Profile
Alex Leide
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About Me:
I study materials which can hold a plasma 10x hotter than the Sun to create electricity. I like understanding how things work and how to make them better.
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I live near Oxford in a house I am doing up, and have 9 bikes (probably too many!). You might guess I like cycling a lot, partly because of the science and engineering in the bikes.
I enjoy cooking and watching bake-off and masterchef, but I’m not a very good cook so end up eating pizza quite a lot.
This is probably the best cake I made: fruit pavlova
When I was younger, me and my dad restored an old mini cooper, so I like driving that and tinkering with the engine. We also built a mini for racing, which I tended to crash quite a lot, but it was lots of fun and a really cool hobby. It taught me a lot about how cars work, and how to fix things which maybe led me towards science. I still race go karts sometimes, but I’m not very good. It’s more about having fun than winning.
My mini and my favourite bike
Me karting in the rain
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My pronouns are:
He/him
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My Work:
My job is to break ceramics and understand why they break and how to make them stronger.
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My work now is to see how ceramics break at the nanoscale. If we can understand this better, we can design better jet engines, parts of nuclear reactors, space rockets… lots of cool things user ceramic parts which could be stronger. I am also looking at materials for nuclear fusion reactors, and how to make them survive higher temperatures and radiation.
A lot of my experiments use electron microscopes to look at tiny details of materials, smaller than 1/100th of a hair thickness. I also use X-ray scanners to look at materials in 3D, and shine lasers on materials to see what type of interatomic bonds there are.
I also test how hard materials are using a nanoindenter. It pokes the material with a diamond and measures the force very accurately. We can also use this to bend tiny levers until they break and understand which part breaks first microscopically.
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My Typical Day:
I can work flexibly, sometimes from home, but I really enjoy going to the lab with my colleagues. If it’s a nice day I might ride my bike for a bit and catch up on work in the evening. I have more time for cooking now, and enjoy reading in the garden.
Also more time for computer games! -
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Normally I would head into work around 8:00, do some reading with a coffee and maybe some writing. Scientists spend a lot more time reading and writing than you might expect!
Maybe in the afternoon I would be in the lab, using a microscope or preparing some samples for an experiment. To see the structure of materials they need to be polished really carefully which can take a long time.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Make a Top Trumps card game for different materials
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Education:
Ferncumbe Primary school. There were only 40 students!
King Edward VI School.
University of Oxford (Materials Science undergraduate).
University of Oxford (DPhil Science and Technology of Fusion Energy). -
Qualifications:
GCSEs: Chemistry, Physics, Biology (Triple science), Maths, History, English, IT, French, Ancient Greek
As levels: Physics, Maths, Further maths, Chemistry, History, Ancient History
A levels: Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths.University: Materials Science 4 years masters with a research project in America. Then 4 years PhD.
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Work History:
I had quite a straight path towards science, but I also had some other jobs in summers and when I was at school.
I was a part time archaeologist for 2 years at weekends when I was at school. We excavated William Shakespeare’s house to understand more about how his family lived, and life in Tudor times.
One summer I was a waiter in a fancy hotel, but I wasn’t very good at it!
And I worked as a paper shredder for the police for a summer.
1st “sciency” job was as a Postdoctoral Researcher in micromechanics of ceramics.I work at University of Bristol for 2 years as a postdoctoral researcher.
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Current Job:
Now I work at UK Atomic Energy Authority, studying new materials for building fusion power stations. We have a lab where we can handle radioactive materials from nuclear reactors to study how they have changed in that environment.
I am also a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and study advanced nuclear fuels.
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Employer:
UK Atomic Energy Authority
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Curious, relaxed, sarcastic
What did you want to be after you left school?
Originally an archaeologist. Then a formula 1 engineer.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No, I was really quiet and shy!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Chemical Brothers
What's your favourite food?
Chocolate chip cookies
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