Charlotte is a second year PhD student in the HetSys CDT. For her undergraduate degree, she studied Chemical Physics at the University of Sheffield, she then went on to complete an MSc in Fusion Energy, and completed her Master's research project at the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxford.

Her work focusses on simulating and comparing OMEGA inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments using the radiation hydrodynamics code HYADES and radiative software Spect3D. Her research project focusses on the development of an uncertainty quantification (UQ) framework which will be applied to computational modelling for ICF, which will help to design more efficient future experiments and interpret the results of previous ones. This framework will initially be applied to the equations-of-state models used in fluid ICF simulations. This could also be further applied to other areas of uncertainty such as opacity, emissivity and thermal transport.

How did your journey into the Physical Sciences begin?

My journey at the Physical Sciences department began nearly 2 years ago when I started my PhD, as part of the HetSys CDT. I was drawn to the department based on the amazing quality of research being done, the reputation of the researchers and university, and it is fair to say it has exceeded my expectations. There is a real sense of community and collaboration in the department, and everyone is always up for an interesting discussion.

What is your favourite thing about your research?

One of my favourite things about working in the Physical Sciences department is the wide variety of research being conducted here. Doing a PhD can mean you become really specialised in such a small area of your field, so working in such a wide and diverse research environment means I hear about amazing work being done I otherwise wouldn't have heard about.

Why do you think it is important to highlight women in science? What does it mean to you?

Highlighting women working in the Physical Sciences is so important as it sends the message that 'Yes, women belong in STEM'. Growing up, I had always heard that my field, Physics, was a predominantly a man's subject and it always concerned me that I wouldn't be taken seriously if I decided to pursue it. If more women were present during the formative stages of my science education, I wouldn't have had those worries, so representation is vitally important.