notesfromthephysicslab

I'm an experimental physicist with a passion for inclusive teaching and EDI in STEM.

A scientific paper with a variety of highlights and notes on it

How to read a scientific paper

When I started my PhD, I was quite intimidated by the prospect of reading scientific papers. I had read some literature during my master’s research, but for my doctorate, I felt I needed to develop a much better system for reading papers and retaining what I read. Over the last few years, I’ve honed my paper reading skills and thought I’d share my own system.

How I stay organized as a PhD student

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of planning, scheduling and journaling. It’s the main way I tackle executive dysfunctioning and has become a crucial part of my life as a scientist and researcher. Getting the balance between organization and leaving room for flexibility, which is vital for researchers, can be a challenge. I often get asked to share the details of my planning system so I thought it was about time I wrote a blog post on it!

A photo of Daisy Shearer, an experimental quantum physics researcher, in the physics laboratory. She is weating a yellow jumper and various laboratory equipment can be seen in the background.

How I became a quantum physics researcher

I often get asked how I came to be an experimental quantum physicist. The general consensus when I tell people what I do seems to be that it’s something extraordinary. I will admit that it is perhaps unusual to be an autistic woman in this field, but things are definitely changing and I hope that over time we can overcome the gatekeeping and barriers keeping minority groups from physics.

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