Wendy Sadler

Sadler was born in 1972 and grew up in Wombourne, England, where she went to Ounsdale High School.[3] She attended Cardiff University and gained a BSc in Physics and Music in 1994.

Sadler considered a career as an acoustic engineer before becoming a manager at Techniquest.[4][5] She has since completed an MSc in Science Communication at the Open University.[6] Her dissertation assessed the long-term impact of science demonstration shows.[7] She created the non-verbal theatre show called The Experimentrics, which mixed physical theatre and live science demonstrations to create "a world of wordless mystery and fun".[8] Sadler is a LAMDA accredited public speaker and fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. She regularly appears on television and radio discussing the importance of STEM education.[9][10][11][12] Sadler is a Lecturer and Schools' Liaison Officer at Cardiff University.[13] She is concerned about the state of science education in Wales.[14]

Sadler is a physics communicator who has published 19 books for children.[6] She has contributed to ITV Wales, BBC Radio and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[6] In 2010 Sadler gave a TEDxCardiff talk entitled "Music and the Machine".[15]

Sadler set up Science Made Simple (SMS) in 2002 with the mission to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.[16] At the time, Sadler was the IOP Schools Lecturer.[17] SMS develop and present interactive performances that travel to schools and festivals across the world, reaching 28 countries to date.[18] They have produced shows, contributed to science television, radio programmes, and children's books, trained scientists and acted as consultants on UK research councils.[19] In 2013, she received national media coverage for their tour of UK primary schools following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[20][21] SMS has reached more than 750,000 people.[22] SMS is part of a multimillion-pound EU project investigating the use of performance as a tool to engage young people with science and society issues.[23]

Sadler Chaired and co-authored the Task and Finish report on STEM engagement in Wales for the National Science Academy[24] and was involved in the writing of the Talented Women for a Successful Wales[25] report.[2]

• 2017 - MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours[26]
• 2017 - Institute of Physics William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize[27][28]
• 2015 - Leading Wales Award for Social Enterprise[16]
• 2009 - Royal Academy of Engineering medal for the Public Promotion of Engineering[29]
• 2008 - UK RC Woman of Outstanding Achievement Award[30]
• 2007 - Descartes Prize for Excellence in Science Communication[31][32]
• 2007 - Institute of Acoustics' Award for Promoting Acoustics to the Public[33]
• 2005 - Institute of Physics Young Professional Physicist of the Year Award[34][35]
• 2004 - Women in Science and Engineering Excellence Award[36]
• 2004 - Welsh Woman of the Year (Science and Technology)[37]