The British Science Association is excited to announce the British Science Festival’s 2026 Award Lecturers: seven early-career researchers passionate about sharing their work with public audiences. They will present their research in captivating talks during the Festival, which will take place across Southampton from 16 – 20 September.

The Award Lectures are a development opportunity for early career researchers to explore the social impact of their work, develop public speaking skills and engage with new audiences.

The British Science Association has been championing promising early career scientists for over 30 years, with previous Award Lecturers including household names, such as Brian Cox, Richard Wiseman and Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

From deep sea sharks to AI in spinal surgery and electromagnetic art, this year’s talks span the sciences and social sciences, showcasing the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.

We asked our British Science Festival 2026 Award Lecturers what first inspired them to pursue research. What sparked their curiosity? Was there a defining moment or person that got them inspired? They reveal surprising inspirations, from dinosaur chase scenes in Jurassic Park to early memories of hunting for crabs on the beach.

Daniel Moore is a Lecturer in Marine Biology at the University of Exeter. His talk, Dark stories from deep-sea sharks, will explore how human activity impacts these creatures and why it matters.

“The biggest inspiration for my career in scientific research was watching Jurassic Park as a child. I vividly remember seeing the scientists on screen and thinking, “What a cool job!” (ignoring, of course, the minor detail of being chased and eaten by dinosaurs).

I knew early on that I wanted to be a scientist and found all areas of science fascinating. However, it wasn’t until I learned to scuba dive as a teenager that I discovered marine biology and from that moment on, I was completely hooked. I’ve never looked back”

Anna Heller-Szabó is a PhD Researcher at UCL Mechanical Engineering and the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science. Her talk, Surgery ahead of the game, will explore how virtual reality can be used by medical professionals to practice surgery ahead of time and show who benefits when medicine gets a reset button.

“My mom was my biggest inspiration. When I was little, she spent long hours doing plant biology research, often surrounded by notes and plants. Occasionally, she made it look like a game to involve me for a bit.”

Eva Stewart is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Southampton and the Natural History Museum. Her talk, The deep sea dilemma, will dive into the treasure trove of minerals found on the Pacific Ocean floor, the potential consequences of deep sea mining, and the possible impact on the creatures that call it home.

“I would say that the sea has always been my biggest inspiration. I’ve always loved being by the water, and my dad used to take us rock pooling a lot when we were young. There is such amazing marine life around the coast of the UK and I would spend hours searching through the seaweed and under rocks looking for crabs and worms! This always stuck with me and was what made me decide to study marine biology.” 

Andrew Blair is a PhD Researcher at the University of Glasgow. His talk, Holy Motherboard!, will reveal what happened when he introduced a robot to a centuries-old cathedral and will feature a real life robot!

“I got an Alexa when I was a teenager, and it really interested me – I thought talking to a computer made a lot of sense for some tasks. I then started making programs for it, and understanding it a bit more made me think, okay this is cool. I then got to go to a conference about conversational interfaces (digital systems that enable natural language interaction, like chatbots and voice assistants) and I was like okay this is really cool. That naturally progressed into physical robots that could do conversations too, which felt even cooler.”  

Antonia Marcu is a New Frontiers Fellow at the University of Southampton. Her talk, AI: friend or fraud, will reveal a more grounded understanding of how AI models really ‘think’, and what we can expect from our futures alongside these evolving technologies.

“I can’t say I was *inspired* to get into research. I tried it out of pure curiosity and immediately fell in love with it. I’m a very curious person, so finding an environment where I get rewarded for it made me feel like I finally found my place. Once hooked, what made me stay was the challenge of tackling important open questions and the excitement and joy of knowledge discovery.” 

Tom Hyatt is a PhD Researcher at Liverpool John Moores University. His talk, Electromagnetic art, will recount his journey to contemplate and create art made using electromagnetism.

“My biggest inspiration is my late dad, John Hyatt, who was involved in academic research as a Professor of Contemporary Art. He had knowledge, passions, and creative practice that transcended disciplinary boundaries.

Louis Pasteur famously said that “in the fields of observation, chance favours only the prepared mind”. I could tell you, here, what specific things inspired my art/science PhD (and give some big lecture spoilers!) but it was my dad’s trailblazing example that ultimately prepared me to think beyond any one field of knowledge, and to always be on the look-out for exciting and enjoyable projects to explore.”

Hannah Dalgleish is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton. Her talk, Southampton and the disappearing night, will explore how humans are generating more light than ever, with big consequences for our cities and the people and animals who live there.

“My biggest inspiration for getting into research was the opportunity to travel. I studied astronomy because I wanted to learn about the mysteries of the universe, visit remote places and lie under a blanket of stars.

I loved the idea of travelling to observatories around the world, experiencing beautiful landscapes, and living and working in different countries. Astronomy definitely delivered, I was lucky enough to visit observatories in Hawaii, Namibia, Bulgaria, Tenerife and even in Tromsø above the Arctic Circle. I also ended up studying and working in seven different countries on three continents.” 

You can attend these talks, and so much more, for free at the British Science Festival 2026 from 16-20 September in September. The full British Science Festival programme will launch at the beginning of July – keep an eye on our website and the British Science Association social media channels and newsletter to stay up to date.