This is the first film in our new series Faces of Physics, a collection of films that reveal the working lives of people in physics and its related careers. By telling the personal stories of the people involved in science and exploring the impacts of their work, this series will give a realistic picture of what it is like to work in physics. We hope to show that physics is an ordinary activity that can lead to an extraordinary variety of careers.
In this film, engineer Samantha Carter explains how her physics degree led her to a career in renewable energy. “I was really concerned by climate change and I thought that I want to work towards a solution, rather than just be the problem,” she says. “I also thought from a careers point of view that it is a field that is only going to grow as more and more people start to realize what a mess we’re in.”
Having completed a Bachelor’s degree in physics and philosophy, Carter travelled to Africa to work on an energy project in Uganda. Her team – supported by Engineers Without Borders – was hoping to create a supply line of biogas for dairy farmers who need to power refrigerators to keep their milk cool. Energized by the experience, Carter decided to pursue a career in engineering after her return to the UK – she now works as a renewables consultant in Brighton for the engineering firm Mott MacDonald.
We will be publishing more films in the Faces of Physics series throughout 2016. To find out more about the social side of physics, take a look at the March issue of Physics World, a special edition about diversity issues in physics. Find out how to access that issue in this blog post.
