Category: Our Graduates

BSc(Hons 1) University of Otago, PhD Australian National University
Optical engineer, Baraja Pty Ltd

I chose to study at Otago because it was one of the top 2 universities in New Zealand with a very strong research presence. Knowing that I would likely to do a postgraduate degree in the future at the time, I wanted to study in a university with strong science research facilities and support. I also really liked the idea of having a campus that is centralised geographically, forming a strong sense of community. As I was the dux of my high school, the University of Otago Dux Scholarship was perhaps the deciding factor for me.

I have always liked science and maths from a young age. I had a very inspiring Physics teacher at high school which motivated me to learn more about the world in the sense of how things work and the mysteries of the universe, and in particular, quantum Physics, which was only taught through a Physics degree (in contrast to an engineering degree).

Bachelor of Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Energy Studies

Lead Hydrologist, Trustpower

I decided to study at Otago because of its reputation and the region appealed to me, due to the many outdoor opportunities.
Initially, I hadn’t considered Energy Studies, however, after a suggestion from my physics lecturer, I enrolled in a paper and never looked back! The small class sizes made for a nice community and we had plenty of good resources available to us.

I loved exploring Dunedin beaches, the wider Otago region and I got involved in some university sports clubs that introduced me to so many amazing people. I had only been to Dunedin once before moving there for university, so I had no idea what to expect. I remember being nervous but very excited! The staff and students were all very supportive and passionate, so I found it was an easy transition from leaving my small home town. Highlights and interesting memories of my time at Otago would be making lifelong friends and wearing beanies to bed to stay warm.

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.

Bachelor of Science (Hons 1st Class), PhD in Physics
Data Analyst, Oranga Tamariki

I grew up in Dunedin, so Otago was a natural choice of University. I decided to study physics because I have always really enjoyed maths and problem solving, and physics has heaps of interesting problems to solve. I particularly liked the topics that went to the extremes; the tiny cold world of quantum physics, the time warp of relativity and the expanse of cosmology. These areas exist so far from our everyday experience that their behaviour is completely counter-intuitive, yet beautifully clear from both theory and experiment. Theory particularly interested me as it allows you to explore these worlds without any physical limits (for example the Bose-Einstein condensate was predicted theoretically in 1924, but it wasn’t until 1995 that we had the technology to observe it experimentally). Hence why I chose theoretical quantum physics for my postgraduate studies.

During my postgraduate studies I volunteered with the Otago Optics Chapter, a student group that organises professional, social and outreach activities. I particularly enjoyed the outreach activities, which took place both across New Zealand and in Malaysia. Organising and delivering these events was not only lots of fun, but also helped me to gain other skills which complemented the academic skills I was developing in my PhD. I got to collaborate with other departments, schools and museums, and enjoyed coming up with simple ways of explaining complex concepts.

Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Physics, University of Otago, PhD Australian National University

Senior Scientist, QLM Technology Ltd

Like a number of school leavers, I wanted to move somewhere away from my hometown (Wellington) to study. Dunedin seemed like a long way away at the time, and I had heard it had pretty good University, so Otago is where I decided to spend the next few years.
And I made the right choice. I had no clearly defined expectations about university, it just seemed like the next step. However, once I got through first-year I started to really appreciate that I could choose to focus on what I was interested in and really challenge myself.

BSc(Hons First Class), PhD in Physics
Teaching Fellow, Department of Physics, Otago University

I decided to study at the University of Otago because of its great reputation, the high student numbers meant I would enjoy a unique and varied experience and it was also the closest university to home.

I initially enrolled in economics, but because I’d enjoyed physics and maths at school, Mum suggested I take a physics paper. After one paper I never looked back and became a physics major.

I had a great group of friends that also took physics, we formed our own study groups and now they are all over the world pursuing their career goals! Third year is when we really started clicking as a large group of students studying together rather than in several small groups. We started socialising outside of class and the physics BYOs kept us sane during the stressful parts of the semesters. Having any excuse to catch up with friends be it for a coffee in the middle of the day or a theme party in the evening… it was great! I also enjoyed the fantastic study spaces available (science library was like a second home for all of us).

Bachelor of Science in Energy Studies and Physics

Test Engineer, Segula Technologies

Growing up in a rural town in Northland I wanted to experience life as far away from home as possible. The student feel of North Dunedin was also appealing. These two points combined with the fact the University of Otago has a great reputation made the decision easy for me to study at Otago.

Initially I was drawn to physics because I liked the idea of understanding the underlying concepts that all other sciences are built upon. After the first year I discovered Energy Management to be a great fit for me – still learning a lot of the underlying physical concepts but with a much more practical light to it. I enjoyed the meeting of science, engineering, and social constraints. It’s fair to say that as a student, the more practical concepts came to me a lot easier than some of the higher level theory stuff we were learning in our physics courses, so if I were to continue my studies in the future it would definitely be within the energy side of things.

MSc in Physics, Designer at Buckley Systems 

“Reading about giant science projects inspired me to study physics – projects like experimental fusion reactors, neutrino detectors, and particle accelerators.”

There aren’t many of these in NZ, but Buckley Systems in Auckland designs and builds parts for particle accelerators, big and small, all over the world. After his MSc in the Quantum Optics lab at Otago, Hamish found a job at Buckley Systems, where he works on designing precision electromagnets for applications in cancer treatment, fundamental research, and silicon implantation for micro-electronics.

“The magnets I design go into state-of-the-art cancer treatment facilities, synchrotron light sources the size of my hometown Takaka, or machines used by places like Apple and Samsung to make smartphones.”

Hamish’s research at Otago was on using rare-earth-ion-doped crystals, cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero, to store pulses of laser light. Such a system would act as the memory for a ‘quantum computer’. Now Hamish is involved with research on plasma sources and particle beams at Buckley Systems when he is not designing electromagnets.

“Although my new job doesn’t involve lasers or any sort of quantum mechanics, a lot of what I learned at Otago is applicable to the physics of magnets and particle beams. More importantly, my studies taught me how to methodically solve all sorts of problems – not just in my design work or research, but in practical problems with equipment on the factory floor, and even with logistical and organisational problems in the company.”

Hamish has been surprised by the respect that people have for physicists:

“My co-workers at Buckley bring me all sorts of problems to solve, from materials that are difficult to electroplate, to figuring out the pressure drop in a cooling pipe. My physics training gave me lots of confidence and experience in problem-solving and now some of my colleagues seem to think I know everything!”

Master of Science with Distinction, Banking Analytics for ASB

Bonar Carson chose Otago because of its good reputation for science.

“I found Physics really intriguing and thought provoking – it just drew me in. I wanted to know how and why everything in the world worked and Physics was the best way to answer those questions. Physics was what worked best for me.”

Bonar followed his first class honours BSc with a master’s in space physics, investigating relativistic electron precipitation — what happens when electrons trapped in the radiation belts collide with the earth’s atmosphere.

“It was a world first project noone else had investigated on this scale, and even though we are in a remote part of the world I had regular interactions with colleagues in the USA, the UK and Europe.”

PhD in Physics, physical sciences analyst in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Adam Norrie might be a specialist in the finer points of quantum mechanics, but on any given day he could be writing reports on subjects ranging from Antarctica to aerospace.

Since graduating from Otago with his PhD, Adam has taken up a role as a physical sciences analyst in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, helping to inform policy-makers on science-related matters.

But while some of Adam’s work might look at the warming of the planet, it’s when explaining what goes on at very cool conditions that he really knows his stuff.

At Otago, Adam became part of one of the first groups in the southern hemisphere to explore the behaviour of certain kinds of atoms at very low temperatures, “as in millionths of a degree above absolute zero”. At these temperatures some atoms can come together in their millions to coalesce into a kind of super-atom known as a Bose-Einstein condensate. Adam’s research explored what happens when two of these collide.

It was meticulous work. “To get a single data set, you’d need tens of computers running for months at a time.” But in the future, the knowledge could potentially be used in quantum computing, or for very precise measurements of time or gravity, Adam explains.

And although there’s not a lot of low-temperature collisions going on in his office now, Adam says he uses skills gained during his postgraduate study daily.

“My job is to communicate complicated concepts to people who often have a minimal scientific background. Years of explaining a PhD to friends and family makes you an expert in that.”