Hollie Wright

"The Investigator and Explorer profiles match me perfectly! I see myself as an Explorer because I love understanding how things work. I enjoy the process of figuring things out and I'm happy to work away at a problem on my own until I get there. I also recognise myself as an Investigator. When I'm running an experiment it rarely works the first time. I have to think logically and gather all the information I have to figure out why it isn't working yet. It means using my problem solving skills and being honest about where I may have made mistakes. I recognise some of the qualities of the Quality Controller in myself. As a researcher I am often challenging the way things have always be done, as new methods could be better. I like to think of myself as a trustworthy and fair person, although I don't think that applies much to my work. "

"My research is made up of a series of experiments which help me learn how things work and how I can improve them. I need to plan each experiment carefully so that the data I collect will reveal information about whatever I am investigating. I will order any equipment I need before I can begin or if it is possible I will build some things myself. Once I have all the parts I need I can set up my experiment. Depending on the experiment this can be quite challenging and require a lot of patience. I'm not a very patient person so this is a struggle for me! Once I have the experiment set up, I can collect and analyse data. The data sets I collect are usually very large, so I write computer code to collect and analyse the data for me. Once the data has been analysed I draw conclusions from my experiment and decide what to do next."

"I went to the University of St Andrews to study physics. I graduated with a MPhys 2:1 in 2016. After that I joined the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Applied Photonics where I am currently training. The course is four years long and I will be given an EngD at the end. After that I'd love to continue working in Research and Development for a company in an interesting industry. "

"I'm really into analogue photography - those old film cameras your parents used before digital cameras were invented. I spend all of my money on film for my camera and flight tickets so I can travel to new places and take pictures! Most recently I visited Malawi and South Africa!"

"My days are varied which is one of the things I like about my work! Regular tasks include: Planning experiments. Online shopping to look for the perfect parts for the next experiment. Running experiments, collecting and analysing the data. Attending meetings with the rest of my research group to share my progress and hear about what everyone else has been working on. Attending lecturers to hear about the research of people outside of my research group. Cleaning the lab - safety concerns means we are not allowed to have cleaners come in so we have to clean the lab ourselves. Writing regular progress reports. "

"In high school I studied maths, English, biology, chemistry, physics and geography for my (Scottish) Highers. I found physics the most difficult class but I loved learning how things worked so I decided to study it at university anyway. "