Jamie Thompson BSc Chemistry, 2016
PhD in Material Science, Imperial College London
From the nanoscale all the way though to an intergalactic scale, chemistry gives you the tools to both observe the universe and play with it. I chose Southampton because of the family feeling within the departments and the outstanding research resources were a big incentive. As a first year chemist, some of the labs felt like a scene from a science fiction movie!
At the end of my third year, I secured the opportunity to work with NASA at their Ames Research Centre located in Silicon Valley, California. Southampton was extremely supportive with helping me make this placement a reality.
I was able to get into PhD research labs in my first year and help with real research. I feel like I learned the most valuable skills and knowledge during this time. During my first two years, I spent a lot of my spare time in the electrochemistry department. I learned the basics of using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), played with advanced potentiostats amongst other electrochemical equipment.