Profile
Oleg Kozhura
-
About Me:
Hi, I’m Oleg! Between one eye, PhD and an Eastern-European accent, I’m one cat away from being a comic book supervillain. Luckily, I am allergic to cats! ⚫️👄👁
-
Read more
I love video games, birdwatching, embroidery and Dungeons & Dragons. I am an experienced skier and a certified diver, have piloting experience and competed in chess in school. I am also afraid of ants and, until very recently, thought that “Toffee” and “Tofu” were the same thing.
-
My pronouns are:
he/him/his.
-
My Work:
I’m a Science Delivery Coordinator at the FAAM Airborne Laboratory. My work is all about installing new instrument on our Research Aircraft – a flying lab!
-
Read more
The most interesting part of my work is that it allows me to learn more about different types of instruments, measurements and ground-breaking techniques. Our aircraft has a lot of equipment to capture and study the air, inspect individual particles like tiny water droplets and snowflakes, measure sunlight and study air contents from a distance with something similar to a laser. We can even drop little weather measuring devices on parachutes called “dropsondes”.
This is the FAAM Airborne Laboratory!
Our team did research all over the world, from the Sahara to Greenland. With our skilled pilots, we can fly as low as 15 meters above water!
Look where have we been!
-
My Typical Day:
My days vary greatly! One day, I may be helping other scientists develop and install new equipment. Other days, I read and learn about new measurement techniques.
-
Read more
You can often find me talking to other researchers when we plan where and how new equipment will go and what would be the best way to run their experiments.
-
What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like more people to know that we have an amazing Research Aircraft and what we can do with it! Among various materials we would produce and show others at an event, I’m working on an interactive aircraft simulator. I would love to get a chance to improve it further and let people play around with the virtual FAAM Airborne Laboratory!
-
Education:
I went to school in eastern Europe, after which I studied law for a bit. I quickly realised that it wasn’t for me, so, when I had a chance to come to the UK to study science, I quickly jumped on it.
-
Qualifications:
Doctor of Philosophy: PhD, Astronomy and Astrophysics (The Open University)
Master’s degree: Physics with Astrophysics (The University of Kent)
School: distinction
-
Work History:
My current job is my first “proper” job after finishing my PhD. But, during my earlier law studies, I did various internships in courts and in the office of the commissioner for human rights.
-
Current Job:
Science Delivery Coordinator at the FAAM Airborne Laboratory
-
Employer:
National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS)
-
My Interview
-
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
thinking about atmosphere
What did you want to be after you left school?
At first, I started studying to be a lawyer. But, I quickly realised that it's not for me and switched from studying the laws of society to studying the laws of physics
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Only once! My friend and I tried to recreate a fight scene from a film, but a teacher thought we were really fighting. We had a lot of explaining to do!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Programming - I have a lot of coding experience, which can be applied to many interesting projects!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I had my own punk-rock band once, so that one! Those who heard it may disagree...
What's your favourite food?
Vegetarian pizza! And lots of olives!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I'd wish for more wishes!
Tell us a joke.
I heard about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda. He is lucky it was a soft drink.
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
curious, caffeinated, ignores word limits
-
-
Profile Image
-
Profile Image