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Anna Hills

    • About Me:

      I am a Technical Project Manager working on fusion energy. Outside of work I love fencing (yes, with swords!), gardening, crochet and sewing.

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      I went into engineering because I love problem solving and finding the best way to do something. It’s really great to take something designed on a computer and see the physical part a few weeks later, and helping my team do that the best they can is really important to me.

       

      My hobbies mean I can still do this outside of work, but in a less high-pressure way. At the moment I’m sewing a dress and crocheting a pot for my makeup brushes, and planning out what we want to do with the garden this year. I compete in fencing, and at one point was ranked 27th in the country.

    • My pronouns are:

      She/her

    • My Work:

      I lead the build of a world first high temperature superconducting magnet, bringing all the parts together so it works as designed.

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      I lead a small team who are each responsible for a section of the build. My job is to bring all those elements together, make sure we have all of our documentation in place (such as instructions and risk assessments), and ensure that the right people have been spoken to along the way.

       

      I also work on a couple of other projects which are in the early days of design. On these I capture requirements from everyone who might need to use the final product to make sure we understand what the system needs to do (this is part of a process called “Systems Engineering”), and will be supporting the team to get all the information in place before they start the detailed designs.

    • My Typical Day:

      I start work at 8am and spend my time either planning things out or helping our team build the magnet. I finish at about 4pm.

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      I get to work at about 8am, and normally spend my first hour checking emails and planning out my day, since most of the team don’t arrive until 9. I go to meetings about my projects to find out how the team is doing and try and solve any problems that have come up, then spend a lot of my day in the lab supporting the build itself. I finish work at about 4 and sometimes after work I go to the gym before heading home.

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I’d use the prize money to get more hands on resources for our team to take into schools. We have so many ideas of things we’d like to do so narrowing it down to exactly which is most useful will be tricky, but a larger plasma ball and more magnets will be a great start.

    Candidate CV questions (extra)

    • Education:

      I went to St Peter’s School in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire but finished off sixth form in Switzerland! I then went to Lancaster University to study Mechanical Engineering.

    • Qualifications:

      I did GCSEs in Maths (my favourite), English Language, English Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, French, Product Design, IT and RE.

       

      My A levels were in Geography, Physics and Maths and I did an AS level in Chemistry (although I didn’t do very well in that).

       

      My degree was an MEng (Masters in Engineering) from Lancaster University.

    • Work History:

      I started my career doing an internship at Rolls-Royce (aerospace, not cars), working in their Safety and Reliability team to ensure their jet engines meet the strict safety standards required to fly. I came back to Rolls-Royce a year later after finishing university to do the graduate programme. I worked in:

      • Performance (trying to make engines work better)
      • Methods (looking at how we made updates to the engine manuals to build and repair them more efficiently)
      • Product Maturity (all about trying to predict if a certain type of engine will have any problems once it starts being used by airlines)
      • Emerging Technologies (I got to play with a drone!)

      After my graduate programme I worked in the Tooling team, leading the development of new and faster ways to take engines apart for repair. Then I came to Tokamak Energy, where I am now.

    • Current Job:

      When I first started at Tokamak Energy I had to take what had been designed and work out how we were going to build it. There was already a rough plan but I put the details in place, meaning I have to work with magnet specialists, cryogenicists and electronics engineers and technicians to make sure everything was considered.

       

      Since then my role has progressed so I am now running the build activities and making sure we do things as planned, as well as solving problems when they come up.

    • Employer:

      Tokamak Energy

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        Builds cool magnets

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        An engineer

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        Never!

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        Run a book shop

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Taylor Acorn

        What's your favourite food?

        Ramen

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        I'd like more time in the day, more money and a big dog

        Tell us a joke.

        I'd like to thank whoever invented the worth "Plethora", it really means alot!

Questions answered by Anna

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