This month for our PhD profile we’re fortunate to be joined by Daisy Shearer, a third year PhD student in quantum physics!
Outside of the lab Daisy is passionate about discussing accessibility and neurodiversity in science and is herself autistic. Daisy writes about her science and life with autism on her website and is involved with the neurodivergent in STEM project.
You can also find Daisy on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, ResearchGate and her blog!
Please introduce yourself
I’m Daisy, an experimental physics PhD candidate at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute, UK. My PhD research is focused on investigating the properties of electrons in semiconductor materials (mostly InSb) and how electron spin can be controlled in various semiconductor nanostructures such as quantum wires and quantum point contacts.
PhD Applications
What is your background and why did you decide to do a PhD?
I did an MPhys at the University of Surrey which is a four-year course which includes a year of research in industry or an academic lab which your master’s thesis is based on. I did an internship at the Centre for Integrated Photonics where I worked on research and development of semiconductor-based electroabsorption modulated lasers for telecoms applications.
I was finding ways to utilise the quantum confined Stark effect to improve the modulation speed of these lasers—so making the bursts of light sent down the optical fibres that make up the internet go quicker. I found I really enjoyed experimental physics research and my colleagues all encouraged me to do a PhD if I wanted to become a researcher, so that’s what I did. I ended up choosing the PhD project offered to me at Surrey because I found it to be the most interesting topic out of the PhD projects I applied to.
How did you decide on a PhD project?
I knew that I wanted to do physics research in quantum technology, so I applied to a bunch of different projects looking at light-matter interactions, quantum materials, and ultracold atoms.
In the end, I decided I wanted to stay studying semiconductors as that’s what I’d focused on during my master’s research project. I chose my current project because it was on a topic I found fascinating (electron spin in semiconductors) and I was also offered a lot of flexibility to take the project in the direction I wanted to.
How was your applications process?
Fairly straightforward really! I applied for most projects through findaphd.com which is where a lot of universities list their PhD projects. In physics, you tend to apply for a pre-defined project rather than having to come up with a research proposal.
I put in around 5 applications and did a couple of interviews, but turned down the later ones as I had already set my heart on my current project and had been offered it post-interview.
How did you arrange funding for your PhD?
I got a 3-year studentship to do my PhD which is jointly funded by my University’s Doctoral College and the EPSRC.
What do you think made your application stand out?
I think that the research experience I had in industry and my master’s dissertation stood out on my application. It showed that I have experience in hands-on research and that I can communicate my findings in an academic format. It also meant that in interviews, I could talk about that experience, what I learned from it, and all of the skills that I had developed.
What advice do you have for people applying for a PhD?
Try to focus on your strengths in applications and interviews and do make sure you thoroughly research the topic you’re applying to study before you interview for it. Demonstrating that you have read around the subject shows that you’re genuinely interested in the field. If there’s one thing you need to do a PhD, it’s determination. Showing that you can work through problems and a willingness to learn is important in my opinion.
Life as a PhD Student
How have you found your PhD so far? Has it differed from your expectations?
On the whole, I do enjoy it, but it is a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions and productivity.
One thing that I really struggled with to begin with was the lack of structure, but I quickly learned to be in charge of my own schedule. I really enjoy collaborating with colleagues and learning new skills—I now have so much more knowledge of device fabrication methods, computational modelling, and a variety of material characterization techniques.
It’s definitely not how I expected it to be. Being a researcher means you’re in a constant state of not knowing and problem solving. It’s certainly an adventure into the unknown!
Is COVID-19 having much of an effect on your PhD? Do you have any advice you’d like to share for how you’re coping?
Yes, it’s heavily impacted my PhD both in terms of access to equipment during lockdown and my mental health. It’s also made it harder for me to function day-to-day and manage being autistic. The uncertainty of everything and sudden change in routine when lockdown struck was particularly hard for me to cope with and I had to take a few months of temporary withdrawal where I stayed with my parents while I recovered to a stage where I could live independently again.
In terms of my project, we’ve ended up having to limit the amount of experimental work that I do because of COVID-19 restrictions on laboratory time. This has meant expanding the computational modelling section of my project which I could do working from home and didn’t depend on getting lab time. I am now back in the lab a few times a week and hope to get more experimental work done between now and when I complete!
To cope, I’m trying to make the most of what’s changed. It’s meant I’ve gained some additional computational physics knowledge that I wouldn’t have necessarily gained otherwise. I also think that anyone doing their PhD over 2020/2021 can safely claim that they can adapt to change which is an important skill to have as a researcher.
Other than that, I’ve been making a point to rest in the evenings and the weekends. Work-life balance has been particularly hard for everyone recently, but it can make such a difference to your energy if you take time to rest and recover.
How do you manage being autistic as a researcher?
It’s challenging at times but I also think that being autistic is part of why I’m a good scientist—because I have a different neurotype to most people, it does mean that I can make connections where others don’t see them and I can hyperfocus on a specific topic. This being said, it can be quite disabling at times in terms of the social model of disability.
I am very lucky to have a diagnosis which gives me access to support such as Disabled Students Allowance. I’m frequently in contact with the university disability and neurodiversity services who help me arrange things like reasonable adjustments to help manage being autistic in the research environment. These are things like access to a sensory room where I can turn off all the lights, access to a weighted blanket and other sensory aids, adjustments in communication (I do weekly meetings with my supervisor over teams chat now), and before the pandemic I had an adjustment for one work from home day a week but that one has become a bit irrelevant now.
I disclosed that I was autistic to my supervisor a few months into my PhD and luckily, he is very supportive and allows me to self-advocate for my needs. Being open about it is hard at times but it does mean that I can justify doing things a bit differently to the ‘norm’. I have to explain my specific differences to people quite frequently and requesting adjustments still feels strange to me as I was diagnosed at 21 so I was used to struggling away by myself. The thing that makes the biggest difference to me is when colleagues are accepting of me and come to compromises with me, especially when it comes to communication differences.
What do you wish you’d known when you started your PhD?
That it will ebb and flow. There will be weeks when you feel like you’ve achieved nothing and others where you’ve been flat-out and done more work than you thought possible. I also wish I’d learned how to use reference management software better to begin with.
Have you found your PhD stressful? If so how have you handled the stress?
Yes, I think everyone finds it stressful to some extent!
A PhD is something that almost becomes a part of you so it’s hard not to get stressed when the going gets tough. You absorb yourself in your project for so long that it can seem like the most important thing in the world.
During stressful times, I like to remind myself that the world exists outside my PhD and outside academia. Doing hobbies and seeing friends and family often helps me with this so I try to make time for that whenever possible.
Do you have any tips for other PhD students wanting to communicate their science?
Yes! If you’re interested in communicating your research and science more broadly, then my main piece of advice is to go for it. I’ve found that writing about my work to a broader audience has really helped me understand my research better and improved my academic writing too.
There are some really great resources out there like the open notebook and science blogs often post tips about communicating science. I think that the best thing to do is to experiment and read widely to see what things other people are doing. Everyone has their own style when it comes to communicating and the best way to find your ‘voice’ is to try out lots of different things to see what sticks and what feels good to you.
I like to use Instagram as a microblogging platform and also have a blog website for longer-form writing. Every platform has its strengths, but I’d recommend deciding on one platform to begin with (I started on Instagram) and then expanding to different platforms once you’ve built up an audience and your confidence.
What have been the highlights of your PhD so far?
One of the things that I remember the most is presenting my first research poster at a
conference. It was really fun to go and get engaged with other researchers in my field and the conference was great with my reasonable adjustments, so I didn’t get too overwhelmed by it all. I think it was the one time I’ve actually felt like a researcher.
Another highlight is visiting HFML in the Netherlands to do some high magnetic field measurements with my supervisor. I also just love the days when I get to spend time in the lab working on an experiment or fabricating a device and solving problems. Especially when everything goes smoothly!
I’ve done quite a bit of teaching too which I’ve enjoyed a lot. I mostly help out with
laboratory classes. It’s great to see students work through problems and guide them to understanding the content that they’re learning about on their course. I’ve also just started a graduate certificate in teaching and learning which the University of Surrey offers to postgraduate researchers so that I can get FHEA certification. Learning about teaching and talking to PhD students and teaching fellows from other disciplines has been so good for me—sometimes you have to step away from your subject and see how other people do things.
There are a lot of outreach highlights for me too. I ran a project called ‘the quantum garden’ back in 2019 where we made a little garden inspired by a paper that people in my research group had published a few years back. It was entered into the local garden competition and won a gold medal as well as ‘best in class’ for the student garden category. It was a fun way to bring physics research to the locals and really got people talking.
I’ve also enjoyed doing outreach activities and careers talks in local schools (which are all now virtual). Seeing my blog audience grow has also been a highlight. It makes me so happy to see people commenting on my posts and engaging with physics and my research.
How have you dealt with failures during your PhD research?
Failure is all part of the process. It can be so hard to cope with at times but remembering that it’s normal really helps me. Reaching out for help and advice from colleagues can also help put things in perspective. We’ve all blown a device from time to time and I’m sure that everyone in academia has a long list of rejected paper submissions and failed award and grant applications, they just don’t publicise it.
Do you have any PhD advice or tips you’d like to share?
Connect with other PhD students and recent PhD graduates, especially those in your field. It really helps to have people to talk to who understand how a PhD works and who can tell you about the little nuances and unspoken rules. The other thing I’d say is to try and maintain a life outside of your research.
PhD Completion and Beyond
Do you know yet what you would like to do after you finish your PhD?
I’d like to go into industry when I’ve finished. Either that or a National laboratory as I don’t think academia is for me long-term. I’m more interested in research that has a more tangible impact on the world and being in industry will enable me to do that. This being said, I still want to do some teaching. Possibly as a guest lecturer as I am passionate about teaching physics in higher education. I have a feeling that this might spread into potentially creating some free online teaching courses that are accessible to more people. I also want to keep up with my science communication and writing work alongside being a researcher.
In hindsight would you choose to do a PhD again?
Yes, for sure! It’s been tough but I am so passionate about my research that I can’t really imagine doing anything else. I think that doing a PhD is a great way to get the research training you need, especially in a field like experimental physics where a good academic grounding is vital.
Thank you so much for taking part Daisy and best of luck for the rest of our PhD!
I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading this PhD profile! A reminder that you can find Daisy on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, her website and last but not least her blog!
The whole PhD Profiles series is available here. Please get in touch if you’d be interested in taking part yourself. To be kept up to date with more Savvy Scientist content, you can subscribe here:
