The Henry Royce Institute (Royce) recently hosted Knowledge of the Nanoscale: Developing AFM Activities for Outreach workshop, bringing together early career researchers, technical staff, and professional staff interested in science communication from across the UK. This two-day event, held at the Royce Hub Building, focused on enhancing public engagement with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) by equipping participants with the skills to design and deliver effective outreach activities.
Event Overview
The event was hosted by Dr. Maddison Coke (The University of Manchester), Professor Edwin Hwu (the Technical University of Denmark), and Dr. Alice La Porta (Royce) and organised by Royce in collaboration with the Nanoscale Advanced Materials Engineering (NAME) Programme Grant. NAME is a UKRI-funded grant that assembles an internationally leading research team to develop the concept of “Nanoscale Advanced Materials Engineering”.
Over the course of two days, 25 attendees were supported in applying their fundamental knowledge of AFM principles to the creation of innovative outreach activities focused on AFMs, which will be used in future public engagement activities by Royce’s outreach team. Those in attendance represented some of the UK’s leading institutions across several regions, including Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, London, Nottingham, Oxford, Durham, Newcastle, Cranfield and Strathclyde.
“Atomic force microscopy is a powerful yet often underutilized technique due to its complex scanning mechanism and data interpretation. Our workshop provides hands-on experience with three portable AFMs, which is crucial for engaging new users and increasing the involvement of researchers in AFM. This specialised training is essential for effectively communicating complex AFM topics in science.”
– Professor Edwin Hwu
On the first day, participants engaged in interactive sessions covering AFM principles, outreach strategies, and real-world engagement examples. Participants also had the opportunity to build two portable AFM microscopes from scratch with guidance from Professor Edwin Hwu and Dr. Maddison Coke.
The second day had participants apply Day 1’s lessons in the design of their own outreach activities including community engagement initiatives, school workshops and artistic interpretations using AFM techniques.
Commenting on the importance of specialised outreach events, Dr. Maddison Coke said:
“I have, for many years, wished for an outreach activity that better reflected the work that I do, and have been excited to have worked with Royce to bring this to life through the outreach AFMs. With this technique used across many of Royce Themes, from A2D to biomedical materials, and being an integral part of some Imaging and Characterisation work streams it seemed like a great opportunity to bring nanoscaled materials to life and making it more applicable to a wider audience. Seeing some of the activities curated during the event I am excited to see these AFMs in action in the coming months, and see what this new outreach community can achieve.”
Outreach at Royce
‘Nanoscale: Developing AFM Activities for Outreach’ successfully combined scientific knowledge with creative engagement strategies, equipping participants with practical skills to communicate nanoscale science effectively.
Royce regularly works with the public, schools and future STEM students to inspire the next generation of materials scientists and raise awareness of the exciting research taking place across the Royce partnership. Through its outreach events, Royce continues to strengthen the network of science communicators who are dedicated to making complex scientific concepts accessible to a wider audience.
Learn more about Outreach at Royce here.
