Profile
David Taylor
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About Me:
I am studying for a PhD in Astronomy at the University of St Andrews. I live in Edinburgh and commute up a couple of times a week. Outside of work I enjoy reading books, hiking, going to the cinema and cooking vegan food!
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I grew up in Scotland, a place that I love and explore whenever I can. At the end of high school, I still wasn’t sure what to go on and study as I thought so many different subjects were really interesting. I was good at maths, and so chose to do an Undergraduate degree in Physics and Astronomy (at Durham University). That took four years. Now I’m studying for another 3.5 years in St Andrews for a PhD. Working towards an academic career means I’ve spent a lot of time learning!
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My pronouns are:
He/Him
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My Work:
I use radio telescopes to study how the most massive stars in the Milky Way are born. Most my day is spent looking at images of young stars!
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I use images taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile. This telescope operates in the radio spectrum and is an example of an interferometer. It uses multiple 12-metre dishes (can be up to 50!) to observe the same target at once. These images are of massive clouds of dust and gas in the Milky Way, where the largest stars are born. We still don’t understand how a large cloud can collapse down (mainly due to gravity) and then collect enough material to form a truly massive (anything 8x bigger than the sun) star. Specifically, I’m studying how massive binary systems (two stars orbiting one another) are born, and also how young stars (known as protostars) collect mass from their surroudnings as they grow.
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My Typical Day:
On the days when I’m travelling to St Andrews (and not just working from home) I’ll wake up at 6.30am and get into the office for 9am. It’s an unusually long commute but I only have to do it twice a week. My work means that I’m sat a computer for most the day, but I’ll talk science with other PhD students, my supervisor and am in contact with astronomers from all around the world via email!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I am one of a few astronomy PhD students working at the University of St Andrews who run a mobile planetarium (https://planetarium.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/). There is some hope of gathering funds for a Newtonian projector (these can project onto the curved surface of our dome without deformation of the images), but spare money means that we can offer completely free shows (which each cost about £70) to local primary schools.
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Education:
I attented James Gillespies High School in Edinburgh, before moving down to Durham to work towards my Undergraduate degree. While I was there, I switched my Bsc to an integrated Masters degree, which added a year on. Since 2023 I’ve been a PhD student at the University of St Andrews.
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Qualifications:
I did 7 National fives, 6 Highers and 4 Advanced Highers (English, Music, Physics and Maths) I have an Integrated Masters degree in Physics and Astronomy. In high school I also did a number of ABRSM exams for piano and violin.
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Current Job:
PhD student
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Employer:
The University of St Andrews
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Outdoorsy, bookworm astronomer
What did you want to be after you left school?
At that point I'd decided to study Physics, and I remember thinking that working in nuclear energy would be cool. In retrospect, I do wonder if I could have studied music.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Only very rarely.
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I hope I'd be working to tackle climate change, which is something many more of us will need to do.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Tide Lines
What's your favourite food?
I've enjoyed pretty much every vegan Korean dish I've tasted.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I wish I could code better, and my spelling is known to be poor.
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