EngD Project Title: Offshore Wind Structures Design Sensitivity to Metocean Site Conditions
Industrial Partner: SSE Renewables
Educational and professional background + What attracted you to studying with IDCORE?
I have an undergraduate degree in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Glasgow. After graduating mid-pandemic in 2020, I spent a few years helping in the covid response effort with NHS Scotland (National Health Services Scotland) dealing with quality assurance, cross border and high-risk cases. Having decided that physics wasn't for me, and being interested in combating climate change and the energy crisis, I decided to transition towards engineering with an MSc in Sustainable Energy from Glasgow. After graduating I spent some time working with Research Data Scotland as a data analyst, helping facilitate researcher access to public sector data, before being attracted towards IDCORE as somewhere I could do my own research, and also gain valuable industry experience as an Engineer. Getting to continue my education for another 4 years also seemed appealing!
What attracted you to the renewable energy sector? What aspects of the industry do you find most inspiring, interesting, or important for the future?
Renewable energy as a sector is very appealing, as someone who lives in Scotland, as it is a sector that has the potential to be world-leading. Beyond the clear employment prospects, it's something I can direct my own talents and experience towards with my background in physics and engineering, and personally I find the challenges (and opportunities) the field presents very interesting and fulfilling to spend my career working on. Ultimately, the whole world faces a tremendous challenge in the transition away from fossil fuel-based energy, and addressing these challenges head on (and being one of the main countries driving so much research and resource into doing so) is very inspiring. I believe we are all responsible, in our own way, to help improve the world we live in and create a better one for those we will eventually leave it to. IDCORE has given me the opportunity to do so to the best of my ability, in the way that suits me best!
What ambition would you like to fulfil as a Research Engineer?
Being a research engineer allows for many opportunities, being both within industry and academia. My personal ambition is to publish several papers during the course of my research, I've always wanted to see my name on a journal! There is much opportunity for personal development as part of IDCORE, both directly in our science, engineering and research skills, and also in other ways. For example, I have always found public speaking and presentation very daunting and challenging, so I have aims to improve upon this by facing my fears and presenting my work at conferences in year 3 and 4 of my degree.
When I was younger, I always wanted to pursue a Phd, but as I got older and finished my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, I knew that solely working in academia was not for me. When IDCORE came along, allowing for both academic development and industry experience, it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down what is essentially the best of both worlds!
