Our William Penney Fellows are appointed eminent academics working on areas of research of interest to AWE’s mission, and they operate from a number of universities with which we partner. The William Penney Fellows are ambassadors for AWE’s work in STEM and leaders in their respective fields.
One such esteemed Fellow is Dr Paul Stevenson, who works for the Department of Physics at the University of Surrey. Paul’s focus is on theoretical physics and quantum technologies, and you can discover more about his work and contribution below:
What inspired you to do science?
As a child I was always fascinated by the night sky. I used to look up and wonder why those pin pricks of light were there. When I went to university to study physics, I got more interested in the microscopic world of atoms and subatomic structure and now I work on nuclear physics, using quantum mechanics to understand how nuclei react together to fuel those stars that I used to wonder about.
Describe what it’s like to be a William Penney Fellow
It’s quite a change for me to be involved with a non-university institution, where the focus is on an overriding company mission. It’s been great to have discussions on research topics that interest me with a large group of really clever people at AWE who I otherwise wouldn’t get to meet much on the conference circuit.
What fields of study are you working on and how do they support AWE’s mission and national skills?
I work on a combination of theoretical nuclear physics, and quantum computing. Nuclear physics is highly relevant for AWE’s mission. A lot of the basic nuclear physics needed by AWE is well-known, dating back to the years following the development of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, much of the data collected at the time was measured at low precision and theories have improved too. I work on cutting-edge theories that could be used in future at AWE.
The quantum computing side of my work is part of a rather new and rapidly growing technology that is set to be a big player in industry, including AWE. I am developing algorithms for quantum computers which promise to be as revolutionary as traditional computers have been. My interest is in solving problems in nuclear physics more efficiently, but they have an extremely broad range of possible uses. Training up students together with AWE on this new technology is important for national skills in this emerging area.
How do you think your research will make a difference to AWE, the wider society and the economy?
I tend to work on science that pushes the edges of our understanding of nature, while companies such as AWE need to use techniques which, while technologically advanced, are also very well tried and tested. Hopefully some of the work I am doing will become tried and tested in due course and become standard techniques used by AWE. An economic impact of my research is in training the next generation of scientists who use the skills they learn on our joint research projects to take to industry and hence the economy.
During your career, have you been mentored, coached or supported by someone?
There has been little mentoring where the term “mentor” has been directly used, but my PhD supervisors were both very useful mentors to me in different ways – suggesting that my research had not only to be correct, but I should understand how it fits in the bigger picture, be useful, and encouraging me to talk to a wider community of people.
Tell us what a typical day is like for you
It depends a bit on the time of year. In the middle of semester time I’m likely to be preparing a class, teaching one, or marking assignments for some of the day. I have a number of research students working towards PhDs and I meet each of them at least once a week, so I might be meeting them to discuss their research.
Outside of the meeting time I also work on the joint research projects with the students and on my Fellowshi[ research work. Like people in more or less any job I spend some of my time dealing with the emails that arrive, which might be to do with teaching, research, or administrative tasks.
I am the Senior Personal Tutor in the Physics Department at the University of Surrey, which means I take a special interest in giving pastoral help to students who are struggling with all sorts of different problems, so a typical day will involve keeping up with any ongoing issues in that role. Some days, however, I’ll be far away attending a conference, or possibly visiting a student on a work placement.
Besides your scientific interests, what do you enjoy doing in your personal time?
Aside from being with my family – and with four kids, it is the main part of my personal time – I take ice skating lessons at the local ice rink in Guildford. I’ve been doing them for a few years and have slowly worked my way through all the grades and can now do things like spins and jumps.
What do you think is the biggest scientific challenge today and why?
Dealing with climate change is the biggest challenge – not just scientifically – because the consequences of not dealing with it are Earth-shattering, almost literally.
What would you advise those who would like to follow in your footsteps?
When I read about the different stories of people who have gone into science research, it seems there are as many ways of getting there, as there are people, so I don’t want to suggest that there is a best way of following in my footsteps, but I’d say try to find a path through study and work that means you get to do things you enjoy doing. Then your motivation for study or work will come most naturally, and help you succeed.
What is the most memorable thing that happened to you in your career?
I appeared as the expert scientist on a TV show hosted by William Shatner called “Weird or What” where I talked about the possibilities of crystal skulls being gateways to parallel dimensions. You might not be surprised to learn that I didn’t think there was any good scientific basis for it!