Ewan Bottomley

Ewan Bottomley is a Teaching Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Aberdeen, where he joined in 2023 after completing his PhD at the University of St. Andrews. He holds a PhD in Psychology (2023), MRes with distinction (2017), and MA(Hons) with first-class honors (2016), all from the University of Edinburgh. His academic journey includes serving as a social psychology Lab Manager at Edinburgh (2017) and pursuing doctoral research across Psychology and Physics departments at St. Andrews (2019-2023).

Bottomley's research spans Physics Education Research, Social Psychology, and Gender Studies, with particular focus on imposter phenomenon, physics identity, gender differences in STEM fields, and social perception. His work frequently examines how recognition, identity, and social context influence academic performance and wellbeing in physics students, with several publications addressing interventions for imposter phenomenon in undergraduate physics education.

His recent publications (2024-2025) demonstrate an expanding research portfolio that now includes work on conspiracy theories, social category processing in facial recognition, and interdisciplinary studies on identity in higher education contexts. His 2021 PERC paper on gender effects in perceived recognition as a physicist surveyed 688 physics majors and revealed important insights about gender differences in recognition from instructors, families, and friends.

• Winner of the Lillian McDermott Award in Physics Education Research (2022)
• Winner of Psychology & Neuroscience Postgraduate Teaching Award at St. Andrews (2021-2022)
• Nominated for 'rising star' and 'most inspiring' awards at Aberdeen (2023-2025)

Within the University of Aberdeen, Bottomley serves on the School of Psychology's Equality and Diversity Committee and represents the School's Social Committee. He is also a member of the Person Perception Lab run by Dr. Doug Martin, where he conducted research as a Research Fellow in 2024 before returning to teaching duties in 2025.