Croucher Science Week: an interview with Phillip Yam
Earlier this year, we reported on how Croucher Science Week 2024 inspired thousands of youngsters in Hong Kong.
The impact of Croucher Science Week, a free festival that brings science closer to the everyday lives of young people in Hong Kong, depends on the skill and passion of many individuals, including the wonderful science communicators who deliver the programme.
Croucher News caught up recently with one of those presenters, Professor Phillip Yam, to find out more about the background and experience of a science communicator.
Yam’s background is in actuarial science and mathematics. He’s a professor at the Department of Statistics and Assistant Dean (Education) of the Faculty of Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Yam told us he is currently working on “resolving many lasting open problems in various fields such as mean field theory, actuarial science, financial mathematics, stochastic analysis, as well as data analytics and statistics.”
Yam’s appearance at Croucher Science Week was fuelled in part by a sense of duty and gratitude. As a Croucher scholar, he wanted “to give back,” he told us. But his participation was also about inspiring the next generation of scientists in Hong Kong, a place and community close to his heart. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Yam is passionate about promoting science to local schools and students, something that Croucher Science Week allows him to accomplish. Another motivation for Yam’s participation is that he sees it as a “valuable opportunity to improve my own presentation skills.”
The preparation and training involved for this event are what make it so successful. In order to perform, Yam and all the other performers must undergo training in science communication, where they learn what it takes to speak in front of a general audience and get their complex ideas across. He expressed his “deepest gratitude” to his trainers, Eddie Goldstein and Ana Yau.
Yam’s performance in “Air and Force” went down very well with the students. With a focus on his field of physical and mathematical sciences, Yam, along with Dr Krates Ng and Ana Yau, captured the attention of the young audience through a combination of drama and the physical and mechanical forces of science. This included the simulation of an exploding volcano. Yam found that students were drawn in by the interactive performances and experiments. “The students were so concentrated and focused. They had instant reactions to whatever we did. It was really encouraging to see.”
Creating analogies to convey the message of abstract notions was Yam’s “main challenge” in preparation for the event. “I had to think outside of the box about how to connect these concepts to daily life.”
When discussing what makes a good science communicator, Yam told us that “anyone who is willing to devote real effort to science communication can be a science communicator, and I am just one of them.”
When asked what advice Yam would give to new and upcoming speakers who are looking to present at Croucher Science Week, he said, “It should be enough for them to share their views with students in a sincere manner, as students are clever enough to be aware of when sharing is heartfelt. That’s how they gain interest in science.”
Yam is also optimistic about the future. Referring to AI and machine learning, he said, "Hopefully, in the near future, they will help us explain complicated and abstract concepts in a more easily understandable and accessible way.”
Yam would love to see Croucher Science Week happen more frequently. He was delighted by the diverse range of topics presented, as well as the interactive aspects of the performances. He was also pleased to see “different performers and scientists come from around the world, not just Hong Kong,” while being keen on the involvement of local scientists to ensure that the content is relatable and accessible to the local community.
“I feel fortunate to have been selected by Croucher to perform in many Croucher Science Weeks,” he said. “I hope I can continue to do so in the future.”
Yam was the recipient of Croucher scholarships in 2001 and 2003. His Croucher profile is here.