A 'Physics of Sustainability' website for schools has been developed by Lancaster University’s Department of Physics in partnership with the Ogden Trust, Green Lancaster and others.

The website, aimed at teachers and students, aims to show how important physics is to a sustainable future, and how using physics can be key to careers in a low-carbon economy.

The authors, Phil Furneaux, (retired outreach officer but now a Teaching Fellow at the Lancaster University Physics department) and Melissa Lord, (a regional representative of the Ogden Trust) have worked with Green Lancaster and The Centre of Eco-Innovation throughout the project.

Phil Furneaux said: “Climate change offers many challenges to the world, and using Science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM), and very often physics, is key to low-carbon solutions. The people for whom this is most important are those in schools and colleges now; our aspiration is to help them become better equipped for this.”

The platform will host interviews with researchers, technicians and practitioners in the Green Economy, introducing students to ideas which will be followed up with interactive questions to consolidate the science.

Phil said: “I hope that school students interacting with this site will be influenced to take up careers in the green technology and contribute to the drive for net zero."

Melissa said: "This is a fascinating project for the future, and it has been really encouraging, in the face of warnings about the impact of climate change, to discover just how much innovation is taking place and about the careers that will have their roots in this field."

The website’s online launch event will include short talks from several of the contributors including a keynote talk from Professor Sarah Bridle, cosmologist at Jodrell Bank and author of “Food and Climate Change without the Hot Air”. Register for the launch event here.