Senior Research Scientist

Salary

£30,000

What is it that you do?

Materials chemistry and characterisation: I have synthesised niche advanced materials with state-of-the-art physical properties and experimentally established structure-property relationships in order to optimise the behaviour of the materials.

What does your day-to-day job involve?

The main thread of my work is to plan experiments, conduct measurements, analyse data, interpret results and write research articles from the achievements. However, it was also vital to discuss with collaborators to integrate our results to obtain a better understanding. I also enjoy mentoring students and junior researchers who will be the next generation of scientists.

How long have you been working in the industry?

I have worked in academia for 8 years and now I set out to apply my academic skills in development and industry.

What qualifications do you have?

PhD in Chemistry.

How did you get into this role?

I was doing research as an undergraduate student and it was straightforward to continue working in research. Later on, I won a research fellowship, so I could proceed in my academic career.

What are you most proud of in your career?

I managed to publish an article from my work in extreme competition.

What do you like most about your job?

Solving complex problems.

Anything you particularly dislike?

The examples of fundamental research which moved towards creating sensations.

What qualities do you believe you need to succeed in this job?

Curiosity, crystal clear thinking, persistence, communication skills

What advice would you give someone wanting to get into your industry?

The relationship of the boss with the employees and his/her emotional intelligence is surprisingly important.

Finally, what is the strangest thing you have ever had to do in your working life?

We were in the middle of a demanding and complicated experiment with a unique sample when the equipment broke. Our only chance to keep the tight timing of the project was to move the complete setup without disassembling to the spectrometer next room and then crawl under pipes and tables each 10 mins for about 3 hours to get from the sample holder to the computer and back. Our series of measurements then played a key role in the understanding of the studied phenomena and we published an internationally excellent article from the achievements.

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