What kind of problems do you solve?

Question: What kind of problems do you solve?
- Keywords:
  problem,
  research
Asked by anon-355843 on 13 Mar 2023.
- Christy Sadler answered on 13 Mar 2023:
  
  My work is quite varied but it focuses on diagnosing infectious diseases, like Covid! I’m trying to make new tests (like the at home Covid tests) that can be used across the world!
- Martin McCoustra answered on 13 Mar 2023:
  
  I try to solve problems that are relatively simple of the surface… like “how does chemistry control the universe?” or “how does the wood in a barrel flavour the alcohol in the barrel?”. The main thing is that I can apply the skills and knowledge I’ve learned over the years to addressing these problems from the bottom up through understanding molecules and their interactions.
- Graeme Dykes answered on 13 Mar 2023:
  
  My current job is in manufacturing so I make ingredients for things like the COVD-19 lateral flow test.
  It have to make sure that the material is correct, in good quantity and purity.
  
  My earlier jobs involved research where we were trying to make compounds to treat diseases. Usually there was a long list or requirements not just potency but also solubility in water, safety, stability. Sometimes, fixing one of these spoiled the rest!
- Joshua Bray answered on 13 Mar 2023: last edited 13 Mar 2023 3:54 pm
  
  Many and varied! Sometimes, I’m working towards fixing a bigger problem like improving the yield of a chemical process or improving the purity of a final product, but a lot of my job is actually related to supply chain and logistical problems. So, making sure starting materials are here in time to start a production, making sure the necessary paperwork is place for them to start and planning the time in the equipment.
  
  A lot of my job is also related to lab and people management. I make sure that the people in my team have everything they need to do their jobs safely, equipment upkeep and maintenance, continuous improvement of facilities and processes and keeping an open door to help people solve problems that they are encountering.
  
  Finally (and the biggest problem to solve…) I have to make sure that my department/team is turning a profit! We have to pay our salaries by making sure that we’re hitting the production targets expected by the company. If we do then we might be able to buy some new equipment, expand our team and have a bigger impact on how the company performs. As with managing your own money at home, it’s a lot easier to spend money on nice new things than it is to earn it.
- Alana McNulty answered on 13 Mar 2023:
  
  My work involves solving technical challenges around how to clean up radioactive waste at nuclear sites in the UK and how we take apart nuclear sites that have stopped generating electricity (also called decommissioning).
- Graeme Barker answered on 14 Mar 2023:
  
  My research group has a couple of different focusses, but broadly speaking, we look at trying to invent new medicines for treating heart and lung inflammation, both serious conditions which are very difficult for doctors to address at the moment. We also look at new methods for making medicines more efficiently and cheaply.
- Grace Roper answered on 14 Mar 2023:
  
  I solve lot of problems (or at least try to). My overall research looks at using probes (molecules) for validation of potential drug targets. But day-to-day I often have to solve many smaller problems with my experiments, such as working out the best way to do an experiment, and working out whether an experiment can be rescued if something goes wrong!

Question: What kind of problems do you solve?

Comments