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

With its Micius satellite, China proved it possible to use individual photons sent from space to communicate in almost total secrecy. Now, other countries are playing catch-up.
When millinos of people with Covid-19 found their food suddenly tasted of nothing, it prompted public attention and a surge of interest in developing treatments for taste loss. 'True' taste loss, however, is a distinct, rare, and still-mysterious condition. 
Cornwall rests on a trove of one of the world's most desirable metals: lithium. There are hopes that its mining economy could be reborn as part of a nationwide green industrial revolution. That dream might just become a reality - but nothing can be taken for granted.
When it comes to engaging others in climate action, avoid the traps of fatalism and fragmentation - and look for what we have in common.
E-bikes and e-scooters are transforming towns and cities in every part of the world, providing a sustainable alternative to cars. The benefit to the public is obvious enough, but why are so many massive companies eyeing these little vehicles with interest?
Synthetic video is best known for its abusive applications – deepfake pornography and disinformation. Some companies, however, are out to prove that the technology is a useful tool in video production.
With the UK government consulting on the partial restoration of imperial units, it is worth reflecting on the country’s fraught relationship with metrication – and the engineers who were almost always a step ahead.
‘Second Life’ is clunky, squalid, and largely populated by people more comfortable in pixels than in real life. If only Facebook’s metaverse platform could be as good.
Living on the Moon and Mars means living off the Moon and Mars. In preparation for the return of astronauts to other worlds, engineers are busy trying to build with lunar dust. 
"The history of the detection of extrasolar planets is completely full of false detections."
"This is anti-science, this undermines the scientific principles of proven facts, experimental investigation, and truth."

Dear Evil Engineer (Column)

Reviews

HE&ME (Times Higher Education)

The most challenging moment of my career? "Meeting Robert Mugabe and having to talk to him about human rights. Almost as challenging was meeting President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and having to talk to him about gay rights." 
"Working in a setting that had just 10 psychiatrists for 10 million people [...] was a strident wake-up call that I had to reinvent the practice of psychiatry from scratch."