Profile
Scott Lawrie
My CV
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Education:
Oxford University: 2012-2017; Manchester University: 2003-2007; Havant College: 2001-2003; Horndean Community School (now known as Horndean Technology College): 1996-2001
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Qualifications:
PhD in Particle Physics at Oxford University; MPhys in Physics and Astrophysics; AAB A-levels; 5 A* GCSEs
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Work History:
A National Laboratory, a fire-detector factory, a garden centre and a home DIY store
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Current Job:
Particle Accelerator Physicist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
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About Me:
I’m married, a father of two and a total geek.
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I live in Abingdon with my wife and two daughters. I’m trying to fend off the dad-bod by running at lunch time and doing boot-camp three times a week. I love gaming: both video- and board-games and go to the pub every Monday to play games with friends. I’ve been doing alright during the coronavirus lock-in, by balancing time between remote working, teaching my kids and doing housework. In the last couple of weeks I’ve laid a new laminate floor, built a new shelving unit and painted a bedroom!
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I operate a negative hydrogen ion source. This takes hydrogen atoms from an ordinary gas bottle and adds an extra electron to them: so one proton orbited by two electrons. It’s pretty difficult to do this and the end result is quite fragile. It needs an intricate balance between all kinds of exciting science: vacuum, high voltage, strong magnetic fields, high temperatures, explosive gases, exotic metals… All of this equipment to operate a device that fits in the palm of the hand!
I also work on other bits of the accelerator. For example I’ve designed and had manufactured several big electromagnets which I’m very proud of. I also designed lots of parts in a big copper accelerator structure called a ‘radio frequency quadrupole’ (RFQ) which I’m very excited to see work when it turns on toward the end of the year!
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My Typical Day:
Loud and excitable discussions with colleagues whilst twiddling dials on fancy equipment and peering into a beautiful purple plasma.
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After about half an hour replying to emails that come in overnight from international partners, I check the operation of the machine (the ISIS Pulsed Spallation Neutron Source in Oxfordshire) and my specific part of it (the ion source); giving a tweak to the settings if necessary. Then I’ll either carry on designing some new parts for the ion source, seeing how they should work in simulations, or testing them for real on the machine. Because it’s all new and theoretical, it’s very exciting to put it all together and test it. Problems or unexpected results often happen which need lots of boisterous brainstorming with colleagues to work out what’s going on. All of this whilst trying not to destroy any expensive equipment or hurt myself in any number of interesting ways!
I get up to all sorts, though. For example I might help install new kit or clean old kit in other parts of the accelerator when it is in a scheduled shut-down. I might give tours to audiences ranging from school kids to high-up politicians. I might be preparing a presentation or journal paper for an international conferance. I am actually involved with organising a virtual conference at the moment! Every day is different and I’ve got such a lot going on which is why I put ‘busy’ as one of the words to describe me!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I did win the prize money 🙂 I built an incredible high voltage sparking xylophone!
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The most exciting thing that's happened this year in my research area:
The machine I help run studied moon rock recently to see if it would make a good bricks to build a moonbase. Imagine a 3D-printed Hobbit-home nestled into a crater, keeping astronauts warm and shielding them from space radiation!
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My latest work:
I’m project manager and lead designer of a big particle accelerator upgrade. We’re aiming to replace clunky Soviet-era technology with something modern, efficient and beautiful. This involves hundreds of kilowatts of power, lots of electromagnets and over a million pounds of expense! I’m really excited to be putting it all together to see if my designs work as planned, and to improve the entire accelerator complex for our visiting scientists.
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My favourite misconception about my area of science:
I think the public generally think of all particle physicists as people slaving away at computers staring at numbers. A lot of us work on the particle accelerator itself, rather than the data-crunching bit at the end, so it’s actually super exciting and impressive! We get to design, construct and play with fantastic cutting-edge, expensive equipment deep in the heart of the machine. There’s actually a lot of engineering being an accelerator physicist: doing up bolts, lifting heavy kit about on a crane, crawling through cable ducts, plumbing pipes together. I wish people appreciated how varied and interesting the work is!