Rachel Brazil
Rachel Brazil is Crucible project manager and leads on the interdisciplinary strand of NESTAs Connect programme which seeks to promote collaborative innovation.
Rachel has a BA (Hons.) in Chemistry from Oxford University and an MSc and PhD in archaeological conservation from University College London. Her Phd involved multidisciplinary research, looking for new chemical conservation treatments for archaeological marine iron.
Rachel joined NESTA in 2007 from the Royal Society of Chemistry where she was manager for science policy communications and prior to this manager for materials chemistry activities with a particular focus on nanotechnology and biomaterials. She has also held a number of editorial roles including with the Taylor and Francis group where she was responsible for commissioning new psychology textbooks.
Her work to date has given her considerable experience of the UK research community and science policy landscape. She has particular interest in science and society issues and encouraging scientists to engage in policy debates.
Rachel hopes that Connect projects such as Crucible will encourage the research community to see their roles in a wider context; be it by collaborating with researchers from other disciplines in new areas of research or by engaging in policy, outreach or other entrepreneurial activities.