Dashboard – I'm a Scientist 2024

Sophie standing on a stage giving a presentation about her work

Sophie in a cleanroom suit

Sophie standing in front of a poster at a conference

Two pin badges, which read "materials scientist" and "engineer"

About Me:

I’m a materials scientist during the day 👩‍🔬, and in the evening I love videogames 🎮, board games 🎲, gardening 🌳 and trying new foods! 🍴

I’m originally from south Wales, and I live with my partner in Coventry.
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I have a pet dog (called Freddie!) who lives with my mother. My partner and I really want to have a cat one day.

I really like learning languages – after university I started a Mandarin Chinese evening class, and I have been learning it ever since.
My pronouns are:

she/her
My Work:

I am a materials scientist/chemist, and I work on developing new materials to go in solar cells.
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I’m really interested in solar energy (photovoltaics), and my work focuses particularly on solar cells made from silicon. These solar cells are the most common type of solar cells, and I work on growing (depositing) new materials on the surface to try and make the cell performance better.

I work in a special type of laboratory called a cleanroom, which has to stay super clean. When I work in there, I have to wear a special suit that protects my experiments from any dust from the outside!
My Typical Day:

I get to work at 8am, where I do lots of experiments in the lab. At midday I have lunch with my team, and in the afternoon it’s back to the lab to look at my results. My experiments often take a long time, so while they are running, I often try and meet a friend for coffee. I try to go home at 4.30 pm – sometimes earlier, sometimes later.
What I'd do with the prize money:

I want to develop an outreach activity about solar energy which I can then take to science festivals!

Candidate CV questions (extra)

Education:

I went to a state comprehensive school in south Wales. After my GCSEs, I went to the local college where I did my A-Levels.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after college, but I knew I liked science. I spent the summer between AS and A Level (Year 12/13) going to summer schools, covering Natural Sciences, Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering. I liked the chemical aspect of all three the most, so decided to do Chemistry at university.

I went to the University of Birmingham to do Chemistry. As part of my degree, I spent a year working in the polymer (plastic) industry, and another year learning about coding and programming. My Master’s research project was on new materials (perovskites) for solar cells.

I really enjoyed it, so looked for a PhD position on solar energy too. I started my PhD at the University of Warwick in 2019 (just before lockdown!) and became a Dr in 2023.
Qualifications:
- GCSEs in English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French, German, Welsh, Geography, History
- A-Levels in Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, French (AS English Literature)
- MSci in Chemistry with Industrial Experience and a Year in Computer Science
- PhD in Engineering
- Postgraduate Certificate in Transferable Skills in Science
- Postgraduate Award in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Work History:

During university, I had several summer jobs in labs – I spent two summers at Swansea University, and another summer at Aston University in Birmingham. I spent a year living in Middlesbrough working for a polymer (plastic) company, here I spent a lot of time in a factory and working with a production line.

During my PhD I had a few side jobs – I was a teaching assistant, where I helped students with their maths and programming classes, and I also worked as part of a team putting on events and training for postgraduates across the university.
Current Job:

I’m now an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick
Employer:

University of Warwick

My Interview
- How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  materials scientist and chemist
  
  What did you want to be after you left school?
  
  When I was in secondary school, I thought I wanted to be a writer (either an author or a journalist of some kind). I found that I became more interested in science and decided that I didn't want to pursue being a writer as my job, but wanted to focus on science. Now I'm a scientist, a lot of my job is actually writing!
  
  Were you ever in trouble at school?
  
  Not really - I was very quiet
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  I love all types of spicy food!
  
  If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
  
  I wish I was better at cooking, that I had a pet cat, and that there was an extra day in each week so I could see my friends more often!