In September I spent two weeks at UCL, at the Institute for Materials Discovery. I worked with the research team, led by Professor Kwang-Leong Choy, who are investigating solar cells, and was also given my own research project to complete: how Materials Science can contribute to eye research. It was very interesting to see all the equipment in the lab, some of which I had learnt about and some which was completely new to me, including a Scanning Electron Microscope, an Atomic Layer Deposition system and a solar simulator. I measured the efficiency of some solar cells that the team had created so they could use the most efficient ones in further research.
Whilst I was there, another group of scientists from Serbia was visiting, so we had a tour of the imaging technology at the London Centre for Nanotechnology. They presented their research to us about improving biomaterials for bone replacement, as they were hoping to set up a collaborative project with UCL. It was really interesting and quite surprising to see how much of an interdisciplinary subject Materials Science is. I also learnt a lot about the biology of the eye during my project! I attended the group meetings and I was able to see how a research team works and what working in a lab is like. It was a very useful and interesting experience and gave me an insight into potential careers after university. Above all it was very enjoyable and I had a great time working with all the researchers there.