Outline of the seminar

 

1. 1pm - Welcome and Introductions - (5-10 mins)

 

2. 1.10pm - PGR Presents:  'My research journey and changing the face of Physics'

by Leah Cox, PhD Researcher in the Department of Physics and Mathematics, in the Faculty of Science and Engineering - (20 mins, Q&A 5-10 mins). 

Leah commenced her PhD in September 2018 after being awarded a fully-funded scholarship by the University of Hull. Her research focusses on the galactic halo and galactic chemical evolution. She will briefly discuss what she has worked on so far and will also share some guidance about what helped her get to where she is today. Leah will talk about some of successful extra-curricular commitments to the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, which include being a member of the University's Athena Swan committee which aims to widen gender diversity in STEM subjects.  Leah has given a talk for International Women's day where she discussed her experiences as a woman pursuing a career in a male-dominated field.  She has been into schools to be a part of 'Women in STEM' panels and is also part of the national "Changing Face of Physics" campaign which is aimed at encouraging young women to pursue science.  Well done in advance Leah for all of that before we even hear you speak!  

 

3. 1.40pm - PGR Presents:  'Managing your supervisor'

by Felicitas Ten Brink, second year PhD researcher in Earth Sciences, Energy and Environment Institute (EEI)

(Microplastics in marine food webs group) - (10 mins, Q&A 5-10 mins).

Felicitas will share her personal experience on how to build a good supervisor relationship and how to get what you want from your PhD. Focus will be on what to expect from your supervisor and what is expected from you, some practical dos and don'ts what to do if things go wrong.

 

4.   2pm - Perspectives on: 'Hints and tips for a happy and healthy research career'

by Professor Brad Gibson, Head of Dept (Physics & Maths), Director (E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, Faculty of Science & Engineering - (20 mins - 5 mins for Q&A).

Professor Gibson will first take you on a stroll through his career, from confused student in Canada to (now) confused Head of Department at the University of Hull. More importantly, he will explore a range of helpful (and very unappreciated) hints for a happy and healthy career. While his background lies in physics, the focus will be broad, and include results of a survey of 70 academics around the world who were asked to rank the characteristics they valued most in the staff that they were hiring. He can assure you that there will be some surprises here that you can take on board as you progress through your PGR career.

 

5.   Any other business - future seminar topics 

 

If you have a specific question you would like to raise, click here to send it to the FOSE PGR Admin Team. 

 

 

To view the full PGR Research Culture and Community Programme click here for more details

If you have any general questions about the seminar programme please contact Jackie McAndrew at the Doctoral College in the first instance on jackie.mcandrew@hull.ac.uk

 

 

Speaker biography/profile

Professor Brad Gibson is the Head of Physics & Mathematics, and Director of the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, at the University of Hull. Brad completed his MSc and PhD at the University of British Columbia, building the world's first Liquid Mirror Telescope Observatory and designing software to map the distribution of the chemical elements throughout the Universe. Brad was responsible for using exploding stars to determine the expansion rate of the Universe, as part of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, for which the team was awarded the Gruber Prize in Cosmology. He was the first to identify the locations within the Milky Way most likely to harbour complex biological life, for which his work was named by National Geographic magazine as one of the top 10 news stories of the year. Brad's 350+ papers has been acknowledged by his peers 30,000 times, making him Hull's most cited academic, and one of the top few percent in the world. Brad’s 400+ outreach events over the past 5 years have reached nearly a million people around the world, including more than 50 schools and colleges around the UK. His commitment to widening participation and diversity, and improving the career prospects of physics students, led to his “Changing Face of Physics” campaign being named Best Practice in the Country by the UK’s Equality Challenge Unit. These efforts led to him being named the Institute of Physics’ John Porter Memorial Lecturer, the 2019 Leon Davies Lecturer, the 2019 Ray Bootland Memorial Lecturer, and Manchester’s Bexwyke Lecturer; he has spoken at the Cheltenham Science Festival, the British Science Festival, the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and opened for Brian Cox and Lucy Hawking at European AstroFest, and delivered a highly popular TED talk on the subject of the search for alien life.