Kate Bellingham

Kate Bellingham (born Katherine Bellingham in 1963,[1] Buckrose – east/north Yorkshire) is a British engineer and television presenter most widely known for her role presenting popular BBC science show Tomorrow's World from 1990–1994.[1] Following a period pursuing other interests and raising children, she resumed her broadcasting career in 2010.

Early life

Bellingham was educated at the independent Mount School[2] on Dalton Terrace (A59) in York, followed by the University of Oxford, where she studied Physics. She graduated in 1984.[1] She earned her MSc in Electronic Communications Systems from University of Hertfordshire.[3]

Career

Broadcasting

Bellingham was a BBC radio engineer working in the BBC Broadcasting House in 1988 when she was selected to co-host the annual Faraday Lecture sponsored by the Institution of Electrical Engineers – a tour of live shows for school pupils around the UK. A BBC Schools producer saw her perform and she was offered a presenting role on a new Design and Technology programme called Techno.

She returned to her engineering training, but soon applied for Tomorrow's World. Spotted as a talented communicator of science and a potential role model for young women in a traditionally male-dominated industry, she was offered the chance to join the team of presenters working on the BBC's flagship popular science show in 1990 for four years.

Programmes she has presented include:

After around five years of regular television work, hosting numerous live events and presenting countless corporate video programmes, Bellingham decided to focus first on her young family and then to follow her core professional interest by returning to university to secure an MSc in Electronics.

Promotion of engineering (especially for women)

She went on to train and work as a maths teacher until July 2007, but has now returned to her media work, and to promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) to general public audiences, particularly school pupils. She is the DCSF's STEM Careers Champion (NSCC), and is Education Ambassador for the Bloodhound Engineering Adventure, which plans to break the world land speed record. Kate returned to TV screens in March 2010[4] as a regular co-presenter for Museum of Life a documentary series for BBC2 about the Natural History Museum. She was one of the celebrity judges at the National Science + Engineering Competition at The Big Bang Fair in March 2012, which rewards students who have achieved excellence in a science, technology, engineering or maths project and had been on the judging panel for the British Engineering Excellence Awards (BEEAs) in October 2010,[5] an event, organised by British based Eureka and New Electronics, which aims to promote the engineering achievements of British companies. During the awards Kate was wearing the e-dress[6] designed by Abigail Williams from Amman Valley School and created by Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz of CuteCircuit. The dress provided Kate with the opportunity to discuss the role of Design Technology (DT) in schools and its significance to British Engineering in the future.

Awards

In 1997, she received an honorary doctorate in Technology from Staffordshire University. In 2003, she received an MSc in Electronics from the University of Hertfordshire. She is President of Young Engineers, the national network of engineering clubs in schools and colleges. She is also a Patron of WISE, a charitable organisation that encourages young women to pursue careers in Science, Engineering and Construction.[7] In 2011 she was awarded a Women of Outstanding Achievement Award, partly in recognition for her work as National STEM Co-Ordinator for Sheffield Hallam University's Centre for Science Education.

Personal life

Bellingham is married to BBC maintenance engineer, Martin Young.[8] They have two children[8] and settled in Hertfordshire.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Royal Society of Chemistry – see Curriculum Vitae image below article
  2. ↑ Mount School
  3. ↑ "Profile: Tomorrow's careers". http://www.rsc.org/''. Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.guardian.co.uk/do-the-maths/kate-bellingham Do the maths
  5. ↑ British Engineering Excellence Awards
  6. ↑ e-dress designer and creators | Flickr – Photo Sharing!
  7. ↑ WISE Patrons
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "About Kate". katebellingham.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "UWE Bristol awards honorary degree to Kate Bellingham". UWE Bristol: News. University of the West of England. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.

External links

News items

Audio clips

Video clips