Software engineer working with a company that does materiel handling AGV systems (basically fleets of robot forklifts). Not much in the way of cutting-edge, though I do spend a lot of time thinking about the ethical implications of automation these days.
this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2023
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One of my friends who's in robotics actually was working on a project in materiel handling. I think his project was to work on a robot that was suspended overhead in a box truck (for example) that could get to the back of the truck and pick up packages and bring them to the front where they could be unloaded without shuffling everything around. Not sure if that's anything like what you do, but as someone with very little background in mechanical design his descriptions of the challenges he was trying to work through were really interesting!
I do spend a lot of time thinking about the ethical implications of automation these days.
Yeah it's definitely something that I think is on a lot of people's minds recently, although it sounds like you've got an especially direct line of sight on the topic!
I'm a postdoc, working on laser-plasma/ interactions and electron accelerators. My PhD work was on ultrafast electron diffraction.
ultrafast electron diffraction
That's pretty fascinating stuff! I know a lot about electron diffraction in general (in the context of TEM/STEM/4D-STEM), but not ultrafast. What kind of processes were you studying with that method?
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I'm a postdoctoral researcher in chemical engineering with a background in mechanical engineering. I have been working on different materials (composites, nanocomposites, conductive coatings), but I am now working on an atmospheric water harvesting material to produce water in remote locations with low energy demands.
That's fantastic! Work on preventing / ameliorating water scarcity is very important, and (unfortunately) I think it's only going to become more important going forward. That really sounds like the kind of impactful work I'd love to be involved in after I finish my PhD!
I'm a PhD in chemical engineering and work in a testing laboratory for electrical engineering insulating materials. My dissertation was using predictive modelling (some data mining and machine learning, some more classical statistical methods) to estimate material properties from spectral data. I'm trying to combine a full-day engineering job with writing more journal articles in my spare time. Currently not going well but at least I'm not lacking for data!
Haha that sounds like it must be keeping you real busy! I'm currently spending most of my days writing and it takes up so much time on its own I can't imagine trying to combine that with a full time job. More power to you!
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trained physicist with 2D materials background, turned all-round engineer with an ultrafast spectroscopy startup.
Ahh, you're the second person who's responded to this post and is working on ultrafast methods! We've also got someone in here working on ultrafast electron diffraction.
How are you liking working with a startup? I was with one for about six months as a co-op during my undergrad, and it kept me busy but was also quite a lot of fun. (The fact that I got along well with the people there helped a lot.)
I'm a Data Scientist (physics PhD) for a large enterprise company. I've been in this field for the last decade and I'm kinda bored with it. I'm not exactly sure what to do next though....
Mmm yeah, I can imagine things might get a bit stale after a decade working on similar things. What was your physics PhD in, something you'd be interested in pursuing again maybe?
My thesis covered optoelectronic measurements of nanomaterials for novel photovoltaics. Even as a kid, I wanted some sort of career researching alternative energy, but those jobs sadly don't exist.
Researching alternative sources of energy would certainly be a rewarding career. I'm a bit surprised to hear nobody's doing it, I'd think there'd be companies trying to commercialize on the pretty massive progress we've seen in PV efficiency at the lab scale. I remember in my undergrad people were really excited about roll-to-roll manufacturing for flexible organic perovskite solar cells, but come to think of it I haven't heard much about them in the last five years. I wonder what happened. Maybe just still to expensive to compete commercially with silicon PV?
Regardless, I hope you find a direction that's fulfilling for you!
Yeah, it's pretty hard to beat silicon. But, thanks so much for the well wishes! (I'm currently trying my hand as an Indie Game Dev, so we'll see how that goes ha)
I have a MSc and PhD in earthquake engineering and I am working as a senior full stack software developer. Life is weird sometimes.
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I am a welding Engineer working in a mixed role of failure analysis and research. Most of my projects are sustainability based.
Very cool! From the small bit I learned about welding in my classes it really seems like a topic with a lot of depth and nuance to it (that maybe sometimes goes unappreciated). Happy to have you 'round!
Honestly it's one of my favorite things about welding engineering- it's materials, physics, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, automation, chemical... you get a bit of a lot of disciplines!
I've got a PhD in nonlinear vibrations. I've left academia for the space industry though.
That definitely sounds like something that could be useful in a lot of different ways - including in the space industry!
Yeah well most industries pray that everything stays all good and linear, but sadly it isn't always the case haha. The next level is to design a structure with nonlinearities on purpose.
PhD student working in reinforcement learning (the branch of machine learning, not the neuroscience kind). Trying to figure out how to make more general agents, and I'm hypothesizing that making things bigger is a key ingredient.
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I studied Biology and Computer Science, have a PhD in Neuroscience and now work in an Engineering department for medical devices, where I am still in contact with Academia through students working for us in different capacities. My main occupation is Software Tester, though. :)
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