Category Archives: Research

Marking UKRI’s scorecard

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Athene Donald

UKRI is still a relatively young organization, trying to find its way in a funding landscape that has been impacted by Brexit, a pandemic and now soaring inflation eating away at the value of every grant or PhD stipend. Nevertheless, … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science Funding | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Human Face of the Carbon Queen

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Athene Donald

In my Twitter feed, there has been much publicity about the recent biography of US physicist and electrical engineer Millie Dresselhaus, Carbon Queen, by Maia Weinstock. Dresselhaus’ lifetime of research spanned over five decades, studying many different forms of carbon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Women in Science | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

‘Pure’ versus ‘Applied’ Science

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Athene Donald

When I started this blog, more than ten years ago, I imagined I would write about physics, and specifically about physics at the interface with biology. Perhaps, I thought, I would write about exciting papers I’d read; indeed, I asked … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Interdisciplinary Science, Research | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Do you know Excellence when you see it?

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Athene Donald

Politicians toss around phrases like ‘levelling up’ and ‘build back better’, not to mention ‘freedom of speech’, with gay abandon. Such words sound so positive and authoritative, what could be the problem? As many people have pointed out, however, there … Continue reading →

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Giving Due Credit

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Athene Donald

Due Credit When I was setting out as a young PI, the standard thing to do (on acetates, once we’d moved on from 35mm slides) was to acknowledge co-workers – students or postdocs, or wider collaborators – via a simple … Continue reading →

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