Excting outreach activities

I really ought to write a proper update of what I am doing these days as part of my PhD but just quickly wanted to share something I am really proud of. Check out this virtual escape room/choose your own adventure to explore a nuclear power plant!

https://www.nuclearenergyfutures.org/escape-room

Illustrated by the amazing live illustrator Tom McLean in the UK!

Latest news trawl

Works been a bit slow of late (in fact I have actually have been given permission to read books and surf the web!) so I have been spending a lot of time on BBC news!

I have had a few 'origami phases' in my life but the lastest one is because a friend bought me a page a day calender. This one below has been my favourite so far but after reading this article about Origami robots, I feel its time to get a new favourite!

They are initially flat and then can ensemble themselves and will surely prove to be incredibly useful in many areas. For example space travel where space is tight and equipment needs to work remotely.

I also saw that the Rosetta mission has made progress by catching up to the comet! I wrote about this mission when I visited the royal society summer exhibition this year.

Fermats Last Theorem by Simon Singh

I started reading Fermats Last Theorem by Simon Singh about 2 years ago and finally finished this year! I had to start again but I didn't mind since it really is a such an interesting and enjoyable read. As I read it I had to keep bookmarking bits to remind me to include them in my blog post! I learnt so much its hard to know where to start! I really felt the excitement of each discovery and was really gripped by it at times. I fell in love with so many of the 'characters' (I realise of course that they are real people, it was just written like a story).

Firstly I have to give Galios a mention. We share the same birthday so he is now my favourite mathematician! Reading his chapter was almost like reading a  chapter from the three musketeers, actually Alexander Dumas was there, and his tragic life made his genius all the more profound.Next to capture my imagination and heart were Taniyama and Shirmura. A pair of friends who paved the way for Wiles and his proof but also provided a link between two parts of maths that would allow countless other proofs. SIngh suggested that they never received enough limelight so I did a bit of extra research and found this memoir that Shirmura wrote about Tanyiamas life and it was a real insight into another culture and a glimpse into his life.

There were a few female mathematicians mentioned who I naturally admire due to the adversity they must have faced and their determination to progress. Noether and Germain played large parts in this book.Some of the quotes from mathematicians perfectly sum up my feelings for the subject. If I were ever to tutor a student who didn't like maths I would read them some quotes from Andrew Wiles. This article here must be inspiring for anyone, especially about his mathematical method.

This quote from G.H. Hardy is now a favourite of mine: 'The mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s or the poet’s must be beautiful; the ideas like the colours or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.' I feel it aplies just as easily to physics.

Although the book doesn't go into much detail into the mathematical theory of it all, I did learn new things about maths. I had never heard of modular forms before and am sure penrose tiling will come up at some point. I also learnt how easy it is to make mistakes and believe a proof that says that 2 = 1.
At a point near the end of the book, Wiles needed to share his proof with a confidant without anyone knowing. So he hid the proof in a lecture series that his friend attended but noone could follow it. Now I understand why I so often got confused in my Thermal Lectures last year!

Then I just decided to have a browse of some popular maths books on amazon and accidentally bought 3... I think I've caught the maths bug!

The first two applications

I decided to start preparing for next years summer internship applications and found two that are already open! They are both really exciting but I'm dreading starting my covering letters... So I guess this post is an attempt to get started in a round about way and try and get some of my passion into my writing again. I mean I have written in the last 4 weeks but there is a slightly different tone when you're talking to clients about accounts... These opportunities for next year promise to be much more captivating!

The first is at IRENA which stands for International Renewable ENergy Agency. They cheated a bit with that N in there but it does sound better so I'll let them off! And I want them to like me so I definitely will! From what I've seen on their website they seem be to a type of council that works with different countries to encourage the use of renewable energy technologies more. To do this they research into new techniques, help set up systems and report on the usages in different countries. Like a network to share knowledge and resources more efficiently. So if you want to get into the renewable energy business, the centre of it all seems a pretty good place to be. There are opportunities in Abu Dahbi, United Arab Emirates and in Bonn, Germany. I would love the opportunity to go abroad and a summer is the perfect length for me. I have had such a great time on all my travels these last couple of years but the opportunity to live and work in a country would be a real chance to immerse myself in a culture. Even if I get homesick or things didn't go quite to plan, I don't think its something I could ever regret doing. I think I would prefer to be in Germany since its closer to home and therefore less scary but I can't afford to be fussy and to be honest maybe scarier is better. To further add to my excitement, they are currently relocating their head quarters to Masdar City and since discovering it in this post, I haven't forgotten my dream to visit it one day!

The second is at Sellafield which is a company that decommissions nuclear power stations. I applied last year and didn't get it but this year I am that bit older and am applying much earlier. I'm hoping that and a bit of luck will give me more of a chance to hopefully reach interview stage. The placement will either be in Manchester or West Cumbria and even though its not a new country it is still a brand new place which will hold its own surprises I'm sure. From looking at the website it seems a very structured placement and will surely lead to greater things. The Beacon Museum in Cumbria has a Sellafield  exhibition which sounds interesting! Oh and Brian Cox was at the opening ceremony... Not that I care... Just mentioning....

So... I guess I had better get started then... Wish me luck!

Geneva in London!

Around Christmas last year I went to the science museum with my Dad to visit the Hadron Collider exhibition there and it was really good! Actually probably the best exhibition I've ever been to and better than the museum in Geneva! The exhibition had the perfect balance of bits to read with bits read to you and was pitched at a really good level. I found it very interesting and my Dad could still follow it. It was exciting! We got free badges! We took selfies! And of course I got to feel all clever when I recognised an equation of two, that were mostly on the wall for decoration, and explained what they meant to my Dad!

I remember really enjoying the quote from Paul Dirac: 'In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone , something that noone ever knew before. But in the case of poetry, it's the exact opposite'. And quite ironically that sentence is poetic in itself!

It is slightly embarassing for CERN that this was so much better but then this year the group visiting from Nottingham were allowed down into the tunnels and I think that would have made the trip more worthwhile. This was my post about my visit.

At the science museum we also had time to look at the 3D printing exhibits and I was really impressed with the wide range of applications for this technology. It was something I had heard of but not really considered before, it seems so futuristic!

Career Plans (oh so serious)

There came a point this year when I had to face the whole careers decision situation and actually get serious about it. Looking for summer internships was by no means easy. The Internet is a wonderful place but the vast sea of information is also quite daunting. Especially when your starting place is as vague as 'maybe something in science would be nice'...

So I can't remember how but I stumbled upon gradcracker which helped give my searching some direction. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who's looking for a career in science. I saw how many opportunities there were in the oil and gas industry so starting researching that and terms like 'geophysicist' drew me in.

And then I got rejected from Shell and a couple of others and didn't even hear back from a couple of others. But the important thing is what I learnt for this year:
1) apply as soon as possible
2) practice as many numerical tests as possible because under the pressure of a time limit its very difficult to remember how to calculate percentage difference
3) Get 2nd and 3rd opinions on my CV and potential answers

But also I need to get my general knowledge up for interviews and not be too shy to ask my person tutor for a letter of recommendation.

I did however get accepted for a discovery day at BP which was a real eye opener. We had talks from current interns, senior staff as well as members of HR involved in the selection process. I met some interesting peers as well! I really got a feel for the company and can easily imagine a life there. I remember coming home in my free BP hoodie so excited. I felt like I finally could see life after university and it was a lovely life with MRI scanners and rock samples and graphs and numbers! I guess I'll apply this year, I'll give it my all and if I don't get it then I'm sure I'll learn some more for when I apply for the graduate scheme. And hey, if none of that works out its cool, something else will come up. Whatevers meant to be, will be but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and wait for it to come to me.

That said, I'm also looking at the nuclear energy industry and at research placements at universities.  Watch this space.