Eleni (Helen) Petrakou is a physicist and occasional science journalist. After several years working in elementary particle experiments, she currently researches and teaches astrophysics in Universiti Malaya. She has limited yet formal education in classical psychoanalysis, stage acting and bollywood dance. Like everyone else, she is fascinated by cats and generative AI. Eleni's writing has appeared in reputable media but also on her physics news blog, The Ph-word. Email: eleni [at] petrakou.net
by Eleni Petrakou Let this text be a string of anecdotes this columnist has been exposed to, mostly through her work in research and academia. Said work was spread in space and time. The anecdotes, however, come from the western world and its sphere of influence. * The first-year student is asking me what to…
by Eleni Petrakou During this Chinese New Year celebrations, this columnist was very surprised to realize that what dragons were is not really common knowledge. Are you one of those people who don’t know? I’m glad you are here. Already know? A refresher is always pleasant on this particular topic. Thinking of it, I was…
by Eleni Petrakou It’s late 2022. Scientists announce the creation of a spacetime wormhole. A flurry of articles and press releases of the highest caliber spread the news. Involved researchers call the achievement as exciting as the Higgs boson discovery. Pulitzer-winning journalists report on the “unprecedented experiment”. US government advisory panels hear it is a…