Profile
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Michael Sullivan
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About Me:
I live in Manchester with my wife and son. I work from home on Scientific Software but also love video games, snooker, running, and rock music! I also love learning new things like British Sign Language.
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Working from home is fantastic because it lets me spend more time with my family and doing things that I enjoy! A lot of time is spent playing with my son but outside of that I play video games like Dota 2 with my friends and cool stuff like 3D printing! I have also started to collect swords which I will display on the wall of my office, so far I only have one but would love to get more in the future. I love playing board games and card games too, I have played games like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh in the past but I am planning to learn Magic The Gathering in the future. I try to learn new things like British Sign Language which I would love to do something with in the future.
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My pronouns are:
He/Him
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My Work:
I write code to help take cool pictures of stuff using neutrons!
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I work for a Lab in Oxfordshire which does a lot of cool science, but I work with a particle accelerator which smashes small charged particles called protons at a really high speed into a metal wall. This creates some different small particles called neutrons which can be used to do some amazing things! We use them to take pictures of the insides of things, a lot like having an X-ray at a hospital! These pictures let us study what’s inside of things and what they are made of, which is useful or really old objects that are found in museums like swords and skeletons! I write the program which helps other scientists make sense of the pictures we take π
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My Typical Day:
I wake up with my son at around 7am, where we go downstairs and have breakfast, he normally has Weetabix and a banana and I have crumpets and some coffee. We play for a bit until 8:30am where I go to my office to start work. I have some meetings in the day to talk with the rest of my team but at other times I’m using writing code on the computer. I normally finish at around 5-6pm depending on other plans I have with my family.
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I have a meeting at 9:30am every day with the rest of my team to discuss what we did yesterday and what we’re hoping to work on today, this can change quite a lot depending on how the day goes! I normally spend my morning looking at some current issues that we have with the program and try to figure out a way to fix them, or add new things to the code. Some days we have meetings with the scientists that use the program where they help us find new ways to make the program better! After I have done some work, I will have lunch with my family before putting my son down for a nap in the afternoon, sometimes I’m tempted to have a nap as well!
The work I do after lunch can vary from attending a lecture, writing more code, having meetings, or taking some time to learn something related to my work that can help me understand things better. It’s always a great idea to take some time to learn something new!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would love to use the prize money to continue to learn British Sign Language and use signing as part of my job! We recently had an outreach event at work which gave me ideas on how to use sign language to teach deaf people about science or teach the public some fun signs to use!
I would use the money to take an accredited Sign Language course which would allow me to put on events to help teach the deaf community about science, either in schools or at a public place like a museum!
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Education:
I went to St Damian’s Science College in Tameside, Manchester, where I did my GCSEs, before going to Ashton Sixth Form College to do my A-Levels.
I then studied an undergraduate Masters in Physics with Theoretical Physics at the University of Manchester before doing a PhD in Particle Physics there too.
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Qualifications:
GCSEs
- Physics – A*
- Chemistry – A*
- Biology – A*
- Maths – A*
- English Language – A*
- English Literature – A
- Geography – A
- French – A
- I.T – Distinction
- RE – B
A-Levels
- Maths – A*
- Further Maths – A
- Physics – A
- Chemistry – A
University
- MPhys (Masters) Physics with Theoretical Physics – 1st
- PhD Particle Physics
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Work History:
- Milkmans assistant
- Placement at a Pharmacy
- Summer Internship at University of Lancaster
- Summer Internship at the Cockcroft Institute
- Senior Fellow at CERN
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Current Job:
Software Scientist
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Employer:
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Code loving Physicist
What did you want to be after you left school?
A scientist!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Once, for daydreaming in the middle of a science test.
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Probably medical doctor or a video game designer!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Iron Maiden
What's your favourite food?
Cant beat a good pizza!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Be fluent in every language, play every instrument, and be able to run a marathon!
Tell us a joke.
Never trust an atom, they make everything up!
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