Profile

I have lots of hobbies so my evenings and weekends are always very busy!

I play the violin, viola and French horn and am a member of an orchestra and a wind band. I also love traditional Scottish fiddle music and play in a band with my two sisters. During lockdown I have started learning the guitar as well!

Performing with my sisters!

I am a member of the university hillwalking society and love going on weekend trips up to the Scottish highlands. I also enjoy exploring my local area by bike.

A trip to the highlands!

Cycling in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh

I have a huge collection of books from local charity shops that I am slowly working my way through. I like fantasy and historical fiction best but I will read anything I can get my hands on!

My pronouns are she/her.

Crystal nucleation is a very important process – it is the first step of crystallisation, which is used in the production of many chemicals including pharmaceuticals and pesticides. The problem is, we don’t really understand it, and it is difficult to control!

By using a laser to nucleate crystals, we know exactly where and when they are going to form. This makes it a lot easier to study their growth. I make up solutions of different salts, nucleate them using a laser and then take images of the crystals growing. By changing the experimental conditions (e.g. temperature, solution concentration, laser power) and analysing the crystals that form, I can get information about the mechanism of crystal nucleation.

Here’s a video of laser-induced nucleation in action (you can’t see the laser light because we put a filter in front of the camera):

My office is where I spend a lot of time, working at my computer, drinking tea/coffee and chatting with my colleagues. Another crucial location is the kitchen, where the coffee machine is located!

My office

One terrible day when the coffee machine was broken…

We have two labs where sample preparation and crystal growing are done. We have specially designed tables for the lasers that we can attach mirrors and lenses to, to direct the laser beam where we want it to go. Before using them, I always have to check that the beam is in line – it could be very dangerous if it accidentally reflected into someone’s eye! The windows also have to be completely covered up for safety.

Laser lab!

The other laser lab!

A typical experiment involves making up solutions, firing a single laser pulse at them and then using a camera to record any crystals that grow. I will then repeat this a lot of times!

A sample with crystals growing