Profile

I have lived in Swansea since 2011, moving here to study as a student at Swansea University, then decided I loved it so much that I stayed for a Doctorate, and then jobs. I live with my partner, who also works for the University, along with our little puppy Maisie.

Apart from getting covered in ink, I also enjoy making artworks, particularly pyrography art which is pretty much like burning patterns into wood with a soldering iron with a really nice tip. Its great fun upcycling old wooden things! I’m also a great lover of dance, I do a range of styles including hip hop, tango and flow arts including hoop, chair, and pole.

My current research focusses on solar cells that can be made using a screen-printer, just like the one used to make t-shirts! I have also worked on printing special inks which can make things heat up, light up and even change colour.

As a Lecturer, I get to create and provide lectures to undergraduate students in Mechnical Engineering. I also do alot of research. My projects currently focus on Screen-Printed Electronics, particularly the design and creation of Printed Perovskite Solar Cells. These Solar Cells are cheaper and easier to make than the ones you see on most rooves. These solar cells can be made on many different materials, so they can be printed onto the roof material rather than be attached to the roof afterwards. There are even some that can be made seen through to make windows into solar cells! As well as solar cells, I also get to work with a range of special inks which can conduct heat or electricity, glow in the dark, light up, or even change colour with different temperatures or light levels. One of my favourite things is printed heaters as they can be made on metals to go under floors, fabrics to go on t shirts and even cork to be used as a coaster to heat up your coffee!

None of my days are the same but I normally start work at 9am and finish at 5pm with a one-hour lunch break at midday with my colleagues. During those hours, I sometimes spend my day preparing or giving lectures, or in the laboratories, where I get to make, test, and assess printed electronics such as solar cells. If I’m printing the solar cells, this also involves a lot of cleaning to get the ink off of everything. Other days I will be in the office where I will prepare lectures, go through results for my research, making graphs and tables which are then written up as reports and papers to explain what I have found out.