Science Competition judging panel

An expert panel of judges assess the entries for the Cambridge Upper Secondary Science Competition each year.

The panel is led by Charlie Pettit, who has spent his career in science education and education research, much of it at Cambridge.

Our judges are excited to see how this year’s students approach their investigations and to see what the next generation of Cambridge International scientists produce.

View the judging panel below.

Charlie Pettit

Charlie Pettit joined the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education in 2020 and currently co-leads the secondary Biology PGCE.  

Charlie completed his own PGCE in 2009 and his MEd in 2012, both at the University of Cambridge. He went on to be Head of Science at a school near Cambridge. Charlie still teaches science in a local secondary school and works in the leadership team of a multi-academy trust, supporting a number of primary and secondary schools across Cambridgeshire. 

Charlie also provides teaching and learning workshops for STEM learning, The Association for Science Education and the Princes Trust Institute and has been a consultant for Cambridge University Press and Assessment. 

Professor Jessica Gwynne

Jess is a Teaching Professor of Materials Science, and the Director of Undergraduate Teaching at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. She is also Chair of the Natural Sciences Tripos Management Committee, and a Fellow at St. Catharine's College.

Her research background is in biomedical materials science, but her role now focusses solely on teaching. She teaches across the breadth of the subject and has received a Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching.

Dr Elaine Wilson

Dr Elaine Wilson was an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education until September 2022, and is now an Emeritus Fellow of Homerton College at the University of Cambridge.

Elaine was a secondary school chemistry teacher in Bath and Cambridge and awarded a Salters' Medal for chemistry teaching. She has also received two career awards for teaching in Higher Education - the University of Cambridge Pilkington Teaching Prize, in recognition of excellence in teaching at the University of Cambridge and a National Teaching Fellowship in recognition of excellence in teacher education leadership.

Robin Horton

Robin is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, researching how to hack into photosynthesis to generate electricity sustainably from cyanobacteria, using a combination of electrochemistry and ultrafast spectroscopy. 

They completed a BA in Natural Sciences and an MSci in Physics from the University of Cambridge, followed by an MRes in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Throughout their academic career, they have studied the physical and biological sciences and apply this to their current interdisciplinary research. 

As a trans person in STEM, they are passionate about LGBTQ+ inclusion in the sciences, co-running the Cambridge Queer in Chemistry Network. They are also very involved in science communication and outreach and have a strong interest in sustainability and environmentalism.