As Clubs Delivery Officer, I manage the Saturday Science Clubs and Maker Clubs that are held every weekend in our basement space at OCFI. I also contribute to other Science Oxford projects, such as the Library Tour, Wearable Tech Challenges, and micro:bit training events in schools.

Over the next year I’d like to engage more youth in tech and computing – so, I’m planning to expand the Science Oxford Maker Club. This year the club is participating in long-term robotics challenges, including FIRST Lego League, and animation and video game computing events, such as the STEM Video Game Challenge and Global Game Jam Next. I’m looking forward to running more adult events too, such as Hackathons and Drink Talk Learn parties. This is an American idea where guests give a three-minute presentation on something that they find interesting and want to share, inform, or rant about! A more formal and fun form of TED talks. 

It’s amazing to work with people as passionate about science as I am. We combine our efforts and energy to make amazing things, discover and access new tools, challenge ourselves to explore and learn new stuff, and share our creations and inventions. To me, there’s nothing more satisfying than supporting others, whether youth or adult, on their journey into the incredible world of science and tech. By sharing my passion for science, I hope to inspire others too.

While studying for my degrees – a Bachelors in Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences at NYU and a Masters in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell – I was an instructor for Sci-Tech Kids in New York City. This is when I first fell in love with working in education outreach. Before I joined Science Oxford, I worked in research in various bioengineering fields, from 3D-printed organs to pain and biopolymer synthesis and implantation.

Apart from science and tech, my other passion is illustration. I work as a freelance illustrator on webcomics, print comics, video games, children’s books, and animation concept art. In case you’re interested, my favourite graphic novel has to be the Scott Pilgrim series.

I contribute to the Ark-T Centre in Cowley, which is a community of people encouraging imaginative art and empowerment through creative projects. One of the biggest programmes I’m involved with is Our Voice is Our Power. We are training up adults, who’ve been long-term unemployed, to be local journalists. The idea is that participants are equipped with literacy and communication skills to produce a large-scale community newspaper, Cowley News. The other project I’m working on is HERspace Senior, which encourages young women to use positive creative choices as an empowerment tool. I’m looking forward to seeing these projects grow and expand this year.

I’m also mad about games and gaming, whether video, board, or tabletop roleplaying (like Dungeons & Dragons). My favourite new board game is probably Trickerion, but I’m really excited to try out Charterstone, as well.

My family is Egyptian (on my dad’s side) and Italian-American on my mum’s side. I’m from New York City, but my partner and I now live in Abingdon.