Meet Daniel Flores Ramírez, a PhD student in Materials Sciences! As part of our new Postgrad Spotlight series, Daniel shares his journey as a postgraduate researcher and offers some valuable advice for those pursuing (or considering) a PGR programme at Queen Mary.
Read on to disccover what postgraduate at Queen Mary is really like, straight from a PGR's perspective!
What is your research topic?
Data-driven discovery of new bismuth oxyhalide (BiOClBrl) composition for environmental remediation.
What have you found interesting about your research so far?
There are several nice findings that will be reported soon in proper journals. Nonetheless, one that was surprising, is the relationship between the samples synthesised and the predicted phases.
In the research, it was synthesised a series of samples varying the quantity of chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and iodine (I). Then they were characterised by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) to observe their diffraction patterns and elucidate the changes in the atomic structure. Those patterns were classified by machine learning methods to identify if inside the sample, there are two or more crystals with different compositions. The results indicate that the samples are composed only by 2 phases with composition around 20 % of iodine. This suggest that this BiOClBrI system, only favours the synthesis of materials within a specific range. For now, it is believed that the reason is the disparity between the radii of Cl and I. If they are present in the crystal on a significant amount, the lattice is subjected to heavy stress, needing more energy to be stable, which favours the formation of low iodine phases.
What is your favourite thing about doing research at Queen Mary?
I could say a lot of things, the library, the labs, the staff; but my favourite thing is my supervisor support. It is not like he is always behind me; it is that he has confidence in my decision making. Furthermore, he lets me perform any justifiable experiment I propose and, he send me with other experts in specific field to help me in topics that exceed his knowledge.
Where do you hope your research will take you in the future?
The stars. Not literally, but possibly, someday I could get a physical effect (or defect) named after me.
What is your favourite spot on campus, and why?
Library. It has a dedicated PGR space and is open until late. There are study group rooms available, not just in the library, but in the graduate centre too. I spend more than 10 h a day there.
What has been your favourite part of the Students' Union?
I love Village Shop; cashiers are so friendly, and they sell my favourite chorizo sandwich and those coated flapjacks.
What is your go-to study tip for someone who may be struggling with productivity at postgraduate level?
Stop complaining. That takes too much time. And, discipline, do at least a bit of everything, that way make progress every day.
Do you have any tips for anyone applying for a postgraduate course?
Try to learn interdisciplinary skills. Since many projects require different abilities, you can fit into different positions and help in several projects.
What is one piece of advice that you would give to a person who is soon starting their postgraduate study or research at Queen Mary?
Explore the facilities. There are a lot of spaces that could help your research, library, Students’ Union, makerspace, etc.
Be an early bird. Given the limited access to buildings and labs, try to be early when there are not many people around and perform your duties without interruption.
Thank you to Daniel for taking part in this series, your answers were fascinating and will help many fellow (or soon-to-be) postgraduates!