INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
My research with OI has considered many different areas – from
air segregation in the data centre to environmental trade-offs
between different cooling technologies.
structural engineer in the company’s
London office. I found the transition from
learning to applying tough. I wanted to
do research, but I’m not sure I realised
this was what I wanted. I just remember
a professor telling me I shouldn’t move
straight onto a PhD, rather I should gain
some design office experience first. This
made sense, but ultimately it wasn’t for me.
It provided some great lessons, however.
Working in a mixed team of engineers
helped me to understand that working in
silos led to bad design, and that holistic
viewpoints are important. It also taught
me the importance of being in a work
environment where you feel valued and
have a voice, and where hierarchy (though
it exists) is not abused.
After designing a few buildings, I still
wanted to do research with a focus on
sustainability. I decided to take time
out. I cycled the length of America (from
Vancouver to Mexico), enjoyed being a
Nomad and came back to the UK and
worked on a tech startup while planning
my next move.
I’d experienced the design office and
now it was time for the PhD. My old
professors at Cardiff University went to
great lengths to find an appropriate PhD.
We almost received funding to look at
solar panels with some genetic algorithm
work, but a research institute in Qatar
trumped us. It was probably a lucky
outcome as my partner wasn’t keen on
the idea of moving to Cardiff, however, I
will always be sad that I didn’t get to do
more work with such amazing minds. I
figured I should remove my focus from
Cardiff and see what else was out there. I
22 Issue 18
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