• Question: who are your science mentors?

    Asked by kiwicles to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 26 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Nuala Carson

      Nuala Carson answered on 26 Jun 2012:

      Hey Kiwicles,

      Well i am still a PhD student so I have what we call supervisors. There are senior scientist who are responsible for helping you if you are stuck and guiding you through the first 3 – 4 years of doing research. I have 3 supervisors at the moment and I can definitely say I would not have gotten to where I am now without them. After you finish you PhD science is really a group effort, so you always have people to talk to and discuss your science with!

    • Photo: Gemma Purser

      Gemma Purser answered on 26 Jun 2012:

      Hi Kiwicles,

      I think the people that guide me the most in science are the team of people who I work with everyday. I have only been working on carbon capture and storage for 4 years, some of the project leaders who i do work for have been working on it for 15-20 years! So I still have a lot to learn! 🙂

    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 26 Jun 2012:

      Hi kiwicles

      Like Nuala, I have supervisors for my PhD. My main supervisor is a Professor called Alan Haywood, who is probably the main man for modelling the Pliocene (the period of time I work on when the world had a warmer climate). I am also supported by Dr Dan Lunt in Bristol, Dr Harry Dowsett at the United States Geological Survey (he works on producing data from fossil plankton to allow me to compare my model results to what the Pliocene was like) and Dr Mat Collins in Exeter, who was part of the team who developed the method I use on my model.

      Like Nuala, I am only becoming the scientist I could be because of these people, but as well as the supervisors, my other mentors are my friends. They help me keep focussed and by talking and sharing problems we help each other through. I couldn’t do it without them either!

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