Profile

I’m from a working-class background and grew up in Newcastle. I always took an interest in science, but never knew how to use that spark. Outside of work I am a hobbyist fictional writer, and focus on the fantasy genre. I like all sorts of music, including dark-synth, old school punk and metal. I live with my partner and will often travel for gigs and concerts on days I have free.

I am a palaeontologist. This means that I look at fossils, and make conclusions based on what information they can tell me about past environments. My work involves lots of background reading, and writing up reports. My fieldwork is focused on the British Isles, and I conduct some experiments in the great outdoors, as well as take lots of samples. In the lab, I process them samples using a variety of chemicals. Using a microscope, I look at these tiny fossils. I study pollen grains, algae, and fungi – just to name a few! Results are written up and published in reports. In reports, I make lots of pretty figures and diagrams to explain my findings. I work with scientists all over the globe. Every so often, I will travel to a conference and present my findings either in the form of a presentation or on a poster.

I will try and stick to a 9-5 schedule. Sometimes, I will be writing up literature reviews, based on reports and findings published by other scientists, other times, I will be conducting experiments in a laboratory. I look at tiny fossils (mostly plant fossils) and they tell me what past environments were like, millions of years ago.