From setting fire to school classrooms to providing the pyrotechnics for the front covers of four JG Ballard novels, the work of Dr Roy Lowry has never been anything less than explosive. He has, variously, fired 1,600 ping-pong balls out of a cannon in the Roland Levinsky Building, exploded packets of Angel Delight, and set a world record for the number of fireworks released in 30 seconds (56,405 to be precise).
Little wonder the Associate Professor of Chemistry has, during the course of 25 years of teaching and inspiring outreach work, earned the affectionate title of ñޘRocket Manñޙ.
But behind the goggles ñޓ and at a suitably removed minimum distance ñޓ is an academic fiercely committed to the principles of pedagogy and peer engagement.
ñޜI think of my practical demonstrations as ñޘcoat hooks in the brainñޙ,ñޝ Roy says. ñޜThey create the ñޘwowñޙ, which enables you to follow up with a whole number of ñޘhowsñޙ. Itñޙs a great way of changing gears when youñޙre asking someone to listen to you for 50 minutes. And Iñޙm a big believer in applying everything I do to a practical level.ñޝ
Itñޙs a belief born out of his own experiences ñޓ the good (an inspiring chemistry teacher at school) and the bad (ñޜI did my BSc at a well-respected red brick university. It was very academic, in that it was ñޘof no practical use whatsoever!ñޙñޝ), the latter of which turned him off science for several years. Instead, he indulged a passion for stagecraft by running his own business, Tarsus Lights and Pyrotechnics, something that, ironically, heñޙs ultimately ended up integrating into his pedagogical approach.
After completing a PhD, Roy took up a research role with the then British Gas, and found himself put forward as the man who presented findings on a regular basis to the chief executive. It was during these sessions that he began to think that he might have the makings of a teacher, and so it was in 1989 that he joined ñ on a lectureship post in the former Department of Environmental Science.
ñޜFor the first ten years, that first lecture of the academic year you could hear my knees knocking,ñޝ he says. ñޜBut Iñޙve worked hard and developed over time.
ñޜIf it is done right, a lecture is a theatrical experience ñޓ you walk out in front of an audience and you have to hold their attention for much longer than under normal circumstances. And it doesnñޙt matter what has gone on before you get there ñޓ your computer has crashed, or youñޙve had a row over the breakfast table that morning ñޓ the lecture must be the most captivating topic on the planet, and you have to make it so.ñޝ
Royñޙs full teaching portfolio, covering all three years of BSc (Hons) Chemistry, Year 1 of BSc (Hons) Environmental Sciences, the Extended Science (Foundation Year) course, and a communication module on the MSc Geology has, alongside a greater variability in the type of room he delivers from, meant that heñޙs had to scale down the number of demonstrations that he conducts each year. In their place heñޙs focused upon analogy, group work, and videos and podcasts of experiments that heñޙs staged.
But when it comes to engaging children and other members of the public through widening participation work on behalf of the University, the sky ñޓ or the ceiling at least ñޓ is the limit.
ñޜFor me, experiments like this are the shop window for science,ñޝ he says. ñޜOne of my favourites is where I produce a two-storey sheet of flame from a single packet of Angel Delight. It demonstrates that you can have all the fuel in the world, but if you donñޙt have air then you wonñޙt get the reaction. I did it in a school once, and the flames went right across the ceiling!ñޝ
Dr Roy Lowry