Laurence Day
I am a third year student at Lancaster University studying on the MPhys Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology course. I first became interested in Astrophysics research rather late into my University life. I knew I wanted to explore academic avenues for my future career path, but did not have any idea in which area I wanted to specialize. I decided, after particularly enjoying the Astrophysics I and Astronomy modules in my second year that I would seek to undertake a voluntary internship with Dr Andreas Koch at Lancaster University. After thoroughly enjoying my project, which was studying the morphology of a sample of galaxies, I knew this is the path I wanted to follow, and hence applied for this internship. I am working with Emma and Lauren on studying the ALMA CII data exploring CR7 and the region surrounding it, and am very excited to see what we can find out.
Umar Burhanudin
I am a third year student, studying Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology (MPhys) at Lancaster University. For my fourth and final year of my degree, I will be carrying out an MPhys Project with one of my lecturers, Dr Isobel Hook, on the feasibility of future supernova spectroscopic surveys. An internship with experts in astrophysics will help me become familiar with the research carried out in astronomy, and prepare me for my final year project. I am working on two projects as part of the internship; looking at CLOUDY simulations and studying CR7 spectroscopic data from the Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 grism with Izzy.
Izzy Garland
I have just finished my second year studying Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology (MPhys) at Lancaster University, which has provided me with the base level knowledge needed for this internship. I am working with Umar on the Hubble Space Telescope grism project. Doing an internship is important to me as it allows me to gain a broader knowledge around my subject and provide me with a true insight to how a project like this functions in a professional environment. When I graduate, I intend to go into a research based career, looking at galaxy formation and evolution, so the chance to work on this project and gain vital experience is a brilliant opportunity.
Jess Craig
I have just finished my second year studying Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology (MPhys) at Lancaster University. I am working on visual classification of galaxies in a superstructure. I decided to do an internship in order to gain relevant research experience that I can apply in my future career and because I enjoy doing work that will help to discover information that no one has known before. I would like to pursue a research career in astrophysics in the future but have not yet decided on a particular research interest within the field.
Emma Dodd (Ogden Trust intern of the year 2017)
I have just finished my first year studying Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology (MPhys) at Lancaster University. I haven’t studied a lot of astrophysics to date having only just completed first year but I am excited to learn a lot through this internship. I am interested in pursuing a career in research in the future so wanted to get a taste into what it actually entails. I believe this will be useful for me to get a real hands on experience and actually live a day in the life of a researcher.
Lauren Draper
I’ve just finished my second year studying Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. I’ve decided to do this internship because I think it will be interesting to experience studying physics outside of my lectures whilst giving me the opportunity to apply the knowledge I’ve learnt so far in my degree to a research environment. It’s also a great opportunity to get to know people in the physics department at Lancaster so that I can get the most out of this experience through learning about what everyone does here. During my time at Lancaster I will be working with Emma and Laurence on the ALMA project.
The interns after the mini-conference at the end of their internships, Lancaster University. From left to right: Izzy, Umar, Emma, Laurence, Andrea & Jess.
XGAL: Time travelling through the Universe 