Women We Love: Kate McAlpine

Who is Kate McAlpine, you ask? Perhaps you know her better by her rap alter ego, alpinekat? Yes, Kate is the woman behind the Large Hadron Rap, an internet sensation, as they say, that explains just what CERN’s Large Hadron Collider does – through the power of rhyme! When she’s not rocking the mic, Kate is a science writer who defines her mission as one that aims “to explain scientific topics in a way that is relevant, interesting and understandable”:

While accuracy in both science and reporting is serious business, the science itself should be fun. That’s why I think physics rap is the next big thing.

Kate, who is 23 and holds a double degree from Michigan State University in Professional Writing and Physics, is no doubt enjoying the boost to her profile, which is most gratifying as it has come from her being hilarious and smart (as the CERN team says of her rap, “The science is spot on”), a rarity when it comes to internet (or other!) fame these days. And since the LHC was turned on yesterday, now seems as good a time as ever to enjoy alpinekat’s scientific flow once more:

She blinded me with science! And this won’t be the last we hear of her mad skillz, either – nor the most densely scientific, either. From the Telegraph story:

While alpinekat hasn’t yet signed with a record label, she’s now working on a rap, written during a summer research program at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. “It contains too much jargon, but it’s still fun.”

Word, sista!

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