In our Who’s who in the Zoo blog series we introduce you to some of the people behind the Zooniverse.
In this edition, meet Dr Mary Westwood, a recent addition to the Zooniverse team.
– Helen
Name: Mary Westwood
Location: University of Oxford, UK
Tell us about your role within the team
I joined the Zooniverse as a postdoctoral research assistant/project manager at the end of January 2022.
What did you do in your life before the Zooniverse?
I did a BSc and MSc in Biology at Wright State University in Ohio (where I’m from), then moved to the UK to do a PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Edinburgh. Mostly I’m interested in how timing affects interactions between individuals, and towards the end of my PhD I started to dabble in bioacoustics and machine learning. Those last two topics are what led me to the Zooniverse.
What does your typical working day involve?
It varies a lot, but primarily I split my time between helping research teams get their projects up and running and doing my own research. I also get to write the weekly newsletters, which is a lot of fun.
How would you describe the Zooniverse in one sentence?
The innate curiosity and goodness of people put to very good use.
Tell us about the first Zooniverse project you were involved with
When I first checked out the Zooniverse, I wanted to see how bioacoustics projects were run on the platform. I can’t remember every project I looked into, but I do remember seeing HumBug and thinking what an incredible project it is.
Of all the discoveries made possible by the Zooniverse, which for you has been the most notable?
Research from the Penguin Watch team and volunteers has led to additional protections to marine protected areas, which is a really awesome outcome from a Zooniverse project.
What’s been your most memorable Zooniverse experience?
Best memory: all of the project launches, they’re a lot of fun.
Worst memory: mistakenly thinking I’d changed the background image of the entire Zooniverse website.
What are your top three citizen science projects?
I love them all equally.
What advice would you give to a researcher considering creating a Zooniverse project?
Just go for it. Start building a project, play around with setting up workflows. Delete them, start again. Don’t be afraid to reach out to us for help.
How can someone who’s never contributed to a citizen science project get started?
Browse which projects we’re hosting to see what sparks your interest. Download apps like iNaturalist and Merlin Bird ID – both awesome platforms which get you out into nature (win) and help science (double win).
Where do you hope citizen science and the Zooniverse will be in 10 years time?
Everywhere. Since discovering the Zooniverse, I can’t believe everyone doesn’t already know about it.
Is there anything in the Zooniverse pipeline that you’re particularly excited about?
I’m about to experience my first Zooniverse Team Meeting. Very excited to finally get together with all of the awesome people I’ve worked with remotely over the past six months.
When not at work, where are we most likely to find you?
Somewhere outdoors and with a pint, possibly also with a book or friends.
Do you have any party tricks or hidden talents?
My party trick is strong-arming any topic of conversation into a discussion about circadian rhythms.
You can check out Mary’s Zooniverse project here: The Cricket Wing
You can hear more from Mary on Twitter.
Zooniverse 