• Question: How did you find out about your job and what inspired you to pursue it?

    Asked by anon-199748 to Sylvia, Sumit, Martin, Kate on 1 Mar 2019. This question was also asked by anon-199700.
    • Photo: Sylvia Soldatou

      Sylvia Soldatou answered on 1 Mar 2019:

      When I was in my last year of my Bachelor’s studies I attened a course on natural products chemistry and I realised I wanted to learn more. I serach on line for Master degrees in that field and I asked friends and friends of friends and I found out about the Master course in which I enrolled. Then a professor who was studying marine natural products gave a lecture on her reserach and I was so fascinated that I went to talk to her and she told “Come and do your PhD in my lab” and that’s what I did. I always wanted to work here in Aberdeen so I sent many emails to the professor and when the position opened he emailed me and I went trhough te hinterview process and everything!

      My insipiration was definitely my dad who is also a big fan of natural products!

    • Photo: Sumit Konar

      Sumit Konar answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      I never knew anything about the work I do now. I studied in a school which is located in a small village in India. I always wanted to study abroad. Opportunities came and I went to America for doing my masters; and then moved to Sweden for my PhD; and now in Edinburgh doing my postdoctorate research. I learnt slowly over the years. I am not very smart but I am passionate to learn new things. I learnt how to make new compounds using high pressure and temperature. I then learnt how to see atoms in the structure using X-ray.
      Making New and better compounds is my inspiration.
      I would like to solve global energy problems using sunlight and using better materials that can store sunlight.
      I am so excited about my research that even my mom also knows a little bit about my work. 🙂

    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      I hadn’t gone to university to become an academic but once there I realised that I liked doing experiments and didn’t like being told what to do and when (that I found out by working in the refinery in Grangemouth). I then saw that the academic staff had that kind of freedom so that probably put me on this pathway. I then started out by doing my PhD and progressed from there.

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