“I completed my MSci and PhD in Chemistry at University College London (2003 – 2011), and was then awarded back-to-back fellowships that supported my research at Imperial (Ramsay Fellowship, 2012 – 2015; Imperial College Junior Research Fellowship, 2016 – 2018). This year I was awarded a Lectureship at the Grantham Institute.
I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Aeronautics. I completed my PhD at the Czech Technical University in Prague before I joined Imperial as a Research Associate, which led to a lectureship position from 2014. My research is focused on non-destructive inspection techniques and damage tolerant design of composite structures, mainly for aerospace application.
I work as a Public Affairs Officer in the Communications and Public Affairs division, which means I work on making sure Imperial’s expertise helps to influence government policy and political debate.
I previously worked in Parliament and in London local government, and started off my career as a student union sabbatical officer – so higher education public affairs is a natural fit for me. I started at Imperial in March 2017, and in the two years since then I’ve organised visits by Cabinet Ministers, kept College staff updated on what’s going on in politics and with Brexit, and lobbied policy makers on issues ranging from higher education funding to immigration. No two days are the same, and the turbulent political times we find ourselves in keep me busy.
There are so many hardworking and talented staff here at the College, and I thrive off working with people who are so passionate and smart. Working for a world-leading, science-focused institution like Imperial is hugely inspiring: it’s fascinating to hear about the latest treatments and breakthroughs and to meet researchers across the College pushing back the frontiers of scientific discovery.
Tom has also been featured in Imperial’s LGBT History Month campaign. Read his profile.
I work in the Faculty of Natural Sciences as a Research Associate in Space Physics, and joined Imperial in 2016. I am interested in magnetospheric plasma interactions and look at how spacecraft can be used to understand what happens when gas from the sun hits the magnetic field and space around Earth. Before I joined Imperial, I completed a PhD at Warwick and have also held a previous Research Associate position at Queen Mary University of London.
My research is focused on the region of space known as the ‘bow shock’, where supersonic plasma winds from the Sun are rapidly compressed and heated ahead of Earth. The thin transition is analogous to the ‘sonic boom’ created by an aircraft as it travels through the atmosphere faster than the speed of sound. Using data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft, I recently discovered that energy can be released in the bow shock which changes the shape of the magnetic field on very small scales – a process known as magnetic reconnection. Although reconnection is known to happen elsewhere in the magnetic environment around Earth, this is the first time it has been seen in a shock wave. I hope to understand how that discovery changes what we know about how shock waves work in space.
I’ve always felt very supported at Imperial. As a trans woman, I have found my experience of settling into the College to be quite smooth. For trans people on an academic career path, transition has its share of extra challenges. For example, navigating how to come out to your international network, or how to handle referencing past publications are significant sources of worry.
However, when I had my job interview here I was reassured that I would be treated equally, and I have found that to be true. I’ve never had any problems. Even if I have needed to take time off for transition-related healthcare, my managers and peers have always understood and given me space. I look forward to helping other staff and students in physics receive the same positive treatment as we develop our department’s new LGBT+ Allies Network.
Imogen has also been featured in Imperial’s LGBT History Month campaign. Read her profile.
I joined Imperial in February 2018, as a Research Associate in the Department of Bioengineering, before which I worked in the Department of Anthropology at Durham University and at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology studying teeth and primate evolution.
I am interested in the intersection of anthropology and engineering (anthroengineering), and am currently applying anthroengineering to the design of biomedical devices for low-to-middle-income countries. I am working with a team in Sri Lanka, focusing on the design of culturally relevant and sustainable orthopaedic devices – specifically external fixators to stabilize broken bones that can be manufactured locally. Additionally, we are working towards the design of prosthetics for amputees in northern Jaffna, the vast majority of which received their injuries as a result of the nearly 30 year civil war.
I joined the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London in 2018 with an independent fellowship funded by EPSRC. (more…)
“I’m Professor of Synthetic Biology in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial in South Kensington. I’ve been at Imperial since 2013 – before that I was a group leader at the EMBL-CRG in Barcelona for around seven years. (more…)