Profile

I’m originally from the Kendal in the Lake District, but now I live in the South and work as a Beamline Scientist at Diamond Light Source. I enjoy a good challenge which is why I love climbing mountains and running, and is also why I studied physics at university!

My favourite films and books are Sci-Fi, espesially anything by Arthur C. Clarke. I’ve always enjoyed programming and I’m just getting into robotics – yes, that’s right, I am and always will be a geek!

I live with my wife, Susan, who is an archaeologist, motorcycle enthusiast and author of some awesome historical adventure books. We met at university in the fencing club and to this day we settle our arguments with a sword (she normally wins…)

I work at Diamond Light Source as a Beamline Scientist – what this means is that I take care of an awesome piece of kit that can essentially see the atomic structure of all sorts of materials using a very powerful x-ray beam. I work with scientists from all over the world who come to my beamline to do all sorts of experiments. I also do my own research on a wide range of materials which modern physics can’t explain – from complicated magnetic structures to super conductors to advanced battery materials for electric cars.

The technique I use is called resonant x-ray diffraction. If you shine a laser through a very small gap, the beam spreads out on the other side, and if you try shining it though a grating (or the surface of a CD!) then it splits into multiple spots – this is diffraction. Using the synchrotron – a big circular electron gun that accelerates bunches of electrons to near the speed of light – we can produce very bright beams of x-rays, and because the wavelength of this light is so small, we can diffract through the space between atoms. Doing this gives us the ability to see the atomic structure of materials in a way that’s impossible with a microscope, and lets us see how the atoms are arranged in materials and to see how they move during different processes – such as getting hot or getting cold.

The “resonant” part of resonant x-ray diffraction means that if we choose a very particular wavelength of x-rays, certain atoms in our sample will resonate with the x-rays – like ringing a bell made of electrons. We can use this x-ray bell ringing to  tell us how the electrons behave in the material, which can explain how the material works – why some materials conduct, why some are magnetic or why some materials are much harder than others.

Whilst all that experimental physics sounds, and is, awesome, the reality of my day job can be extremely varied, and usually includes drinking lots of tea and doing lots of programming.

A typical day for me might include starting the day answering emails from other scientists about upcoming experiments, then spending a couple of hours analysing data (programming) followed by meetings with other scientists and engineers to discuss beamline upgrades or maintenance (involving drinking tea). After lunch with the current beamline users from somewhere exotic (like Oxford… or maybe Korea), I’ll spend an hour on the beamline tinkering with software or discussing physics with the scientists there (more tea). There might be a lecture or seminar on to hear about the latest research and then it’s back to the office to answer some more emails (and another tea).

Of course typical days almost never happen, and it wouldn’t be unusual for me to be giving a talk at a big conference half-way around the world, pulling apart precision equipment or working long into the night to measure and incredibly faint magnetic structure. And yes, all those things involve drinking more tea.