• Question: What made you decide to enter the field that you are currently in?

    Asked by Cleary to Arthur, Thomas on 16 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by ChemistrySquad#2.
    • Photo: Thomas Farrugia

      Thomas Farrugia answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      Hi Cleary,

      In all fairness I’d say that if three years ago you told me what I’d be working on today I probably would be a bit surprised. Long story short is that I contacted my supervisor because of an interest in biomineralization (formation of inorganic structures through natural processes – think bones, shells, teeth, insect exoskeletons), and he was one of the key players in the field. However by then he had started working into other fields (origins of life via pre-cellular systems – think artificial cells!) so the research was rather different. I still joined up, purely because the research was pretty hard-core and still ticked all the boxes. A PhD really allows you to jump into a new field of research – so never ever say that it’s too far out of your remit – provided you acknowledge it’s a challenge and put in the work you’ll get there, even if via a completely unexpected route.

    • Photo: Arthur Wilkinson

      Arthur Wilkinson answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      My first job on leaving school was in a plastics processing factory. Before long I was hooked on polymers and several years later (38 to honest!) I’m still hooked.

Comments