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Who Is Dr Bunhead?
Having started working life as qualified secondary science teacher and chartered chemist, Tom Pringle (AKA Dr Bunhead) is now the
UK 's most successful 'stand-up scientist'. He has worked professionally as a freelance science communicator for 11 years, bringing 100% pure live science into classrooms, theatres and TV sets around the world; performing in everything from grand opera houses to tin huts in outback
Australia . To date, he has delivered over 1,500 shows to more than a quarter of a million people at over 500 venues; covering Malaysia, Indonesia, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Iceland, Ethiopia and a few, more local, venues.
Tom's TV work includes presenting for the BBC, ITV, Sky TV, Discovery, Disney and a load more not well enough known to impress anyone. He has recently filmed his 6th series of Sky One's highly successful "Brainiac: Science Abuse". Dr Bunhead has also presented science for both series of BBC's kids' science show "Hyperlinks'' plus many other guest appearances on shows such as ''Blue Peter'', ''The Slammer'', ''The Weather Show'', ''Life According To Fred''... and radio appearances on Radio 4's "The Material World" and many more.
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For the last decade he has toured science shows to theatres and festivals throughout Britain with several national tours, embracing such venues as The Royal Institution (home of "The Christmas Lectures"), The Crucible and, fingers crossed, The Royal Albert Hall (provissionally booked up for May 2009). After a few months of tricky negotiation, Tom brought the first ever live science performance to the West End, over the Christmas period 2004, with his hit show "Dr Bunhead's Recipes for Disaster"; bridging the gap between science education and the commercially competitive arena of mainstream popular entertainment. His latest theatre production, "Volcano Head: One man, one matchstick, one mission", tours for the third time this May 2008, following a sell-out run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2006 Dr B entered The Guinness Book of Records with the most potatoes fired from a spud-cannon in 3 minutes. This monumental contribution to science also earned him his 4th Blue Peter badge (none of which he has attempted to sell on E-Bay).
As a science interpreter, Tom has written shows & workshops for primary through to adult level, covering everything from photosynthesis to fornication (‘The Leaf Factory’ and ‘The Chemistry of Love & Lust'). His work also incorporates teacher training in delivering "Lively science for lively minds" and running workshops, for post-graduates to professors, on communicating science to non-specialists.
Having left the
University of
Bath with a degree in chemistry and a PGCE in secondary education he spent long enough in retail management for most of his hair to fall out. He then returned to academia, obtaining an M.Sc. (Surface Science & Catalysis) at the
University of
Liverpool . Several more years in research, at the
University of
Edinburgh , gained him an M.Phil. in chemistry. His ambition is to one day obtain his Boy Scouts sewing badge. Bored to death in the lab he started doing free science shows for local
Edinburgh schools. This rapidly led to big arguments with his supervisor and a swift change of career. It's at this point he became, what he pretentiously refers to as, a 'performance scientist'. Really he just likes showing off and blowing stuff up.
When he's not writing, performing or testing out new 'extreme science' demos he goes rock climbing and cycling (but not at the same time). He likes milk but no sugar with his tea and a couple of biscuits would be great.
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A Brief History Of Buns
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In The Beginning...
In 1965, in Plymouth, England, there was a little known freak accident. A discarded crust of an Ivor Dewdney's pasty, a tub of ice-cream and a radioactive piece of toast were simultaneously struck by lightning. The result was Dr. Bunhead; half scientist, half-baked. Dr. Bunhead assumed the name of Tom Pringle, an ordinary schoolboy, who went about life normally, apart from the huge amounts of ice-cream and toast he ate and his strange ability to make things more colourful.
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School Life...
Tom left Bath University in 1989 with a degree in chemistry, a P.G.C.E. in secondary science teaching and the Boy Scouts' sewing badge. His eyesight went wonky, so he also needed glasses. In 1992 he gained an M.Sc. in 'Surface Science and Catalysis' from Liverpool University. He then went to Edinburgh University to do a bit of research for a few years, gaining an M.Phil. in Chemical Engineering. During his research years he enjoyed many opportunities to bunk off and create science shows and other educational workshops. In November 1996 he set up 'Dr. Bunhead's Science Education'; providing educational shows, workshops and training for a variety of audiences.
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Dr.Bunhead's Brilliant New Job...
"All my life I've been clueless about what job I should do. All I knew was that I didn't want to work for a big organization, or anyone really. But, more importantly, that I loved teaching, science and showing off. I didn't know there was such a thing as science communication until I met Adam Selinger, but that's another story. Since then this is all I've wanted to do, in spite of so many people asking 'When are you going to get a real job?' This is a REAL job! It's the best job in the world. I wake up in the morning and think 'Hooray I'm going to work!' "
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Soon after, Dr. Bunhead was asked to do guest appearances on telly for BBC TV's "Fully Booked". That led to other work writing and presenting on episodes of "The Weather Show" and eventually getting his own series, with two other presenters, on "Hyperlinks". Since then he has filmed programmes for kids and adults all over the world. |
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