Side Projects
Explaining the stack and draw process is a common area where misunderstandings happen in collaborations. There's a lot of 'tubes', 'canes' and 'preforms', and the process can sound convoluted to a anyone unfamiliar with the fabrication process. For CPPM fibre fabricators, we created a Blender3D file that can be easily modified by those inexperienced in Blender in order to create visual representations of each stage of the process to better communicate their fibres.
I really like to sew, knit and embroider and buy far too much fabric for projects! I recently got into making my own patterns, so if we ever work together expect some custom gifts based on our work! If you like any of the patterns, but don't want to sew it, you can buy items like mugs, laptop sleeves, masks, etc, from my redbubble shop.
At the beginning of 2021, Britian entered it's third national lockdown. The need for last minute home schooling was suddenly dropped on many parents, many of whom are also trying to manage their own work. I gathered a collection free resources for a variety of school aged children. It's my hope that this collection can help to keep children engaged and inspired. The collection can be found here.
3D printed emergency PPE
There is a critical lack of available personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff on the front lines of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With the SoMakeIt I helped to transform the space into a 3D print farm for PPE. We have the capacity to print over 500 face visor bands a day, and have delivered almost 5000 face visors so far. If you would like to support our efforts, we have a crowd funding page where you can donate.
Open Optics Hardware (OOH)
Julian Stirling is very passionate about open hardware, and I am very curious about building useful components for the lab. Occassionally we collaborate on the Open Optics Hardware project.
OOH is a gitlab project for simple open hardware to replace expensive hardware in an optics lab. The idea is that some components will be useful because they are cheaper, others because they are customisable.Â
Pin Hole Photography for creative public engagement
This is a public engagement workshop where attendees are encouraged to be creative whilst learning about physics. Often the public might imagine the skills needed to be a good scientist are irrelevant to those needed to be a good artist, and vice versa. Through collaboration between myself, a scientist, and Katie Harrington, a 'Home Brewed' photographer, we build with audiences DIY pin hole cameras and develop photos. This allows them to confidentally explore photography, whilst learning about optics.