Nikki Forrester

Journalist at Freelance

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Articles

Technology for OEM Design Engineers

1 week ago | nelsonpub.com | Nikki Forrester

Copper foam from Goodfellow combines the outstanding thermal conductivity of copper with the structural benefits of a metal foam. These features are of particular interest to design engineers working in the fields of medical products and devices, defense systems and manned flight, power generation, and the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This product has a true skeletal structure with no voids, inclusions, or entrapments. A perennial favorite of Designfax readers. Learn more.
How do I choose a principal investigator for my next postdoc?

3 weeks ago | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

DearNature,I am a postdoc working at an academic institute. I admire my principal investigator (PI) and am working on a project that fits my skill set and interests. However, before this position, I had two difficult experiences in consecutive postdoc jobs that led me to leave both labs. During my interviews, the PIs and I discussed working on projects that I was passionate about, but when I joined each lab, I was assigned to other projects that didn’t align with my interests.
Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient - here’s how I’m fighting to save it

2 months ago | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

When it comes to the land, the European Union faces a reckoning: 60–70% of its soils are considered unhealthy, resulting in soil degradation. That costs €50 billion (US$55 billion) annually because of the loss of essential services and the effect on human health. Spain has the highest rates of soil degradation in Europe, with an average of 14.2 tonnes of soil lost per hectare to erosion each year1.
Meet the researchers pioneering Spanish climate solutions

2 months ago | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

In October 2024, southern and eastern Spain were ravaged by flash floods and torrential rain. Some regions received more rain in a single day than they typically do in a year. The floods killed more than 200 people, displaced thousands and caused an estimated €3.5 billion (US$3.9 billion) worth of damage. It was Spain’s deadliest flooding in decades, and it was caused, in part, by climate change. Spain is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change.
Deep dive: How I use robots to survey coral reefs

Mar 31, 2025 | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

“Deep coral reefs occur throughout the world and generally reach depths of up to 150 metres. They host different ecological communities from the shallow coral reefs that most people think of, but are relatively understudied. An analogy would be a botanist not studying any sections of the plant below the ground; ignoring deep coral reefs means missing out on understanding a big part of the habitat.
I spent two years organizing an international conference. How do I get compensated for my work?

Mar 17, 2025 | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

The problemDear Nature,I’m a scientist based in the United Kingdom. A few years ago, I was verbally encouraged to organize an international conference by staff at a university. At the time, I wasn’t employed at the university or elsewhere in a full-time position, but I’d like to work there in the future. I agreed to the request because the staff suggested it would raise their group’s profile and also help to set me apart in future job applications.
Harsh criticism and unreasonable expectations worsen PhD students’ mental health

Jan 14, 2025 | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

Graduate students with anxiety and depression say that their symptoms are exacerbated by the pressures of research and teaching, fuelled by overly harsh criticism and being held to unreasonable expectations, a survey finds. Those who self-identified as having severe anxiety or depression were three to five times more likely to consider leaving their graduate programmes than were those with milder symptoms.
I defend the planet from asteroid collisions

Nov 25, 2024 | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

“There are hundreds of millions of asteroids in the Solar System, the majority of which are in the main belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. But some of these asteroids, either through collisions, or through gravitational effects or other processes, end up in new orbits that come close to or cross Earth’s orbit.
I track bird movement to enhance conservation efforts

Nov 4, 2024 | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

“The bird in my hand is a yellow-breasted chat (Icteria virens). This species breeds in North America — occurring in southern British Columbia and southwestern Ontario in Canada and in much of the United States — and then migrates to Mexico and Central America during the Northern Hemisphere’s autumn months. The chat is a declining species in North America, in part because it relies on habitat adjacent to bodies of water such as rivers and streams, much of which has been destroyed.
How to run a successful internship programme

Oct 22, 2024 | nature.com | Nikki Forrester

Internships provide opportunities for early-career scientists to apply their academic knowledge, gain workplace experience and develop the soft skills necessary for successful careers. Although these programmes vary extensively in terms of their target audience, host organization, duration and structure, many science internships are geared towards undergraduate students who are eager to learn about life in research.