Profile
Adam Steinberg
-
About Me:
I’m currently working on a PhD in particle accelerator science, on a joint programme between Manchester and Melbourne universities. If I’m not tinkering at work or cooking at home, you can probably find me out in town searching for the perfect brunch.
-
Read more
At the moment I’m living in Melbourne, so watch out if any of my responses come out upside down!
As I’m approaching the final stages of my PhD, most of my time these days is spent somewhere between our office and our lab, in the Physics department at the University of Melbourne: I’m very lucky because we have our own particle accelerator to play around with.
-
My pronouns are:
He/Him
-
My Work:
I design particle accelerators for cancer therapy: we’re exploring new technologies that could make treatment more efficient and effective.
-
Read more
Particle accelerators are all around us in the world, with a diverse range of applications ranging from security scanners to fundamental physics. My research focuses on their medical use, where a beam of charged particles is shot at a tumour as part of cancer treatment.
-
My Typical Day:
I normally try to get to work at about 9, depending on whether I take the tram or walk. After checking emails and doing the usual admin stuff, I usually set up some simulations to run during the day. Sometimes, if we’re running an experiment, I head down to the basement to get things going with our particle accelerator (where I stay most of the day). But most days I stay at my desk – apart from for lunch and coffee breaks – until around 6, when I head back home to chill for the evening.
-
What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d hope to take a course on animation and graphics to enable the design of accessible resources on particle accelerator science: there’s so much cool stuff to show, but visualisations are vital, and there currently isn’t much available!
Any leftover funds would go towards hosting and promoting these resources.
-
Education:
My secondary school was Yavneh College in Borehamwood, from the start of Year 7 right up to the end of Sixth Form. After that, I went to Oxford (at Corpus Christi) to study Physics in a four year long integrated masters (MPhys) course. These days, I’m working on my PhD in Particle Accelerator Science, on a joint scheme between the Universities of Manchester (UK) and Melbourne (Australia).
-
Qualifications:
GCSEs: 9 A*’s and 2 A’s, (including History, Chemistry, Physics, and Latin)
AS-Levels: 2 A’s Additional Further Maths, Latin
A-Levels: 4 A*’s (Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry)
University: 1St Class Masters of Physics (MPhys)
-
My Interview
-
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
accelerates tiny particles
What did you want to be after you left school?
Even before leaving school, I was pretty sure I wanted to be a physicist (even though I had no idea what that really meant!)
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I never got into much trouble at school: I saved that for university!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I'd love to work as a full-time science communicator, spending all day thinking about how best to explain the amazing discoveries taking place in labs all over the world
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Been listening to a lot of Hans Zimmer's stuff lately
What's your favourite food?
Whatever is in front of me
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
More time in the day | Improved cooking skills | Better at telling jokes
Tell us a joke.
What's the difference between a grape and a gorilla? One's a grape, and the other is a gorilla!
-