Dr Brooke Simmons is an astrophysicist currently working as Galaxy Zoo Project Scientist at the University of Oxford, where she studies galaxy evolution.
Her research, and that of many others, is helped by hundreds of thousands of citizen scientists who participate in projects run by the Zooniverse, a platform engaging the public in forefront scientific research across many disciplines, from Astronomy to Zoology.
Dr Simmons' particular research focus is on evolution of galaxies and the enormous black holes that live at their centers.
Citizen Science and the Zooniverse
The digital revolution has been both a blessing and a curse to scientists; providing enormous, rich sets of data for analysis, but overwhelming traditional analysis tools. Faced with this challenge, astronomers have turned to the public for help, with a response that continues to outshine even the most optimistic expectations.
Citizen Scientists have enabled the next generation of scientific research, and have made some astonishing finds themselves, challenging the traditional model of scientific accessibility: using simple tools on the web, anyone can now participate in scientific research according to their particular interests.
Year 10 Career Conference – Monday 8th July 2013
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If you have a question for Brooke, email us at nsa@spacecentre.co.uk and we'll make sure she gets it!