Profile
Bethan Charles
My CV
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Education:
St Peter’s Comprehensive School (Bournemouth, Dorset, UK) –
Durham University (Durham, UK) –
Bath University (Bath, UK) -
Qualifications:
GCSEs (Maths, Science, English, Religious Education, Geography, Psychology, Drama) –
A-Levels (Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology) –
Masters Degree (Physics) –
Doctorate (Materials Science) -
Work History:
Sainsbury’s Checkout Assistant –
Research Assistant for the Namibian Dolphin Project in Africa –
Teaching Assistant at a school in India –
Business Analyst at Accenture (a business in London) –
Private tutor in science and maths -
Current Job:
Research Associate at the University of Cambridge
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About Me:
I’m a scientist based at the University of Cambridge who works at the boundary of physics, chemistry and materials science. Outside the lab, I love dancing, reading and baking!
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I live in Cambridge with my partner who is also a scientist. We spend a lot of time cooking because we really enjoy making (and eating) interesting dinners. I love reading and writing, especially about ancient history and mythology, it is good to learn about something so different from science! I am also an ex-dancer so, outside the lab, I am often at a studio (or my living room at the moment!) keeping active.
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I usually work in a laser laboratory, lasers generate very powerful beams of light, sometimes able to cut through metal! Lasers can be all sorts of different colours, I usually use red, green and blue. At the moment, because of Covid-19, I am working from home doing a lot of writing and improving my computer programming skills.
I am working in a research group at the University of Cambridge, we look at how some materials behave when we shine light on them. For example, we can make materials that will glow green when illuminated with blue light. This is useful for capturing the energy from the sun which can be used to make electricity using solar cells. Eventually, we could have buildings with multicoloured windows capable of generating electricity from sunlight.
I use high powered lasers to look in detail at the colour these materials glow when under light. Lots of very interesting science can be figured out by investigating something’s colour. For example, how much of the sun’s energy could be turned to electricity and how much might be lost as heat.
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My Typical Day:
When I can go into the laboratory, I get up and cycle into work and turn on my laboratory equipment. I put on my lab coat and goggles and spend my day watching how materials glow when they are put under light. I then use my computer to analyse my experiments.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I was the only girl in my school that went onto study physics. There are still not many girls going on to work in physics jobs. So I would use the money on a project to encourage more girls to study science.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Curious, organised, determined
What did you want to be after you left school?
I had no idea
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Imagine Dragons
What's your favourite food?
Chocolate
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Be happy, be healthy, be useful
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