Meet Hannah, a first year PhD student at Queen’s University Belfast who is this year's Dunville Scholarship winner! We caught with her to chat about what being selected to receive the studentship means and learned more about her inspiring journey from undergraduate study to PhD researcher. From international travel, to being involved in exciting research experiments, if her first seven months are anything to go by, this is the start of an exciting journey!

Congratulations on winning the Dunville Scholarship! Can you tell us more about it?

Thank you! Yes, it was quiet a surprise, but I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I first learned it via email. It looked interesting, so I decided to give it a go and applied! From that point onwards, everything was super quick, I applied at the end of September and in November already had my interview with the panel that include the PVC or nominees. In just a few weeks, I received the news and was super happy I was chosen! One award is awarded annually to a chosen student, but it’s open to all Schools and subject areas in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

How will the Dunville Scholarship help you going forward?

The studentship provides up to £3000 across three years, paid as a monthly stipend, and you have to be planning to pursue research withing the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences to apply. So it will definitely help me going forward!

Okay, looking back a bit, what motivated you to pursue Physics at university?

It's actually a funny story. Physics was one of the subjects that I least liked at GCSE, but I wanted to choose physics at A-level just to be able to say I study Maths and the three sciences.  This turned out to be one of the best choices I have ever made.

Once I got to A-levels, I fell in love with the subject. I then chose to study maths and physics, the joint programme at Queen’s. But the longer that I studied it and as I progressed in the second year, I realised that physics with medical applications was more suited towards me. And that's where I would like my career to head down to the medical physics route. 

How did you find out about your PhD and what drew you to the project you chose?

I completed my undergraduate here at Queens where I studied the integrated master’s programme in physics with medical applications.  Around a month or two after I completed my master’s research project, the centre in the school of Maths and Physics started posting their PhD projects and the lecturers really encouraged us to have a look. The title that I'm now doing was posted and it was really nice fit from my master’s project. So, it seemed like a really clear step for me to take. 

What made you decide to stay at Queen’s University Belfast for your PhD journey?

I'm just from outside Antrim town, so Belfast isn't too far away at all. I went to school in Mid Ulster, so it almost felt like I was in a different country going the opposite direction. And, like I said, I completed my undergraduate here [at Queen’s] and when I was applying for my PhD, I was interested in travelling places. 

When I met with my potential supervisor, he explained to me that there would be travel within this PhD programme because it's experiment based PhD. It suited me perfectly because it’s a short-term travel, a month or two months away studying in different countries and then being able to come back home again. 

What’s your favourite thing about studying PhD so far?

It's definitely the opportunities that I've been given so far! I started in October, so I am coming up to the end of my 7th month, and so far, I have been part of three different experiments and have attended two different conferences.

What’s more, out of the three experiments, two were in different countries. For example, I headed to Romania in November for two weeks, and just before Easter I went away to England for two months as well. The two conferences I attended, one was before Christmas and it was in Abingdon, just South of Oxford, where I presented a poster explaining my research and my plan for the next few years. And then I attended one here at Queens just before Easter as well. I’ve been busy!

That’s amazing! It seems like that’s quite a big difference to studying at Master’s level – can you elaborate?

Definitely! I would definitely say the biggest difference between master’s level research and PhD research is the level of independence. My master’s project was about 3 months long and I was touching base with my supervisor almost every single day. I think it's because that research project was so short, everything needed to be done at quite a high pace. 

However, when you move on to your PhD the independence is much more noticeable. I check in with my supervisor maybe about once a week, and that is in some cases deemed quite frequent in some departments. Although, I wouldn't worry, your supervisors are always there if you need some extra help, as well as the other PhD students you work with and postdocs. 

Join us for Part Two where we will explore some of the fascinating projects Hannah has been involved with so far, including what it’s like to work with world renowned experts in a research environment.

 

More Information about the Dunville Scholarship

The Dunville Scholarship was established in 1873 out of the income of the Sorella Trust founded by William Dunville in memory of his sister, Miss Sara Dunville.  Annually, one award is allocated to a chosen student, but it’s open to all Schools and subject areas in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences.  

To apply, you must be a student of three or more years' standing in Queen’s with intend to pursue research in the Faculty of EPS and hold a first-class honours degree (or equivalent) in science or engineering are eligible to apply. The studentship is tenable for up to three years with the value of up to £3,000 per annum normally payable as a monthly stipend.    

Hannah Maguire

School of Mathematics and Physics

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