Toby Hendy (born 11 July 1995), known online as Tibees, is a New Zealand

science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in sci ...

and

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

who focuses on educational content relating to

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Early life and education

School

Hendy attended

Katikati College Katikati College is a co-educational Year 7 to 13 school. It is located in the town of Katikati which is approximately northwest of the city of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Enrolment As of , Katikati College h ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

, New Zealand. In 2011, she was selected by the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

as one of two national delegates to attend the USA International Space Camp in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. In 2012, she won first place in the secondary school category of the NZ Eureka Awards for Science Communication.

University

Hendy obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

, majoring in Physics and Mathematics, at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. She was awarded an Aurora Astronomy Scholarship that enabled her to take an overseas trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Carnegie Observatory,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Macdonald Observatory Texas,

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, NRC Observatory Victoria and CHFT Hawaii. Hendy went on to do her Honours year at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. In 2017, Hendy started a PhD at ANU focusing on using nanoindentation to examine the mechanical response of plant cells to applied pressure. She was awarded a Westpac Future Leader's Scholarship. During her time as a PhD student she placed runner-up in the Australian national finals of the FameLab science communication competition for her presentation 'Poking Plants'. Her honours thesis title was ‘Examining the mechanical response of ''

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...

'' using nanoindentation and Finite Element Modelling’, where she received class honours with a grade 93/100 for her thesis. In 2018, Hendy discontinued her PhD studies to pursue YouTube full-time.

Career

Hendy has been uploading videos to YouTube since high school. In August 2020, Hendy announced that she was working on a mathematical stop-motion short film, 'Finding X', supported by the Screen Australia Skip Ahead initiative. It was released on 25 January 2022. In 2023, Hendy appeared on season 5 of the travel competition show '' Jet Lag: The Game'', which was filmed in New Zealand. She returned for season 10, which was released in 2024 and filmed in Australia. In 2025 the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...

gave asteroid 22955 the name Tibees, Hendy's nickname, in honor of her science communication outreach. In May 2025, Hendy announced that she had written a book, 'A Guide To Making Friends in the Fourth Dimension', intended for release in July 2025.

Awards

* 2012 — NZ Eureka Awards for Science Communication * 2013 — UC Aurora Astronomy Scholarship * 2015 — Haydon Prize for top graduating physics student * 2017 — Westpac Future Leader's Scholarship * 2018 — FameLab Australia runner-up * 2020 — Screen Australia Skip Ahead Grant * 2024 — Young

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

nominee for Queensland

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendy, Toby 1995 births Living people Educational and science YouTubers Australian YouTubers University of Canterbury alumni Australian National University alumni Education-related YouTube channels Australian women physicists YouTube channels launched in 2011 New Zealand expatriates in Australia New Zealand science communicators