BSc (Hons) (Mathematics), MSc (Physics)
CTO, MEETOPTICS
As a child I had always been interested in understanding how and why things happened in the world around me. Growing up under the clear skies of Central Otago, I loved to look at the stars and marvel at the sheer scale of the universe. As I got older I learned that physics and mathematics give us a great channel through which to understand how all those stars got there and how they work. I studied both subjects in high school and was keen to keep developing my knowledge at university, choosing Otago for its reputation for academic excellence as well as great student life.
At Otago I enjoyed the freedom to study whatever interested me, and in my first year tried Physics, Maths, Philosophy and Computer Science. I really loved pure mathematics, along with physics, and took as many courses from those programmes as I could in the following years. I was a pretty self-motivated student, so I really enjoyed the ability to go to the science library at whatever hour of the day and find books covering all the abstract topics I loved. As my studies went on, I came to know many of the Maths and Physics staff, and my knowledge really accelerated through being able to go to their offices and chat with them about what I was studying.