What is your current job or area of study? Please give a brief description of what this entails

Old Age Pensioner. I spend most of my time as an amateur astronomer. My fourth book on the subject is in press. I am also a Trustee of the Institute of Physics. The rest of my time is spent improving my Welsh. I sit on the IOP Wales committee, and volunteer at the IOP stand at the National Eisteddfod, doing outreach in Welsh.

Why did you choose your degree subject and why did you choose Warwick?

I don't think my subject was ever going to be anything else but Physics. I'm a physicist to my fingertips. Why Warwick? Because the Theory group ran by Prof Butcher looked like a good bet. 20 years later I went on to do a part-time MBA, also at Warwick.

Tell us about your favourite memory of your degree

The most satisfying part was solving certain problems in random walk theory.

How did you fill your time outside of your studies?

I was active in Nightline.

Tell us about what happened after graduation. How did you get to your current role?

I had a 40-year career in industrial research & development, mostly, but not entirely, as a mathematical modeller. I achieved Fellowship of the IOP in 2001 at age 45. The application was based on industrial problems I had solved over the years. I ran a scientific consultancy for eight years. Over the last 18 years I became interested in amateur astronomy; and worked out the orbits of solar system bodies from my own observations. My latest book is on how to photograph galaxies from light polluted skies.

What’s your proudest achievement so far?

As a physicist: being the first to work out how to calculate the strength of an adhesive bond of arbitrary geometry (with I. J. McGregor). As a person: I have a wonderful daughter, also a physics Ph.D., who now has two children of her own.

How did your time at Warwick prepare you for life after university? Did you learn any valuable skills? How were you supported?

The cliché that PhDs know more and more about less and less completely misses the point. A PhD teaches you how to solve problems. Over the years, I frequently found that people with PhDs have better industrial problem-solving skills than people without.

What are your top tips for someone considering a degree at Warwick?

First, don't waste the opportunity. Second, explore the university world and find out what you enjoy and are good at.

What’s one piece of advice you wish you would have had when starting your degree?

Ignore the naysayers (like my parents). If you have a love of Physics, go for it.