Profile
Robert Thompson
Less than an hour until voting closes ..... Go on Press Vote ! :)
My CV
-
Education:
Our Lady’s High School – Preston, Cardinal Newman College – Preston
-
Qualifications:
Durham University, UCL – London
-
Work History:
Many different things, waiter, petrol station attendant, sound engineer, lighting engineer (for a circus), bar man
-
Current Job:
Post Graduate researcher (PhD student) — I play with powerful lasers and expensive Microscopes —
-
Read more
Hey guys, I’m Rob,
I’m 25 and I live in London. I work at UCL and I’m a Physicist,
What do I do in science? Well before I came to UCL I used to study at Durham University. At Durham I spent 4 years learning about lots of different types of physics, some of my favourites were Space, Quantum physics and the physics of materials. I decided that I wanted to look at materials. I look at a special type of material called organic materials, and they are going to be the future of all out gadgets, (imagine an i-pad that is as flexible as a piece of paper). I spend my time looking at these materials under microscopes which are very big and work by;
Firing small particles (like firing tennis balls at a rocky wall and seeing where they bounce) ,
or running pins over the surface (like a DJ’s vinyl record player),I also spend a lot of time firing lasers at things and seeing what happens.
Here is a show where I talk to the Guardian about they type of materials I look at tinyurl.com/Rob-talking (our bit starts at around 2 minutes)
What do I do in my spare time? I love music, sport, films and TV. I play the sax, piano and bass and love it, I also go to gigs, Glastonbury festival every year (its not on this year so I’m gutted). I really enjoy watching sport (6 nations rugby at the moment) and go out cycling most weekends. Favourite TV show at the moment is probably Top Gear (or take me out), best movie I’ve seen recently is the Muppets (though I probably shouldn’t admit that).
-
My Typical Day:
No day is ever the same, but there’s always lots to do, I’m rarely bored. I’m my own boss so I have a lot of flexibility too,
-
Read more
Here’s an example of what I might get up to:
8:00 Get up, — have some breakfast,
8:15 Cycle to work (7miles, on a good day it takes 25 minutes) — have a shower at work
View of London from my office, Pretty cool, can see St- Paul’s the other way9:00 Read my emails, check facebook, look at the news
10:00 Head to the laboratory, have some fun with lasers and hope I don’t break anything
12:30 Go to the gym for a bit, grab a quick lunch,
1:30 Head back to the office for a meeting with someone who wants to talk about some science,
2:00 Go back to the lab and use a microscope to see if I did any damage with my laser (sometimes I might have burnt my material),
5:30 Head home and then have an evening watching some TV or meet a friend in the pub for a glass of shandy -
What I'd do with the prize money:
A big interactive art display which answers science questions.
-
My Interview
-
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Top notch guy,
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really – Some times I got in trouble for skiving but I’d normally be found in the Music or Drama department.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
This question isn’t fair, No one favourite … Adelle, Mumford and sons, Cold play, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Ed Sheeran, Fatboy slim, U2 (+ anyone I see at Glastonbury)
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To win the lottery (I guess I’d need to play the lottery for that to happen), Have a super power (not sure which one), Have a star ship to travel round the universe.
Tell us a joke.
I was reading this book today, The History Of Glue and I couldn’t put it down.
-