Chas Bishop, Chief Executive of the National Space Centre has won the Research Leadership Award at the inaugural Leicester Mercury Innovation Awards 2019.
Hosted at the King Power Stadium, Leicester, on 3 April 2019, the awards celebrated the very best technology, services, digital advances, and creative thinking that Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland have to offer.
The Research Leadership Award, one of 10 categories, was created to celebrate business leaders, technical experts or academics sharing their expertise with their teams. Leicestershire is full of such people and the Leicester Mercury Innovation Awards were created to honour them.
Chas was nominated for his work leading the National Space Centre team to deliver a great day out to visitors from across the region and further afield. The Leicester Mercury were also keen to highlight the educational work at the National Space Centre, which is inspiring the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, engineers and astronauts. The team deliver workshops and presentations at the visitor attraction, at schools and in the community, with a growing outreach programme, engaging young people with STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
One of the highlights of any visit to the National Space Centre is the UK’s largest planetarium. Under Chas’ leadership, the team responsible for producing the planetarium shows, NSC Creative, has flourished. An award-winning UK studio with 15 years of experience in immersive media, they specialise in immersive experiences for theme parks, VR, domes, 3D/4D, museums and science centres. They have recently produced a brand new planetarium show at the National Space Centre, CAPCOM GO! The Apollo Story.
Chas was delighted to receive the award: “I am chuffed to bits. The National Space Centre has a really important role to play in celebrating scientific achievement and helping provide education pathways for young people, as well as delivering a belting family day out. I am in constant awe of the space scientists, communicators and creative geniuses that I am lucky enough to work with each day.”
As well as celebrating the winners there was also an expo featuring guests speakers sharing their expertise in innovation and technology and a chance for some of the county’s most exciting product developers and innovators to showcase their work. Chas took part in a soapbox session, discussing how the National Space Centre is engaging future space experts and plans for Space Park Leicester.
