This week was a great time for me to make the most of working in the plasma group over the summer. I spoke to as many people as possible where they gave me advice, shared their stories and acted as an inspiration for me. I also got to see some cool experiments being done and some very cool data too! Everyone was so happy to share their stories and their work with me and I couldn't be more grateful. Because of their stories and all the things I've learnt and done over the summer I couldn't be more motivated to continue life in academia and in particular plasma physics! I love the fact that laser-plasma interactions can be used within the medical field where x-rays are produced and can be used for medical imaging - this is right up my street and it would be an absolute dream if I could one day be a part of this amazing field of research! I will certainly miss going up to level 7 of the Physics Department, sitting in the office with great minds all working on cutting edge science, working in the lab and of course that physics banter! ;) I would definitely recommend any school or undergraduate students to step outside your comfort zone and give a summer placement a go! You'll learn so many great skills, it will look amazing on your CV or personal statement and most importantly you'll make great connections that could give you a head-start in your career! For me, Exscitec, Nuffield Research Placements, UROPs (for Imperial College students) and generally Google-ing companies that would host a summer placement were the best routes to finding one. Also talk to your teachers, academic tutors or older students and ask them about their summer placements or how to apply for one and where to look - I'm sure you'll find the perfect placement! Also apply now! The earlier the better :) If that hasn't convinced you to take on a summer placement then check out the cool things I got to work with and see over the summer in the following pictures, enjoy!
My lab workspace over the summer! (IR laser to the right)
High-speed camera
I characterised 22 optics!
Laser goggles!
Cube polariser!
My orders arriving in the lab
The lab I worked in over the summer
Optical trapping system!
I was trying to replicate this over the summer - a balloon-popping laser known as the POP-O-MATIC!
Got to work with class 3b lasers!
Lab snacks -- mmmm... Tasty ;)
Lots and lots of screws!
Entering my physics paradise ;)
The work shall be continued...
Here's a short video of what I got up to over the summer:
The day began with the usual Monday meeting where everyone shared their updates. My lasers hadn't arrived so my supervisor advised me to use another laser from the lab to make sure the lenses were placed in the correct places so that the laser beam was converged to a point about 15cm from the base of the popomatic. I had done this last week so I went back into the lab and double checked my optics were in the correct place. I emailed another academic who was the owner of a 3D printer in the Plasma Group about 3D printing my part that would hold the microswitch. He was super friendly and helped me 3D print my parts. My CAD file didn't work on his computer but he was kind enough to draw my part on his CAD software and said that my parts would be ready tomorrow!
I also took advantage of the free time I had and made a small drawing of the electronic circuit inside the plastic box in the popomatic so that I could easily recreate it once my lasers arrived.
Day 2
I couldn't find the academic who was 3D printing my part since he was busy doing a viva (an oral examination) for a current PhD student. So while I was waiting for the viva to finish I went down to the lab and measured the diameters of the holes I needed in the plastic boxes where the wires would feed out from. I measured these to be 7 and 10 mm diameter holes in the plastic boxes and a 7 mm diameter hole in the metal boxes. I marked the positions of these holes.
I didn't want to ask the PhD student who drilled the holes last time because he was having his viva in the afternoon so instead I spoke to another PhD student who guided me to my lab neighbour who was trained to use the drill. By the end of the day the holes were drilled.
At around tea time, I had a very inspirational chat with Dr. Ceri Brenner. She shared her career path with me and her experiences at RAL. It really gave me a positive boost and made me feel that I could follow in her footsteps and become a plasma physicist! I'm so excited for the future and cannot wait for the adventures to come after I graduate - wish I could graduate now and start my PhD!
To top the day off, I also saw my 3D printed parts being printed! (There were some complications with the previous print since the parts were not strong enough).
Day 3
In the morning I attached the grommets to the freshly drilled holes in all the plastic and metal boxes.
In the afternoon I collected my 3D printed parts! They looked so cool and to think that I designed it made me feel amazing! I wish I could continue with this placement forever!
A box full of grommets!
They reminded me of minions
In the afternoon a group of international students who were a part of the International Association of Physics Students (IAPS) were visiting the labs at Imperial College, in particular the Plasma Group's labs. This included Cerberus, the largest laser system in a UK university, MAGPIE and the MACH generator. This was the perfect opportunity to see all the labs and interact with students from all over the world who were my age or older. The coolest demo of the day was using a high frame-rate camera to video a balloon-popping in slo motion - my group managed to capture it perfectly!
Great explanations by my supervisor!
I've been in and out of here in my summer placement - Cerberus, largest university laser system in the UK!
My supervisor with the Death Star!
The workshop with the latest technology - only discovered on Monday!
Perfect timing!
I would definitely recommend that you become a member of the IAPS.
Day 4
I attached the 3D printed parts and boxes to the aluminium optical rails and they looked amazing! I cleaned up some of my lab space so that I could place all the rails on the bench and they all looked so pretty next to each other.
The aluminium optical rails are complete!
One of my Outreach buddies in the Plasma Group was leaving so we had some lovely cake in the afternoon on Level 8, which is where most of the socialising in the group happens.
In the evening, I attended my old school's Open Evening where they were welcoming year 6 students to the school and had so many demos on display! I met my old physics teacher and told him about all the cool things I did in my summer placement and we confirmed a date and time for my talk next week for his year 12 students. It was so lovely to be back in a place where my love for physics blossomed and it was because of my inspiration physics teacher whose enthusiasm for physics brushed off on me - such a humbling experience.
Day 5
Today I spent most of my time working on a talk that I shall be giving next week at my old school about my A level experience. It was quite deep - I'll be sharing all my struggles and how I overcame them with the current year 12 students. I really hope I can inspire at least one person in the room.
