Profile

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Peter Milner

Curriculum Vitae

  • Education:

    Glounthaune NS; Glanmire Community College, University College Cork

  • Qualifications:

    Bachelor's Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

  • Work History:

    I worked for a bit with a telecommunications company during college placements, but began my PhD after my undergraduate

  • Current Job:

    PhD Researcher

  • Employer:

    • About Me: My name is Peter, and I live in Cork City with my girlfriend. I spend most of my free time either rock climbing or cooking/eating. 🧗🏻 I also enjoy music and travelling! 🎼🧳

    • Read more

      Hey there! My name is Peter. I am from Cork and now live in the city with my girlfriend. My main hobby is rock climbing, I like to go to a climbing gym here in Cork, and also travel around the world to climb on real rock. Some places I have climbed are Spain, America, and most recently Mallorca.

      I also really enjoy cooking and generally eating lots of food. (One of the reasons I climb is to stay in shape from all the food I eat!) Other than that, I like to play piano, drums and listen to music.

      My background is in electronic engineering, and then I decided I wanted to do a PhD, focusing on semiconductors and lights.

    • My pronouns are

      he/him

    • My Work: I work with very small LEDs (lights) which shine ultraviolet light, and then put these LEDs into tools which doctors can use to treat people. 💡🥼

    • Read more

      As a PhD student in Tyndall National Institute, I work with LEDs which emit light in the ultraviolet range. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are one of the most common pieces of technology in our lives, we see them everywhere we look. In mobile phones, traffic lights, laptops, ceiling lights, car headlights, I could go on and on. All these LEDs emit light that you can see, but the devices that I research are emitting light that we can’t see: ultraviolet (UV) light.

      These LEDs are made by putting layers of very very very thin layers of materials together and then cutting the devices into shapes to use. My research looks at these steps and processes and trying to make a very good UV LED! After making the LED, I will try to put the LED in a small tube which can go into your body! Doctors can use this tube with UV light to look at what’s inside your body and see if everything’s ok.

    • My Typical Day: I wake up, make some nice breakfast (my favourite meal of the day), then start work. I might have work to do in a lab, or different work to do at my desk, or even some reading or writing I can do at home. After a day of work, I usually head to the climbing gym and then home for dinner.

    • What I'd do with the money: I would put the money towards educational kits that students would be able to play with and learn more about science through experimenting.

    • Read more

      I think the best way to learn is through seeing and experimenting. There are a few kits that schools can buy that students are able to play with and experiment with. These can be in areas such as light, electronics, and many others. (Obviously light is the coolest!) Through instruction booklets which tell you how to carry out the experiments, you can see how the fundamental physics work and how our world is based off of these principles.

      It’s still really important to learn the theory, but the experiments really help to make sense of the content.

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        rock-climbing photonics engineer

        What's the best thing you've done in your career?

        Learnt enough to be able to make a difference

        What or who inspired you to follow your career?

        My dad

        What was your favourite subject at school?

        Maths

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        A formula 1 engineer

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        Only a few times

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        Working on electric cars

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Thin Lizzy

        What's your favourite food?

        Crème Brûlée

        What is the most fun thing you've done?

        Rock climbed over water in Mallorca

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        Ireland having better weather, free airplane travel, a fully stocked professional kitchen

        Tell us a joke.

        My dancing

Questions answered by Peter

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