Newsletter Article Bentley Park College
Young Science Ambassador UQ visit – David Sutton
On Wednesday 28th July chemistry and physics students were lucky enough to attend a presentation by David Sutton, the Young Science Ambassador for UQ, as part of the Wonder of Science program. David spoke about his pathway to his PhD, some of the challenges he faced and skills that he had developed through his undergraduate studies and the flexibility within the university system to change pathways if your interest lies in a different area than where you are studying. David explained his work in the field of lasers and talked more generally about what lasers are, how they work and how they can be used before speaking specifically about his work with lasers. It was fantastic to hear from a scientist working in the field of physics and for the student to see how some of the concepts they learn about in class are being used on a daily basis in university research to develop and design machines to meet current and future needs.
A big thank you to David for sharing his expertise in this fascinating and developing field of laser technology and to the Wonder of Science and Business Liaison Association who organised and funded David’s visit to Cairns.
Bentley Park College students enjoying the presentation from David Sutton
Another excellent guest speaker who was very informative, engaging and great with the students. We had 29 x Senior Science students attend one session and 24 x Year 10 students attend the second session. We also had a really nice lunch with him and 7 of my Science staff. David planned to only talk for 40 minutes about his research, his career path and transitioning from High School to University but the presentation ended up going for the full 70 minutes as students were so engaged with the concepts he was discussing and the way he engaged with them.
Another great experience for our students!
Jason Richardson
Head of Department - Science
Mareeba State High School
Mareeba State High School Students pictured with David Sutton
Visit to Trinity Anglican School by Wonder of Science Ambassador David Sutton
David visited TAS on Thursday July 29, 2021 and presented two sessions for our students. He gave the students great insight into some of the opportunities that exist in science and a fascinating look at his research in laser physics.
The first group was a Year 11 Physics class comprising 17 students accompanied by their teacher. At the conclusion of this presentation, I spoke with the teacher (who has over 35 years of classroom experience) and he responded in glowing terms about the content and delivery of the information provided by David. “Perfectly pitched and relevant” for his audience.
The second group of approximately 80 students included my Year 12 Biology class and the entire Year 10 cohort, accompanied by three teachers. As one of the teachers in attendance I was impressed with the confidence of delivery and the passion David demonstrated for his research work.
The students were interested in David’s story and three stayed back after the session, during their lunch break to ask further questions. They were clearly inspired by his presentation, and it was heart- warming to watch them engage so animatedly with this young man.
My sincere thanks to the Business Liaison Association and Wonder of Science UQ for providing this opportunity for our students and to Angela Toppin for coordination and organisation of the schedule.
Your sincerely,
Kerry Moyer
Head of Faculty, Science
Trinity Anglican School
Trinity Anglican School Students with David Sutton