Fabiola Diana and Liza Cornet win FameLab Leiden pre-round
The preliminary round in Leiden was cancelled, in part due to the corona crisis, but three young Leiden researchers were able to take part in the preliminary FameLab round at the University of Amsterdam. The Amsterdam jury selected Fabiola Diana and Liza Cornet, both social scientists. They will go through to the national final of FameLab, representing Leiden University.
FameLab is an international competition in science communication: who can give the best presentation of his or her research? Liza Cornet, Fabiola Diana and German Preciat Gonzalez each made a pitch on their research, in line with the FameLab formula: a maximum of three minutes, no Powerpoint or video, and with just two items to support the pitch. Because of the coronavirus, the competition was held completely online.
Criminals and mirroring
Winner Liza Cornet is conducting research on applying virtual reality to confront criminals with their future selves and to get them thinking. 'It's a super and innovative idea and the subject really keeps your attention,' was how the jury assessed Cornet's pitch. Fabiola Diana came second with her pitch on ‘mimicry’, the phenomenon that people unconsciously mirror one another when they feel some attraction between them. The national final is on 1 May and the international final will take place in June.
View the three pitches below.