• Question: why did you want to work with water

    Asked by to Hattie, Emily, Ben, Jemma, Veronica on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by , , , , , , .
    • Photo: Emily Hayward

      Emily Hayward answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Hi Emily,

      I didnt specifically want to work with water when I ended up doing so, I more wanted to work with something that would make a big difference. In looking at different ideas I decided I could make the biggest difference either looking at new energy solutions (e.g. solar cells) or by making water cleaner. I have dont a little bit of work with solar cells, and think they are really great, but think at the moment I can make a bigger difference by trying to ensure clean water is easily accessable……this is why I decided to work with it. Also its a great product, and is essential for life – we wouldnt want to run out of safe drinking water 🙂

    • Photo: Harriet Aitken

      Harriet Aitken answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Hi Emily,

      I think water chose me! I knew I wanted to do something were I could use what I have learned to help other people – there are so many people in the world that aren’t able to get clean water and it is something that we are able to fix, although there are many ways to do it all of different levels of reliability and cost.

      I started working on this project about 4 years ago and ever since I have been determined to create a system that will be able to provide clean and safe drinking water to people who aren’t so lucky as we are in the UK.

    • Photo: Jemma Rowlandson

      Jemma Rowlandson answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Hi Emily,

      I’m the same as Hattie and Emily, I didn’t really think about working with water when I was looking for a PhD. I really wanted to do something that would help us stop using fossil fuels and polluting the atmosphere. It could have been solar power, wind power or any other renewable energy but I chose hydrogen because of what it could bring. I mean can you imagine being able to run your car off of water?

      Hydrogen powered cars are also quite a challenge, which is why I like it (and occasionally dislike it). At the moment we have trouble both making and storing hydrogen gas cleanly, without using fossil fuels. If we can solve this then using hydrogen could change the world. It’s going to take a lot of work by a lot of scientists and I wanted to be part of that, to help in anyway I can.

    • Photo: Veronica Celorrio

      Veronica Celorrio answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      I didn’t really choose to work with water, although so far my research is always been related to water.

      My PhD was about putting hydrogen and oxygen together to obtain energy and water, and now I do it the other way round!

    • Photo: Ben Butler

      Ben Butler answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      The main reason why I wanted to work with water was because I absolutely loved surfing when I was younger. This made me really interested in the ocean, so I decided to study ocean science at university.

      I’m still just as fascinated by the ocean now as I was when I was 12. There’s so much to discover out there!

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