Sarah Flannery - Student Cryptographer Mathematician

Sarah Flannery achieved global recognition at the age of 16 after winning the Young Scientist of the Year 1999 for her research into the Cayley-Purser Algorithm. Her winning project, which outlined a faster, more efficient and secure encryption formula than existing systems, resulted in massive media coverage worldwide, job offers, approaches from industry and the chance to represent Ireland in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists 1999.

However, shortly before the European competition took place, a flaw was discovered in the formula and, despite weeks of work, a solution could not be found. Submitting the project complete with documentation of the flaw,
led to an award which Sarah considers to be her most outstanding and prized achievement so far. “By then we had discovered that the algorithm wasn’t as good as we hoped it would be. I was disheartened going in, but still came out with a first prize. That award was most important and put the faith back in it for me. I knew then that it was about the science, and not the publicity”.

Destined for a career in science

Sarah comes from Co.Cork where both her parents lecture in science – her mother in microbiology, and her father in mathematics. Through them, and hearing about their student’s career destinations, Sarah became aware of the many opportunities in science. “I have grown up with, and have a personality that suits science – I have always seen it as really interesting. My parents encouraged my interest and I got to see a lot of fascinating places where people do research.”

She took physics, chemistry, maths and applied maths for her leaving certificate, along with English, German and Accounting – subjects which she also loves. Sarah did some work experience with Baltimore Technologies in 1998, which helped her focus on a project for the Young Scientist.

Benefits of being named Young Scientist ‘99

“The Young Scientist competition is a brilliant idea. There is the perception that it is ‘geeky’, but when you get there there’s a huge buzz of excitement with everyone talking about what they’ve been working on for the last couple of months – it’s very interesting to see the projects that people have been working on.”

Since her win she has been invited to give formal lectures in many places around the world, including New Zealand and Singapore (as a guest of their governments), Milan for IBM’s first EMEA Women’s Leadership Conference, London for the Royal Geographic Society ‘Last Word Lecture’ and the USA in MIT and Stanford University.

Many lectures and a bestselling book ‘In Code – A Mathematical Journey’ later, it’s the fundamental research and puzzle solving which she still enjoys most. “My favourite part of the work is just getting on with projects. There are no real disadvantages to the work – problems, and solving them, are all part of the fun and what it is all about.”

Computers at Cambridge

She is currently studying Computer Science in Peterhouse, Cambridge University in England where she has just completed the first year. “There are lots of areas where much work will be done in the coming years, such as in quantum computing. I hope to work in research but still haven’t decided exactly what area. I really like cryptography but am open to finding something else in the course that interests me. There’s still so much to find out about and I’m only just starting. I’m coming across new things everyday as I learn about the area.”

Looking to the future

Apart from openings in academia, there are plenty of big companies willing to sponsor researchers in industry, something that Sarah plans to take advantage of once she leaves college.

No matter what lies in future, choosing a career in science has already had a hugely positive impact on Sarah’s life. “Look at all the opportunities that have opened up for me – I’ve got to travel the world, meet amazing people – like cryptography figureheads Ronald Rivest and Whitfield Diffey, and I’ve enjoyed every moment. I can now get on with enjoying college and the course work, with the knowledge that there are plenty of good job opportunities out there for when I leave.”

Cliodhna McGuirk, SMS technologist

Degree

Pure and Applied Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin.

Career snapshot

Cliodhna McGuirk, Chief Technology Officer at Saadian Technologies, is an SMS trailblazer. If you’ve ever sent a text to a radio station, entered an SMS competition or received the latest sports news by text, then it’s possible that her technology made it happen. From Swords, County Dublin, Cliodhna’s interest in technology began when she studied maths in university. On graduation, she got a job in AIB and developed an interest in Internet security and programming. Her next job was with Nua – considered worldwide to be an Internet pioneer – where she worked on projects developing Internet solutions for Irish and International companies. In 1999, she co-founded Saadian Technologies, which has become one of the leading Irish Mobile Middleware and SMS companies in Ireland and beyond.

What’s so brilliant about your job?

“There is a definite buzz about working in an industry where the technology is moving so fast. I’ve always had an interest in problem solving. I enjoy talking to clients, finding out their needs and then coming back with a technical solution to solve their problems.”
“It can be a very creative process and very rewarding when you see how your software has made an impact on the company.”

How do you spend typical day?

“There are always several projects on the go. As CTO I’m involved, in some way, in every project. That could mean that in the morning I’m working with a client like Today FM, on SMS listener voting. Then in the afternoon I could be programming a new product to be used by the Government for the EU Presidency. I get to do a lot of different things. As a growing company we never say ‘no’ so it’s always busy.”

Are you computer nerd?

“No. But none of my friends are into computers. I’ve never ended up programming in a corner. It’s always been about using technology to fix problems and being able to come at things laterally, My maths definitely helped me develop those skills.”

Did science give you a buzz at school?

“I was always interested in mathematics and physics. I did applied maths as an extra subject because my school didn’t offer it for the Leaving. I really got interested after the Junior Cert. I was selected to compete in the Mathematics Olympiad, which is an international competition and involves extra training on Saturdays. It gave me a taste for doing maths at university level.”

What has been the highlight of your career to date?

“I won the Irish Internet Association Innovation Award in 2002. I was really happy because people working in the Irish Internet industry voted for me. It was great that our hard work was recognised by our peers.”

Want to find out more?

Find out more about Cliodhna’s company, Saadian Technologies

Read about why she was chosen as an Internet innovator on the Irish Internet Association website.

Discover more about studying maths at Trinity College

Dr John B Cosgrave - Mathematician

Career snapshot

Dr John Cosgrave teaches mathematics at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin. He specialises in number theory and has made a series of discoveries, including in the year 2000 a new prime number of 2,000 digits, his millennium prime, and on 10 October 2003 a new record composite Fermat number.

Degrees

• Mathematics degree (1968)
• Doctorate in number theory (1972), Royal Holloway College of London University

Where did you grow up and go to school?

“I am from Bailieboro, Co Cavan, where my father – an outstanding teacher – taught me for my last three years at national school . Besides the standard school work he introduced us to three Shakespeare plays, simultaneous equations, Latin, French and more.”

“I went to three secondary schools: Gormanston in Co Meath (I ran away three times, and eventually my father realised I didn’t like it there); St Mary’s Marist school in Dundalk; then the Salesian school in Oxford.”

When did you decide to make a career in mathematics, and when did you specialise in number theory?

“I never thought of myself as wanting to ‘have a career’. I simply wanted to be able to do mathematics. I always wanted to do number theory from the moment I first encountered it at school in Oxford.”

What is number theory?

“Number theory is just that: it’s about numbers. Like all mathematics it’s about trying to answer certain questions, such as how many prime numbers are there? There are, in fact, an infinite number of them, but how does one know that?”

How did it feel to discover a new record composite Fermat number in October 2003?

“The recent one (which broke a record previously established in February 2003, which in turn broke a record established in July 1999) came as quite a shock; it was so unexpected. Of course I was overjoyed, but the shock element was greater.”

What’s the best thing about your job?

“Being paid for doing what I love.”

How do you spend typical day?

“Putting off to tomorrow what should have been done yesterday.”

Did mathematics give you a buzz at school?

“Most definitely so. When I first heard of ‘geometry’ at secondary school I was totally bored with the whole thing, while at the same time being able to regurgitate stuff in exams. Then, one evening, at the start of my second year at Dundalk – through my own independent reading and thinking – I quite suddenly fell head-over-heels in love with ‘geometry’. There was no turning back; I was hooked.”

What has been the highlight of your career to date?

“Some rather than one. They include:

• Tim and Mair

Despite their arcane name, quaternions are actually quite simple. They are generalisations or extensions of the ordinary decimal numbers such as 17.3 or 3.1415 which we encounter every day.

Quaternions consist of four of these regular numbers bundled together in a particular way into a composite number, a kind of super-number, which gives them special properties. Hamilton took the name “quaternion” from the Bible, where it refers to a squad of four Roman soldiers.

Other contributions

While quaternions are the most widely known of Hamilton’s contributions to science, they are by no means his only contribution, nor are they his most important.

Hamilton also did extremely innovative work in the mathematical modelling of light propagation through crystals and predicted a new phenomenon, known as conic refraction, entirely on the basis of his theoretical model. This phenomenon caused a sensation in scientific circles when it was subsequently verified experimentally.

However, Hamilton’s greatest legacies are the important advances he made in the field of theoretical physics known as mechanics, which deals with the motion of objects under the influence of forces such as gravity.

Powerful

Although Newton’s Laws of Motion were known for 200 years, Hamilton developed a new approach to mechanics which, although equivalent to Newton’s Laws, is far more powerful. This approach is central to applications as diverse as navigating space probes through the solar system to designing drugs.

Hamilton’s work in mechanics took on even greater significance in the early part of the 20th century when it turned out to be critical to the development of quantum mechanics (QM). This is one of the twin pillars of our understanding of the physics of our universe (the other being Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity)

QM led directly to such technological breakthroughs as lasers and computer chips. QM also underpins emerging technologies such as nanotechnology.

Delving deeper

[This section provides a more detailed explanation of quaternions. It should be accessible to Leaving Certificate students or those with some familiarity with imaginary and complex numbers.]

The real or decimal numbers that we use on a daily basis, such as 3.1415, have their roots in India in the 6th century. However, they only entered mainstream use in Europe much later, in the 16th century. Complex numbers also emerged in the 16th century, as an extension to the real numbers.

The basic idea of complex numbers is to form a compound number consisting of an ordered pair of two real numbers such as (14, 3) or (13.5, 3.1). This is usually written as 13.5 + i 3.1 where i denotes the square root of -1.

Two of these complex numbers can be added in the obvious way to produce a third complex number:

(a + ib) + (c + id ) = (a + c) + i ( b + d ) .

However, the clever bit is the rule for multiplying them which involves cross-over between the first and second elements. The result of multiplying two complex numbers is determined by the rule

i2 = -1

and lead to

(a + ib )

Boole was born in Lincoln in England in 1815 and he was a very bright child. He became a teacher when he was still in his teens and when he was 20 he opened his own school. At 34, he came to Ireland to become the first professor of mathematics at Queen’s College, Cork (now University College Cork) and he remained in this job until his death.

Boole believed that logic was more closely related to algebra than to philosophy, as was traditionally thought. He expressed this idea in a number of essays in the mid-19th century, culminating in “An Investigation into the Laws of Thought, on Which Are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities”.

George Boole, considered the father of computer science

Symbols

Boole noticed the similarity between the symbols used in algebra, like x and +, and those used in logical statements, like AND and OR.

Boole’s great achievement was his use of algebra to express logical propositions. Here is an example of that process, using Boole’s idea that the symbols of algebra and those of logical statements are interchangeable.

Take the following two statements:

A is all new cars
B is all red cars

Then combine them, using x instead of AND, and + instead of OR.

So, A+B is all cars that are either new OR red, and AB (or A times B) is all cars that are both new AND red.

Computers

Boolean algebra can describe many functions other than the two (AND and OR) used in this example. Most importantly, it still works when the variable in a statement is not a quantity, as in normal algebra, but a true or false statement.

As you may well know, computers use the base-two or “binary” number system. This means that at their most basic level they use only two values, zero and one.

To put it differently, everything a computer does boils down to a simple true or false decision. A computer’s circuitry then builds everything else on the basis of these values. Another way of looking at it is that a circuit is either on (one) or off (zero).

Search engines

When you search for something on the Internet using a search engine, you can use Boolean operators to narrow your search. These are things like AND and OR (as in the example above), and also NOT.

Search engines use Boole’s methods of expressing logical propositions to help you find information on the Web. You can test this out:

First search for “Boole” on a search engine and check the number of results
Then search for “Boole AND Cork” to get pages that mention both
Use “Boole NOT algebra” to find pages that mention him but not his work
So, learning more about George Boole is one practical way to make use of his algebra.

Learn More:

Learn more about Boole’s life and work

William Reville’s essay on George Boole

Find out more about Boolean Logic

Karl Stanley - Software Engineer

I have been interested in computers since I was a child. When I was 13, I got a job delivering leaflets so I could buy a Sinclair Spectrum (an ancient home computer that would load programs from a cassette tape).

I learned some of the basics of programming on it, and have been playing with computers ever since.

For my Leaving Cert my favourite subjects were maths, applied maths, music, physics and chemistry. I went to TCD to study maths and philosophy but switched to pure maths after first year.

At the time, the maths department in TCD was a good place to be if you had an interest in computers, as there were lots of courses in mathematical computing and it was possible to take some courses from the Computer Science department.

The School of Mathematics also hosted the very first website in Ireland, so there was lots to learn if you were interested. As part of a course in machine vision and computer graphics, we were taken on a site visit to Machine Vision Technology (MVT) in Dublin.

It seemed like a really interesting place to work, so after my degree I went to work there for the summer before taking up a place to do a PhD in high performance computing.

At the end of the summer, MVT decided they wanted me to stay and I decided I preferred industry to academia, so I turned down my PhD position and took a job there.

As part of the deal they agreed to fund me in a part-time MSc researching colour vision algorithms. After three years in MVT, an opportunity arose to join a new startup called Xsil. As the team at Xsil grew, I became a team leader heading up the vision team.

After another three years or so, I decided to try something completely different and went back to college to study jazz guitar at Newpark Music Centre. While I was studying, I supported myself by teaching guitar and doing the occasional software contract.

During this time I learned more about the Web and started getting freelance work building websites. After I got married I decided to quit teaching music and go back to software engineering full time.

I spent 18 months working for a web startup called Ammado and then moved to ticket-text (www.ticket-text.com) where I am happily hacking away.

Who has most influenced your career direction?

My parents had very little influence in my choice of career – I think they were quite happy for me to trust my own judgment!

I went to Mount Temple School in Clontarf where my best friend was a fellow computer nerd.

He was a year ahead of me and studied theoretical physics in TCD. This is what gave me the idea to go to Trinity to study something in that general area.

We spent a fair bit of time trying to program computer games and were allowed use the school computers (such as they were at the time) outside of class time. At the time I never thought I would end up programming computers for a living, though with hindsight it seems inevitable.

Some of my schoolteachers also had a strong influence on my college choices and subsequent career development.

The chief technical officer of MVT was my first professional mentor. I think it was very important for me to have someone with decades of experience guiding me in the first few years of my career.

It took a long time to get it into my head, but his advice to “keep it simple” has proven to be the right course time and again.

Does your job allow you to have a lifestyle you are happy with?

From a lifestyle perspective, being a software engineer suits me. The hours can be long sometimes, but mostly it’s quite predictable which is important if you have a young family. It also pays reasonably well, which means I can afford to live close to where I work.

This is a very important quality of life issue for me: I cycle for 15-20 minutes to get to work, which means I have more leisure time. Ticket-text trusts me to make my own hours (within reason). Because I have a small baby, it suits me to go into work a little late and work slightly later.

I can also work from home now and then. We have an office in London so I get to travel over there occasionally which is good, especially if there is a gig on that I can’t catch in Dublin.

As software careers go, mine has been slightly left-field. I deliberately avoided working for banks / insurance firms / consultancy houses and have always chosen to work for small startups, some of which have grown substantially.

While this doesn’t offer all the security or financial reward of working for larger companies, it is made up for in having a more relaxed corporate culture and the chance to make a big contribution to a project. It’s also really exciting to be part of a growing team that is taking on the world and winning!

Describe a typical day

Work starts around 9.30. I check my email and try to get my correspondence out of the way in the first hour or so. My job mostly entails writing Python and JavaScript.

I typically spend some of the morning writing automated tests for the code I am about to write. I then spend the rest of the day trying to get the code I’m working on to pass the tests I have written.

I make sure I spend up to an hour every day reading articles on technology (usually blogs and mailing lists) to keep up with new developments. This is important, as software is a constantly changing field and web development in particular changes all the time.

Every few weeks the software team presents its work to date to the rest of the company in a “show and tell” session. This takes a couple of hours and involves demonstrating new features and then having a discussion to see what can be improved.

This makes sure the work we are doing is well aligned with the needs of our business. The working day usually finishes for me around 6.30pm.

What are your main tasks and responsibilities?

My main task is to write software that makes running the business simpler and more efficient. The purpose of technology is to automate the things that people are bad at, so they can spend more time doing things they are good at.

People are not so good at repetitive tasks involving attention to detail. Computers are great at this sort of work. For instance, in our business the operations team need to enter the details for lots of live performances, set up ticket pricing structures, upload media to the website etc.

This is quite error prone and tedious to do by hand, so the technology team helps by writing tools that take care of the details automatically. This allows the operations team to devote more of their time to developing relationships with promoters and venue owners, which adds value to the business.

What’s cool?

I don’t have to wear a suit, which is nice. We have an informal but focused culture – in many ways it feels more like being on a sports team than in a business in that everyone has different but equally important roles to play.

We are also quite democratic – everyone from the CEO to the receptionist gets a say in how things should be run (although of course the CEO gets the final word!).

As a music fan I really enjoy working in this industry. The way things are going, the recorded music industry is on the wane and the live music experience is becoming more prominent, so it’s great to be part of that. I can also get tickets to shows that might otherwise be sold out :)

What’s not so cool?

The complete lack of physical activity in work is something I’m not crazy about. The job is sedentary, which means I have to make more of an effort to get exercise outside work.

The hours can feel a bit long at times. Other than that I’m very happy in my current job!

What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?

I have been a software engineer for over a decade now and have worked in several industries, so I have quite wide experience. This is useful in a new company where there is a “blank slate”, as I can make recommendations as to which technologies are the best fit for a given problem.

I have technical skills in programming, web technologies, database schema design and a bit of Unix systems administration. Over the years I’ve programmed in C, C++, C#, Perl, PHP, Python and JavaScript. Just through putting in the hours I have a solid feel for how software problems should be approached.

What aspects of your education have proven most important for your job?

I haven’t taken any courses that are ‘directly’ relevant to my current job. However, as part of my maths degree I took courses in numerical analysis (i.e. computer programming as a tool for solving mathematical problems), operating systems design, computer graphics and machine vision.

All these courses involved lots of practical programming assignments which gave me some real-world software engineering experience.

What have been the most rewarding events in your career so far?

One of the most satisfying events happened very early in my career. I wrote some mathematical software to enable the MVT (Machine Vision Technology) inspection machines to process a circuit board approximately 10% faster than before, which was a big win for the company. That code still runs on over 1,000 machines worldwide a decade later. That gives me a little glow of pride.

I worked in Xsil for three years, in which time it went from 12 to 120 employees. When the firm started, we hadn’t yet designed or built the laser processing equipment that we went on to sell.

It was very exciting to be part of a small team building a product that competed on an international level and won.

What personal qualities do you have that helps you in your career?

I am quite good at strategic thinking, i.e. asking “is this what we should be doing now?” and coming up with ways of working to try to get the best results in the long term. I don’t know if this is something I was taught or just the way I think.

I know I’m unlikely to accept things at face value and am inclined to think things through before committing to a course of action. I am told I am pretty easy to get on with, which is important during times of stress.

In a small company it’s a bit like being on a submarine in that you’re with the same people in a constrained environment all the time, so it helps if you can all get along.

What are the three most important personal characteristics required for the job?

• Intellectual curiosity – wanting to know how things work is a big plus
• A certain kind of laziness – good software is all about finding things that are tedious and getting the computer to do them for you
• Patience – you’re going to be asked to do the impossible. Or you’re going to be asked to do something that’s hugely important, only to be told it’s no longer a priority once you’re finished. Don’t let it get to you!

What kinds of work experience would provide a good background for this position?

If you can get an internship with a software house, that is great work experience. The best way to learn to write software is to write software!

I spent the summer between second and third year in college as an intern in Broadcom, which at the time wrote research-level networking software. It was a great introduction to what my job would ultimately be like and it gave me some real experience I could talk about during interviews.

Some of the things that are different between programming in college and doing it for a living are the collaborative aspects, being part of a team, asking and answering questions.

An internship is a good way to get exposure to these things. When it came to getting my first job, having that practical experience (and a good reference) definitely gave me an edge over the other candidates.

Paudie Scanlon - studying for a PhD in Applied Physics

What were the main ‘career decision’ milestones in your life so far?

I’ve always been interested in figuring out how things work, so I took physics and engineering in the Leaving Cert, and tech graphics as I had thought that I wanted to do some kind of engineering.

This helped me a great deal when I eventually decided to do applied physics in college. As I progressed through college, I realised the best way to keep learning was to go on to do postgrad study.

Who are the people who most influenced your career direction?

The first person to point me in the direction of physics was my secondary school teacher. A lot of the syllabus is very fundamental stuff and can be quite boring, but he showed that once we had a good grounding in that we could progress on to the fun stuff.

The fact that we did the new syllabus helped as well, as it gives good practical examples of how the theory you just learned can be applied.

My dad went back to college and got his degree and started doing research while I was in college, so he was a big influence as well.

Describe a typical day

There is a good bit of variety in the way I work. An average day would entail some reading on the area that I’m working on and then I’ll spend some time programming.

I also get to do some outreach activities, which is where we go to a school to give a talk, or judge a science fair. There is at least one talk every week in Tyndall, so I get to go to those as well.

My great passion is surf photography and this is very dependent on day-to-day changes in the weather and tides, so the flexibility in my work allows me to pursue my hobby.

What are the main challenges?

Grasping the new ideas and theories in the area I’m working in is quite challenging, but it’s why I’m doing research – to learn new things.

Because I’m working in the quantum area, this can prove pretty difficult as a lot of the theories are very different from the world that we are used to.

What’s “cool” about your work?

The rush you get when you get the result you were looking for, when your program finally works and the joy of learning new things. I’ll often come home to my girlfriend and just jabber away about what I found out that day.

Luckily she is doing a PhD in Chemistry and is able to understand most of what I’m saying even if sometimes I don’t myself. But it usually makes sense inside my head.

What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?

Being motivated is a bonus in any job you do. There isn’t always going to be someone looking over your shoulder (which is a good and bad thing) telling you what to do, so you need to be driven enough to keep working. Obviously to be a good scientist you need to be open to new ideas and willing to disregard what you thought you knew.]

What is your education to date?

St Caimin’s Secondary School, Shannon. I didn’t do Transition Year, but I probably should have because going into your Leaving a year older is almost definitely a bonus.

I did applied physics for four years in the University of Limerick and the most relevant subject was the optics module in the final semester. The further you progress in an area, the more interesting it becomes.

I realised I was more suited to theoretical work in college, as I always found the math modules very appealing – particularly the Fluid Mechanics module I took in final year. My final year project was on Quantum Tunnelling and is actually pretty relevant to do work I’m doing now.

After my degree, I did a one-year Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship. While this reinforced my belief that science is both more challenging and enjoyable than business, I did benefit from the course, particularly in relation to my presentation skills.

I also realised the importance of networking, which sounds corny but is actually very important.

What personal qualities do you have that helps you in your career?

A willingness to learn more – I think this is really important so that you don’t get lazy in what you do.

I’m pretty extroverted – I like knowing a lot of people and as a result I have no problem going up and talking to new people. This really helps with networking and getting to know new people in your own workplace and meeting possible collaborators.

What advice would you give to someone considering this job?

Make sure you look into the area that you will be researching. You don’t want to spend three to four years working in an area you’re only vaguely interested in. Don’t be afraid to be yourself.

What are the most important personal characteristics required for the job?

Persistence and curiosity

What kind of work experience would provide a good background for this position?

Summer placements in big research centres are ideal for finding out about these types of research jobs.

Claire Raftery - studying for a PhD in Solar Astrophysics

What were the main ‘career decision’ milestones in your life so far?

My decision to take applied maths in secondary school was an important one. Not only did it set me up to choose a career in physics, but as the only girl in the class, it showed me that gender does not matter in this field.

Choosing to study astrophysics at the end of my second year in university was the other major milestone. I decided to follow this path because it was an interesting way of applying everyday science in an extraordinary way.

I can remember making the decision – I was outside the planetarium in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC and decided that this was a really interesting take on “regular” physics!

By taking physics with astrophysics, I was allowing myself the freedom to follow a career in either subject.

Who are the people who most influenced your career direction?

My parents gave me the freedom to follow whatever path I chose. They never put any pressure on me to go in any particular direction but encouraged and supported me in any decision I made.

My maths/physics/applied maths teacher – Mr Phil Stack – had a large impact on my decision. He taught these three subjects during my Leaving Cert years.

The continuity between the three courses made me realise the importance of not isolating one subject and the importance of studying the big picture. This is something I have carried with me right the way through university.

What are the main challenges in your job?

The main challenge is combining many different aspects of physics (atomic physics, hydrodynamics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics etc) in a coherent manner in order to explain the phenomenon I am studying.

Other daily challenges include keeping up with the literature, debugging code and understanding the technicalities of instrumental effects. I struggle with time management.

There are many different aspects of this job – data analysis, paper writing, paper reading, proposal writing. They all need to be done and it is easy to get stuck on one or two and ignore the others.

What’s cool?

I get to study the Sun! I think that is very cool. The ball of plasma that we take for granted is, in fact, a highly variable and dynamic system and the fact that we can see the different phenomena at work (solar flares, CMEs, auroral activity) is fascinating.

To see the EUV (extreme ultraviolet) Sun for the first time will take your breath away. The other obvious cool aspect to my work is that I get to work at NASA for about four months of the year. This means spending time in Washington DC working with the experts in my field of research.

What’s not so cool?

Writing scientific journal articles. I was never very good at languages in school and was not really aware of the importance of paper writing when I decided to follow this path. But in this society it is “publish or perish”.

What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?

I am a good team player. It is important to be able to share problems and solutions with others in the group, in order to progress in your work. It is very difficult to succeed on your own with no guidance or advice.

At the same time, it is vital to be able to work through problems on your own. At the end of the day, you are the one that will need to understand every aspect of your work.

I am good at networking and at selling myself and my work to others in order to progress in the field. Lastly, I am good at interpreting physics.

In this field, all you have to work with is what observations can show you. It is my job to take the observations and combine them with theory to try to explain “why” we are seeing what we see.

What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

English, Irish, French, maths, geography, music, physics and applied maths. Maths, applied maths and physics were the three subjects that set me up for my career.

I also took two years of chemistry in university that helped me to better understand the atomic physics I am currently employing.

What is your education to date?

I have my Leaving Certificate, a Bachelor of Arts Moderatorship degree in natural sciences – Physics with astrophysics from Trinity College Dublin.

I am currently working towards a diploma in statistics (not necessary, just useful) and a PhD in Solar Astrophysics.

What has been the most rewarding event in your career so far?

Receiving the Catherine Macaulay Award for leadership in my final year of secondary school.

What personal qualities do you have that helps you in your career?

I am highly motivated and I do not like to be idle. I like to push myself to the limit and to prove that I can achieve. I am patient and punctual and though I can be scattered, I am generally quite organized when it comes to work.

What is your dream job?

I would love to be an astronaut. That really is physics at work!

What advice would you give to someone considering this job?

Stick with it. It is a bumpy ride but everyone has their good and bad days and in the end, the pay-off is worth it. To actually get the job, make sure you work hard (you do not need to be number one in the class or have straight As – though they do help).

To ‘fit’ this job, you have to be good at working in a team and on your own. You need to be able to talk about your work with others and then put your head down and work out problems by yourself.

The goal of this job is to become an expert in your chosen field and the only way to do that is by failing and trying again, so patience is very important.

What are the three most important personal characteristics required for the job?

Patience, determination and a desire to look beyond the obvious.

What kinds of work experience would provide a good background for this position?

Anything involving computers. Research experience in a lab.

Prof Martyn Premble

What were the main career decision milestones in your life so far?

My choice of subjects in secondary school was an important milestone.

Who most influenced your career direction?

My school science teacher was a big influence. Later on, my peers at university and my partner and family also had an important influence on the direction of my career.

Does your job allow you to have a lifestyle you are happy with?

Yes – I am pretty much my own boss now. I can choose when and where I work. I can spend plenty of time with my family, and there are also plenty of opportunities available for advancement and to diversify my interests.

Describe a typical day

I get to work early to avoid traffic. I find the time between 8am and 10am very productive as I can get on with anything that needs doing. My day involves working alone, discussions with my research group, giving lectures and tutorials, attending meetings and generally overseeing the various research grants and contracts that we are currently involved in.

I tend to leave around 4.30pm – again to miss traffic and to ensure that I am home in time to sit down for dinner with my family. I often do a few more hours’ work at home. My PC is set up so that to all intents and purposes it is exactly like being at work.

What are your main tasks and responsibilities?

Teaching and supervision, obtaining funds for research, writing grant proposals, producing research material, performing administrative duties and contributing to strategic decisions.

Obtaining research funding is always a challenge, as is pushing the research along rapidly and developing new ideas and concepts.

What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?

I am very creative and have lots of ideas. I am able to motivate people very effectively. I am regarded as an expert in certain fields.

What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

English, maths, chemistry, physics, French, geography, computer science, human biology, technical drawing.

Although I did not do particularly well at Ordinary level, I had decided to study chemistry at university and thus needed maths, physics and chemistry at Advanced Level to get a place.

With hindsight, I would probably do the same all over again.

What is your education to date?

Grammar school – the subjects noted above for ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels
University of Southampton – BSc honours chemistry
University of Southampton – PhD chemistry
University of California at Irvine, and University of East Anglia – postdoctoral training

What have been the most rewarding events in your career so far?

Achieving the post of Chair (Professor) of Physical Chemistry at the University of Salford, and winning substantial funding from Science Foundation Ireland.

What personal qualities do you have that help you in your career?

I am optimistic, diplomatic, intelligent, and easy going.

What is your dream job?

Space scientist on a space station.

What advice would you give to someone considering this job?

If you enjoy the sciences, then study them further. It is likely that you will do well at subjects you enjoy. Getting good grades at an early stage does not force you into a career path, but it does help to keep more options open.

What are the three most important personal characteristics required for the job?

You must like what you do – it is not just a 9 to 5 job and often requires much more. You must persevere – aim high and be confident in your own abilities.

You must be flexible – while having specific aims and objectives is a good thing, very often there are many ways by which some or all of these may be achieved. Consider all the options.

What kinds of work experience would provide a good background for this position?

A summer internship/work experience in a university science department or in a research centre like the Tyndall Institute would give you a good grounding.

Dr Robert Osburn - Lecturer in Maths

How did you go about getting your current job?

I saw the ad and decided to apply. The first time I visited Ireland [Robert is originally from Louisiana in the US] was for the interview. I enjoyed Dublin and found the people at UCD to be very helpful.

What have been the main “career decision” milestones in your life so far?

The first was taking an undergraduate course in differential equations. It was a tough, rigorous course, given by an enthusiastic professor who wanted the students to understand the material at a deeper level. A bit of success encouraged me to take other math courses.

The second was passing my written PhD examinations in graduate school. They consisted of two four-hour exams covering all of the content from our first year.

They were not fun. After passing, I felt more confident in my abilities and decided to continue.

I was also fortunate to visit Germany on a one-year research visit. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and work intensely on research projects.

Lastly, I would say deciding to move to a new country to live and work. I was very interested in helping to create the first Number Theory research group in Ireland.

Does your job allow you to have a lifestyle you are happy with?

Yes, definitely. The combination of flexible hours, working with international colleagues (and thus travelling), and the ability to enjoy life outside work is fantastic.

What are the main tasks and responsibilities?

Lecturing to a wide range of students, from first years to graduates. I try to encourage questions not only during the lecture, but afterwards too. Also, making progress on existing research projects and coming up with ideas for new ones.

I also apply for research grants, co-organise a research seminar, and meet with my graduate student and postdoc on a regular basis. I am also responsible for some administrative duties.

What are the main challenges?

Concerning lecturing, it is a challenge to convey mathematical ideas in a clear, precise, and enthusiastic manner. The students are quite good and definitely ask questions that make me think.

Concerning research, it is a challenge for me to digest recent mathematical developments and work on new projects. This is part of the excitement.

What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

Originally, I majored in chemical engineering until I realised that I didn’t like (and wasn’t good at) either chemistry or engineering, I found that I was much more interested in why the formulas were true. Where did they come from?

Courses in differential equations and abstract algebra as an undergraduate and number theory (from my PhD advisor) as a graduate student helped me to think in terms of examples in an effort to see the bigger, more abstract picture.

What is your education to date?

PhD in Mathematics in 2001 from Louisiana State University
Postdoctoral positions in Canada (three years) and Germany (one year)
I started at UCD in September 2005
I was fortunate to visit the Institut des Hautes