Engineer: an agony aunt column for Bond villains which assessed the technical feasibility of their outlandish schemes. I was recognised as B2B Columnist of the Year 2019 by the British Society of Magazine Editors, for “original ideas executed with style and wit”, and shortlisted for the same award in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In 2023, I also received the gold Tabbie award for best blog: “A uniquely creative take on engineering challenges and ethics [which] examines serious and topical engineering questions in an engaging way.”
Before E&T, I worked at Times Higher Education and had stints at the Observer New Review at Research Fortnight/Research Europe.
Here are a few samples of my work:
Features & Profiles
Dear Evil Engineer (Column)
- Could I hurl satellites into orbit with a trebuchet?
- Could I transplant a human brain into the body of a bear?
- How can I tip the Isle of Wight into the English Channel?
- How many leopards do I need to heat my home?
- How deep would a ball pit need to be to crush someone to death?
- How many corpses do I need to make the world's largest diamond?
- Can I deface the moon with my crude artwork?
Reviews
-
Fiction: Collision: Stories from the Science of CERN
- Non-Fiction: Astrotropia, by Mary-Jane Rubenstein
- Theatre: Not One of These People, at the Royal Court Theatre
- Fiction: Tomorrow's Parties
- Non-Fiction: The Digital Republic, by Jamie Susskind
- Exhibition: Our Broken Planet at NHM London
- Theatre: Dream, by the Royal Shakespeare Company