PRISM Speakers for Pride Month 2024

PRISM Exeter's Speakers series returns for Pride Month 2024 with talks from Patrick "Poggy" Murray Whitham and Charlie Hogg.

They will talk about their experiences in STEMM* as members of the LGBTQIA+** community and provide tantalising insights into their work.

(*STEMM is a catch-all term for the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine)(**LGBTQIA+ refers to people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual or are otherwise not cisgender and/or not straight/heterosexual).

Online-only attendance is free. A live-feed displaying the speaker and their slides will be broadcast to Zoom. Both in-person and virtual attendees will be able to contribute to the Q&A with the speakers after their talks.

Please note that the talks will be recorded and uploaded to PRISM Exeter's YouTube channel after the event. Audience questions will be removed from the recordings to preserve audience anonymity. Original recordings will only be seen by the PRISM Exeter coordination team and will be deleted within 30 days of the event.

This event is held in partnership with BIPC Devon and TechExeter.

Provisional event schedule (all times are in GMT):

6:30pm: Doors open; general networking for in-person attendees, with refreshments provided.

6:50pm: Zoom room is opened; general networking for online attendees.

7:00pm: Welcome from PRISM Exeter

7:05pm: Welcome from event partner, BIPC Devon

7:15pm: First talk, followed by Q&A

7:45pm: short break

8:00pm: Second talk, followed by Q&A

(8:30pm onwards is reserved for general networking (in-person) and discussion (Zoom))

9:00pm: Venue closes

About the speakers:

Patrick "Poggy" Murray Whitham - Wired for DEI: an LGBTQ+ perspective from electrical / automation engineering

Patrick 'Poggy' Murray Whitham is a professionally accredited and experienced Engineer, Sales and Business Development Manager, Senior Manager, and Chartered Manager within the Electrical, Electronic and Automation Engineering sector. Poggy is black, queer, disabled, neurodivergent, has represented marginalised groups at different levels across various types of organisations, and is currently working towards a Doctorate researching DEI in Engineering.

Poggy will be discussing their background and career journey, talking about barriers that they have and do still face, as well as presenting some data and findings from their recently-conducted research into LGBTQ+ specific DEI within the Electrical, Electronic and Automation Engineering Sector in the UK as part of their Master’s degree – a topic that Poggy is continuing to research at Doctoral level at Heriot Watt University. Poggy will also talk about their current role within InterEngineering, and touch on how cross-disciplinary ERGs such as this.

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Charlie Hogg - More than a sum of parts: quantum systems and identity

Charlie graduated with an MPhys from the University of Exeter in 2021 with her master’s project in quantum heat flow through nanowires (wires thousands of times thinner than a human hair)! She is now pursuing a PhD at Exeter in the field of open quantum systems.

When modelling quantum systems, for example an atom or electron, it is essential to also model the interaction of the system with its surroundings. For more complex systems, multiple interactions may be present. In such cases, it is often not possible to model the quantum system by considering each interaction individually. Instead, we have to look at the system and the interactions as a whole, and not as a ‘sum of parts’. In this talk, Charlie will discuss how this can give rise to unique quantum effects, such as enhanced entanglement, that cannot be otherwise captured. As with quantum systems, viewing our identity as a whole gives rise to something unique and wonderful, and Charlie will explain how this mindset has helped her along her coming-out journey.

About PRISM Exeter's Speakers series

PRISM Exeter's Speakers events series was established to showcase and celebrate the incredible work of LGBTQ+ people in STEMM as well as game-changing diversity and inclusion initiatives from across the UK. These events run three times a year, typically in February, June/July, and November to coincide with LGBTQ+ History Month in the UK, Pride Month, and LGBTQ+ STEM Day, respectively.

About the venue:

Exeter Library is located in the heart of Exeter City Centre, within walking distance of both Exeter Central train station and Exeter bus station. The Rougemont Room is on the second floor - see the Exeter Library website for a map of the layout.

Ramp access is available to the front entrance of the library and lift access is available to reach the Rougemont Room and the adjoining toilets.

Event attendees will be the only people inside the library during the event.

The toilet facilities are individual gender-neutral cubicle units. Disabled access toilet facilities are also available.

Please use the space provided when booking your ticket to alert the organisers of any accessibility requirements.

This event is supported in-kind by the Business and IP Centre, Devon. The work of PRISM Exeter is supported financially through the Royal Society of Chemistry Inclusion and Diversity Fund, awarded to Dr Claire L Davies and Dr Ben Gardner.

About PRISM Exeter

PRISM Exeter are a network, originally established in July 2018, catering for LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies who work and study across the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) sector in the greater Exeter area. For more information, visit their website at prismexeter.com.