I am a final year physics undergraduate at the University of Nottingham. For the past few years I have been a part of the outreach team working with Prof Matt Brookes and Prof Mark Fromhold (both part of the UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing) at flagship science festivals such as The Royal Society Summer Science Festival, Cheltenham Science Festival and New Scientist Live. I hugely enjoy explaining our Hub work to the public at these events, and interacting with other scientists and potential future collaborators. It’s also been amazing to have the opportunity, especially as an undergraduate, to work with Hub researchers and see how their pioneering work feeds into the Hub. What excites me most about the Hub is being part of such a multi-disciplinary group working on really exciting science that has numerous, wide-ranging applications.  

I am currently in the final year of the PhD Translational Quantum Technology programme, and I’m focussing on developing integrated photonic circuits to help miniaturise quantum sensors. For my industrial placement, I worked at Compound Semiconductor Technologies Global (CSTG) which is a semiconductor company based in Glasgow. Here, I worked with Dr Iain Eddie, Senior Device Design Engineer, on an Innovate UK funded project, developing lasers for atomic clocks. I greatly enjoyed working in an industry environment, and I found that translating research into applications to be hugely motivating and exciting. My PhD research is similar to the work I undertook at CSTG, so this placement has been highly beneficial for me. A lot of companies look for industry experience so I’m glad to have this, and I have since had companies contact me with job opportunities through LinkedIn. Being part of the Quantum Technology Hub community means that you’re able to get involved in end-user applications arising from scientific research, which is a great opportunity.