Daisy
Daisy Shearer is a current Ph.D. Candidate in experimental quantum physics at the University of Surrey. Along with her busy academic schedule, she runs her Instagram page @notesfromthephysicslab where she blogs about her life as a physics Ph.D. student and as an autistic person in academia and STEM.
In high school, Daisy was in the orchestra, wind band and she did a lot of dance outside of school as well as being in a jazz band towards the end of high school. She says that the most important classes that she took in high school that help her now where all of the sciences and maths. Shearer’s favorite classes in high school were art and physics. Daisy says that throughout High School “Don’t be afraid to pursue a passion even if you think you aren’t smart enough.”
In college, Daisy majored in Physics for her Bachelors and her Masters degrees. She interned as a Research and Development Intern at the Centre for Integrated Photonics. She says that the most important classes she took were All of the quantum technology related modules she took. Daisy’s favorite classes included ‘Light Lab’, ‘Semiconductor Physics and Technology’, and ‘Quantum magnetism and superconductivity’. The class that was the toughest for her was Advances in Nanophotonics (one of her modules in master’s year) One tip she’d like to give to current college students is to “Try to approach your lecturers with questions if you can.”
Daisy is currently working on her Ph.D. in experimental quantum physics. When asked what her day usually looks like, Shearer said that “No two days are the same! It can be anything from a day sitting at my computer coding or analyzing data to a day where I’m rushing around running several experiments at once or fabricating a new device all day. Often there’s a lot of different things to work on but I try to keep a single focus per day so that I don’t waste too much energy changing tasks all the time.” Her favorite project that she has worked on is currently her Ph.D. project! “As a subsection of [her Ph.D. project], probably the experimental portion of it where I am developing fabrication techniques using focused ion beam lithography to make nanostructures called ‘quantum point contacts’ from semiconductor quantum wells. These structures should allow me to control the spin state of electrons in the materials I work with which has applications in quantum computing and metrology.” She also says that this job has helped her grow as a physicist, “It’s given me a lot more confidence in my ability as an experimental physicist as well as further developing skills such as programming for making theoretical models of my experiments.” She also says that this position makes her want to keep coming back every day because “The excitement of research and being at the forefront of a (very niche) field.” and the people she works with here also inspire her a lot, “The variety of scientists and engineers I get to work with. I’m situated in my University’s Advanced Technology Institute which includes an array of researchers from chemists to theoretical physicists to electrical engineers. Everyone has their own expertise and it comes together to help us discover new and exciting things and develop new technologies!” After she completes her Ph.D. Daisy hopes to complete her postdoc here.
In her free time, Daisy enjoys Baking, reading, gardening, drawing, and music. She is a STEM ambassador which is a UK-wide network of STEM professionals and schools for STEM outreach to young people. One of her side projects includes: ‘Neurodivergent in STEM’ — an online visibility project aiming to share the stories of a diverse range of neurodivergent people working in STEM and STEM-related fields! Daisy says that she loves her job in STEM for “So many reasons! Mostly because I find it fascinating and want to be part of the research effort towards new quantum technologies.” When asked about the difficulties and challenges she has faced in school and the workplace she said “I’m autistic so I have some communication and sensory differences that impact me in the workplace. I have to do a lot of self-advocacy as a result but I think it’s helped those I work with be more mindful of disability issues and how they can be more accessible.”
Article By: Kylie Cameron
