• Question: so what is your gole at the end

    Asked by rivett to Alice JB, Andy, Barbara, James, Jo on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Andy Norton

      Andy Norton answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I have a few goals. At then end of my PhD (in two years time), I’d like to have a really good understanding of how these ceramics fracture. I’d like to pin together all the different experiments that I have been doing – the mechanical compression tests, the noise that I can hear, the images of what happens to samples from the microscope, an idea of how very, very small versions of my samples break (using the Focussed Ion Beam) and so on. Hopefully I can make a really nice piece of work by bringing all of these things together.

      And after my PhD has finished, I’d like to get a job somewhere using all these lovely bits of equipment that I have been using so far. I’d like to carry on looking into these things, and get even more knowledgeable about how these things break etc. Hopefully I can get a job that will let me do these things! Fingers crossed!

    • Photo: Jo Hulsmans

      Jo Hulsmans answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      At the end of my phd I want to know how the plant I’m studying ‘sees’ a specific bacteria and why it doesn’t see it in the same way as other plants do. After that I think I want to continue working in science, my dream is to do more agricultural research in a very nice and warm country like India or Brazil.

    • Photo: James Jennings

      James Jennings answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      By the end of my PhD research, I hope to have found a use for my new plastic (polymer) materials. Some of them are impossible to make by different methods, so I would like to be able to show that all my work has been worthwhile! If not, I’ll just be happy to know I have contributed something to the world of science. Maybe the person who carries on the work after me will make an exciting discovery, which would also be great!

      After I finish this work, I can see myself branching out a bit. Polymers are finding uses in many aspects of life. More recently, for example, they have been used in medicine. This is because they can act as tiny vessels to carry medicine to a certain part of the body. This means that less of the medication is needed, and there will be less side effects felt by the person. Some of the polymers I’m making now may also be able to be used in this area!

    • Photo: Barbara Guinn

      Barbara Guinn answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I’d like to see the protein we found go into clinical trials. I’d like to be a good scientist and inspire other people to consider a career in science. In an ideal world I’d like to encourage the government to invest more money in research and encourage more young people to become scientists. The U.K. has alot of Nobel Prize winners compared to other countries but our spend on science isn’t very big. And I’d be really really happy if when my career ends I can say I made a difference.

    • Photo: Alice Jones Bartoli

      Alice Jones Bartoli answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      My goal right now is to develop a range of ‘treatments’ that can be used by parents and teachers to improve behaviour in children with behavioural problems. Not all children are the same, and so I think it’s important that we learn to identify what the main difficulties are that might be causing the behavioural problems (e.g. language problems, difficulties understanding emotions etc) and target them with the right kind of help. We’re currently doing this with primary age children, but my aim is to also work with secondary school age students and pre-schoolers. This is going to involve some pretty big projects, but I think it’s important, so this is my ultimate goal.

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