Dr Adam Baskerville

A chemist at the University of Sussex is attending Parliament to present his research to politicians and expert judges as part of STEM for BRITAIN 2020.

Dr Adam Baskerville will present a poster describing his research on the calculation of electron correlation in quantum mechanical few-particle systems and will be judged against fellow scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.

Dr Baskerville, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament.

He said, “I applied for STEM for BRITAIN to highlight the importance of fundamental theoretical research to the nation’s future. I hope to explain my research in an accessible way so everyone leaves having learnt something new, and how important electron correlation is in the real world.”

STEM for BRITAIN is a poster competition in the House of Commons, where research is judged by professional and academic experts and exists to raise the profile of Britain's early-stage researchers at Westminster by engaging with Members of Parliament.

The competition will take place at Portcullis House on Monday 9 March and is an opportunity for the UK’s brightest and best early career scientists to share their research with MPs.

Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said: “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.

“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”

Dr Baskerville’s research has been entered into the chemistry, mathematics and physics session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £2,000, while silver and bronze receive £1,250 and £750 respectively.

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Biology, The Physiological Society, the Council for the Mathematical Sciences, and the Nutrition Society with financial support from the Clay Mathematics Institute, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Society of Chemical Industry, Institute of Biomedical Science, the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research, the Biochemical Society, Biotherapy Services Ltd, IEEE Communications Society and the Comino Foundation.