Profile
Helena Quilter
Well done Cat! Thank you everyone for your questions and votes. This was a lot of fun!
My CV
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Education:
Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, University of Bath 2013 – now, University of Sheffield 2007-11, Hall Cross School 2000-07, Hatchell Wood Primary School 1993-2000
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Qualifications:
MRes, MChem
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Work History:
I’ve worked in a pub, at a hazardous waste transfer station and at a school as a science technician.
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Current Job:
Postgraduate Student – trying to get a PhD!
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Lots of plastics that we use at the minute are made from crude oil, which is really bad for the environment. Crude oil is a thick black liquid we get out of the ground which took hundreds of millions of years to form. Using crude oil is though to be a big cause of climate change as when we use it we produce carbon dioxide (CO2) which causes global warming. I work in a lab at a university trying to find other things we could use to make new plastics instead which don’t harm the planet or cause climate change. At the minute I’m using waste orange peel which means all my work smells amazing!
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My Typical Day:
I spend a lot of time in the lab making new molecules and trying to turn them into completely new plastics!
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The great thing about my job is that every day is a bit different!
Usually I get to work, grab a coffee and check through my emails. Then I spend a bit of time reading about what other scientists who are working on similar things to me have been up to lately – sometimes this gives me great new ideas!
After that I usually head to the lab and put on some experiments, check my student is getting on OK and maybe having the odd meeting with my boss or labmates. When I do experiments I mix chemicals together in a liquid and maybe heat them up too to make a reaction happen. I usually go for lunch with my friends at work – I’m really lucky that some of my best friends work in the same place as me!
In the afternoon I tend to run lots of tests to try and find out what chemicals I’ve made – usually not what I expected! Then I have to work out why that’s happened before tidying up (I hate that bit!) and heading home.
It’s always a bit different – I might be making different molecules or trying to make them into plastics. Sometimes I get to go and listen to people talk about their research, which is always very inspiring. On my favourite days I might get to go to the teaching labs and help the younger students get better in the lab. I love what I do!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d like to use it to develop some science workshops about climate change to take into schools.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Creative, chatty, colourful
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Sometimes but I was usually very quiet. I did get kept behind class a few times for talking…
Who is your favourite singer or band?
At the minute probably George Ezra but it changes a lot
What's your favourite food?
I’m from Yorkshire so has to be Yorkshire pudding and gravy!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To have more time to do everything, to travel the world, to own a dog.
Tell us a joke.
How do you organise a party in space? You planet!
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