An Interview With Sarah Gillespie

Sarah is currently pursuing a master’s in physics and specialising in sustainable energy in Amsterdam under the Amsterdam Science Talent Scholarship. She is interested in photovoltaics (PV) and has worked on various organic, silicon and perovskite PV projects over the past year. She is starting her master’s research project in AMOLF this August where she will be developing stable, lead-free perovskite phosphors. She hopes the developments may be extended to enhance the stability of perovskite photovoltaics in the future.

"I learned when starting my degree that if an opportunity presents itself to you, do not be afraid to take it on! I remember in third year in UCD, I applied to the opportunity to study abroad in the USA for a semester on a scholarship. I genuinely did not think I would have got that scholarship, but I took the time and applied nonetheless and I am so grateful I did. Having said that, I received rejections from many applications but you learn from such rejections and you grow. Moving outside your comfort zone and having a belief in yourself will always be worth it. "

"For most students, there are no strict working hours and I often find myself working late into the night and getting stressed over that. Recently I started forcing myself to take proper breaks by going outside. Something as small as taking an hour to go for a run outside has had a massive positive impact on my own health. I found myself working better and feeling better in general. This is especially important in the current COVID-19 situation. Not everyone can address their mental health in the same way but it is always important to consider your own health and to regularly check up on yourself and others."

What inspires you?

I’m personally inspired by emerging renewable energy technologies and using these technologies to address problems such as climate change and global inequality. How can we develop the likes of offshore wind farms? Is nuclear energy feasible for everyone? How can we implement renewable technologies in third world regions? These are the kind of problems that I’m interested in addressing. My ultimate goal is to somehow improve the environment in some small way. I believe that everyone has the potential to make positive impact on the planet; everyone has the capability to reduce inequality and to live sustainably. I think that in itself is inspiring.

What did you want to be when you were younger?

In primary school, I read a lot about astronomy and space – I really wanted to be an astronaut!

Which subjects did you enjoy at school?

I enjoyed Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, which you would expect. But Music was also a favourite. For me, the creative aspect in music performance counterbalanced the logic required for music theory and it is that combination of a creative outlet with a mathematical basis that made it really made it a great subject!

What would you like to tell your younger self?

The first is that it is worthwhile to invest the time to properly learn a foreign language. It is a privilege to be a native English speaker in the Netherlands where everyone speaks English. It is also a privilege to be a native speaker when English is the universal language for science. However, I think that English native speakers with a fluency in another language would enhance networks and communities in STEM in general. I can see this effect in the Netherlands with other students. On a personal level, I would like to be able to talk with others in their native language rather than them always switching to English for me, even if it is just to be polite. The second thing I would tell myself is to not worry about minor things in life. Looking back (and this is likely to apply to most people), I worried about a lot of things that were unimportant on a larger scale. It is important to be passionate, of course, but stressing over little thing is not it. Consider the bigger picture in life.

Why did you choose STEM?

I was always enjoyed figuring out how and why things work when I was younger. I also loved solving problems. I think having curiosity and actually enjoying working on problems are the fundamental requirements to pursue a career in STEM. I specifically chose to study physics because I wanted to tackle global problems from a fundamental research perspective. I wanted to undertake the laboratory scale research on new energy technologies that have the potential to be implemented on a commercial scale. Right now, that technology is perovskites.

How important is it for you to stand out?

My belief is that if you are doing something to 'stand out' then you are doing it for the wrong reasons! On that basis, it is not important at all for me to stand out. People generally ‘stand out’ when they are doing good work; when they are contributing to society and to the scientific community in some positive way and when they are doing something that they enjoy. It is much more important for me to do science for those reasons. ‘Standing out’ is just a by-product of doing that.

What difficulties did you face in the industry, as a woman?

I am aware that I am incredibly lucky to have never experienced any major difficulties in STEM as a woman. However, I recognise this is certainly not the case for everyone. One thing I do notice is the gender imbalance in physics and in STEM in general. I am one of only two female students in my master’s course and only around 10% of the physics students in my undergraduate class were female. The cause of this imbalance is not obvious, but my opinion is that it stems from an early age. I remember during my Suite Science internship I was analysing the results of primary school children’s drawings when they were asked to ‘draw a scientist’. Ideally, the results would be a 1:1 male to female ratio but, of course, this was not the case. The majority of drawings were of male scientists. This implies that the perception of scientists being mostly male is already ingrained in our minds from as young as 10 years old. We can address this issue by raising awareness of female scientists and engineers at a primary level and to encourage females to go into STEM at secondary level. I believe that in addressing the issue of gender imbalance, other difficulties which are often experienced by women in STEM may be at least partially alleviated.

What advice would you give to the next generation of female scientists?

I would hope that in the next generation, the concept of a ‘female scientist’ is no longer relevant. Rather, if you are a woman in science then you would simply be referred to as a ‘scientist’. Bearing that in mind, my advice would be to always have confidence in yourself and in your own work. Do not be afraid to speak out, do not compare yourself to others and be proud of yourself. If you are an accomplished person in the scientific community it is because you are a good scientist and not a good 'female' scientist.

I am still in a very early stage of my career as a student. But my career in STEM would have started with enrolling in the UCD Science undergraduate course. I enjoyed the extra-curricular aspects of UCD and getting involved in the student societies, which is an incredible aspect of university. Coming to the end of my degree I was certain I wanted to pursue a career specialising in renewable energy. The master’s I am currently in is a fantastic degree. I have taken broader courses covering the big picture such as the economics and politics of climate change. However, I have also studied very specific technologies such as artificial photosynthetic systems for solar-to-fuel devices, organic photovoltaics and perovskites. I’m currently working on a sustainable future project relating to phosphorus circularity in the Netherlands. The project span is vast and considers legislative, economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable phosphorus use. This is a two-year master’s degree with my second year is entirely dedicated to research. I am excited to start at the AMOLF science research institute in August. The research project is under Prof. E. Garnett’s Nanoscale Solar Cells research group. I will be specifically researching the stability of caesium-lead-bromide perovskite nanocrystals and I will be attempting to enhance their stability by embedding them silica using molecular sieves. I will also be attempting to replace the lead in the nanocrystals with substitutes such as tin. While stability in LEDs and PVs is important, these technologies will not be used on a commercial scale if they are toxic! I am looking forward to taking on the challenge! Another aspect of my STEM career is that I have always been quite active in STEM outreach and education. I am a teaching assistant at the Vrije University, have been a lab demonstrator at UCD. The Suite Science internship I undertook under the supervision of Dr. S. Shannon and Assoc. Prof. E. Sokell had been entirely focused on STEM outreach at the primary school level. I was also a facilitator for the Quavers to Quadratics program which is a fantastic outreach program for both music and physics! I believe that outreach and education are just as important as research in all fields STEM. By engaging in outreach programs, I would hope to help younger students understand that everyone has the capability to pursue a STEM career, regardless of their background or their perception of it. Of course, that is if they want to!