PhD Student Profile: Carla-Leanne Washbourne

 

October 2010 – onsite at the demolition of the Trinity Square (‘Get Carter’) car park, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear

Occupation:

  • PhD Researcher
  • From 28th October 2013: Provost Research Fellow (UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy)
  • From 11th November 2013: Physical Science Advisor (The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology)

PhD title and year of completion: Engineering Soils to Act as Carbon Sinks (2013)

PhD supervisor: Prof. David Manning

 

 

1) The Twitter challenge: Your PhD in 140 characters

Investigating how soils can be engineered to chemically capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it, safely and permanently

2) What big questions you are tackling in your PhD?

Whether soils can be engineered to remove potentially large quantities of carbon dioxide gas (a major contributor to climate change) from the atmosphere. I am currently investigating how some industrial waste products can be combined with soils to chemically capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it, safely and permanently. My work will help to advise industries in developing creative ways of using their waste materials for an environmental benefit. 

3) What part of your work do you enjoy the most?

Getting out in the open air, working on real-world sites and seeing the results of my work first-hand.  Interacting with possible stakeholders in the approaches used, from environmental and policy perspectives.

4) What’s the most challenging aspect?

Isolation – one of the classic challenges of the PhD, feeling as though you may be the only person in the world so involved in the trials and tribulations of your work (once you get out and chat to other researchers you realize that this is pretty much never the case!)

5) Favourite piece of equipment

The humble shovel – the piece of equipment I have done much of my best work with (or in more extreme cases, the mechanical excavator).

6) Best travel perk of the job

A close tie between getting to travel the wilds of Alberta, Canada, as part of a summer school on climate engineering, and cycling a hire bike over the Golden Gate Bridge (while singing a wonderfully off-key rendition of ‘We Built this City’) during the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. 

7) Words of wisdom to future PhD students

Use your time wisely, but don’t be afraid to take on other projects and try new things. PhDs are designed to produce great researchers, with many more facets than simply being a great technical worker. Getting involved in activities outside your PhD can make you a better-connected, happier and ultimately more employable individual.

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