Introducing the new soundbite series
Carlos Niño Sandoval is a PhD student at the University of Birmingham, studying within the UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing. Carlos’s journey began in Colombia where he completed his undergraduate degree in Physics, and after working in metrology research – the science of measurements and sensor technologies – he pursued a master’s degree in Germany, before travelling to the UK to begin his PhD.
Carlos’s journey has been truly exciting. Studying and researching in different parts of the world has given him the chance to meet many physicists, and in this new soundbite series, Carlos has interviewed physicists working in many different fields and sectors to talk about their research and career journeys so far.
Episode 1: Christina Astin
There are many routes into physics, and there is no typical role! Find out more about studying and working in physics with Christina Astin, (former) Chair of Planet Possibility.
Christina Astin is a prominent thought-leader on partnerships, especially cross-sector, and helps schools build strategic partnerships for mutual benefit. She offers bespoke partnerships consultancy and mentoring for schools, directs training programmes, and speaks and writes on partnerships. In 2021, Christina was appointed Chair of Planet Possibility, a consortium of five organisations working together with funding from the Institute of Physics to increase diversity in physics.
Watch the video at this link.
Episode 2: Patrick Gill
Patrick Gill is a researcher at the National Physical Laboratory and works to make sure there is a resilient timing infrastructure in the UK. But why is this important?
Patrick became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 1998. He is a visiting professor at Imperial College since 1998 and at the University of Oxford since 2006. He was awarded an MBE for services to Science in The Queen's New Year's Honours List 2015 and he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2016.
Watch the video at this link.
Episode 3: Jonathan Winch
Jonathan Winch is a co-founder of Delta g, a spin-out company set up by physics researchers at the University of Birmingham. Find out what inspired him to commercialise next generation gravity sensing technology!
Jonathan has been studying and working in optics and quantum research for nearly 10 years; from an undergraduate at the University of Birmingham, UK, to becoming a research fellow at the Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Timing. After 7 years working in cold atom research for gravity sensing, Jonathan and his colleagues launched their own start-up, Delta g, to develop commercial quantum gravity gradient sensors.
Watch this video at this link.
Episode 4: Emma Pearce
Emma Pearce is a quantum researcher, and now develops new technology for many different real-world uses. Find out more about her exciting research, and all about lasers and photons in this video!
Emma’s journey started in the University of Sheffield and continued with her PhD at Imperial college London. Her focus - Infrared (IR) sensing - is of interest to a wide range of fields, from material analysis to diagnostic medicine. Emma is now a Postdoctoral Researcher at Humboldt-Universitate of Berlin.
Watch the video at this link.
Episode 5: Matthew Forward
Matthew Forward is a PhD student working in atom interferometry, and talks all about gravity in this video. Matthew talks exams, physics and school in this video - and lots more!
Matthew received his master’s degree in physics from the University of Birmingham with a focus throughout on quantum physics and relativity. His favourite facts about physics are that atoms have ‘favourite colours’, and that the behaviour of objects in the future can be predicted by thinking about the underlying symmetry of the universe.
Watch the video at this link.
