farmer turned astrophysicist

I’m Mark, a Ph.D. student at University College London (UCL). I was born in Co.Down, Northern Ireland where I spent my formative years milking cows on a dairy farm. I had initially wanted to study art at University, however my mum said no… so I then moved to Belfast to study Physics at Queens University Belfast, where I graduated with a 1st Class Hons (MSc). (see here).

Fast forward, to 2020 I moved to London to start my PhD in Astrophysics at University College London, working with Prof. Peter Doel and Prof. Richard Ellis.

My research at UCL is a unique hybrid between astronomical instrumentation and extra-galactic astronomy. I am a member of both the technical and scientific teams of 4MOST, having built the Wide Field Corrector at UCL. My research also includes being a member of the First Light group at UCL, researching the reionisation epoch through emission line spectroscopy.

I have spent a lot of my university life getting involved in outreach and extra-curricular activities, being the Northern Irish student representative for the Institute of Physics (IOP), the President of the QUB Maths and Physics society, the student rep for my year group at QUB, and being on both the Welfare and EDI committees at UCL. I am also a fellow of ORBYTS, which is programme designed for researchers to engage with pupils from under-represented groups to carry out research. I also enjoy public engagement, having giving talks for ‘Pint of Science’, along with being a part of ‘Astro on Tap’ and ‘Science Lates’ at the London Science Museum.