[00:00:00] Northern Power Women Podcast for your career and your life, no matter what business you're in. 

[00:00:26] Hello. Welcome back, and we are into episode three of our box set with the Institute of Physics. Katherine, welcome back. We've learned so much already, haven't we? From episode one and two, there's so many great insights that we can get from individuals, how people work.

[00:00:41] It's been great, hasn't it? It has, yeah. Thank you and thank you for having me back, and it's been brilliant learning all about the Limit Less campaign from you over these last few episodes, and I hope we've convinced many of our community out there to find out more. Don't forget all the information's in the show notes.

[00:00:55] Please do sign up! If there's someone listening out there who might be considering a career in physics. What are the skills needed in physics at the moment? 

[00:01:03] Katherine: So physics provides incredibly useful skills. So all of the problem solving, experimentation, analysis, skills that are so useful in physics related industries and beyond, they're really, really in demand.

[00:01:19] We also see, as I mentioned in the last podcast, that there is a huge demand for physics skills across the north and more widely across the UK and Ireland at the moment. Some of the sectors that are really working on global challenges like climate change, like health, they need more people who have done a post 16 physics qualification from a diversity of backgrounds to move through to do physics post 16.

[00:01:47] So physics skills are in engineering, they're in construction, they're in manufacturing, energy, transports, business and finance, digital, teaching and health. They're across such a wide range of industries and they're helpful for so many jobs.

[00:02:06] Simone Roche: And that's been the big takeaway for me out of these three these three episodes, talking to great people, different industries, different backgrounds.

[00:02:13] That's where Limit Less comes to life, isn't it? It's not just where you think, oh gosh, I was good at it in school. It's about keep it going because you never know which industry, which career path it may take you in and hopefully you've enjoyed listening to some of these amazing people. Katherine, thank you so much for involving us in the Limit Less campaign.

[00:02:30] Katherine: Thank you so much.

[00:02:31] Simone Roche: We're now into episode three, which is all about physics for good. Something that we know that everyone is passionate about purpose, everyone is passionate about making a difference, and that's what we focus this episode on, which features two incredible minds from different spectrums of the physics world.

[00:02:48] We've got biomaterial scientist Nimrah Munir and University of Salford Master Students, Kal Grocott. Firstly, we're going to hear from Nimrah who is the principal biomaterial scientist at QV Bio Electronics, where she's leading the development of the core electrotechnology for the treatment of one of the most aggressive and incurable cancers.

[00:03:10] Nimrah spoke to us about how physics impacts her work, how despite never having chosen to study physics, she soon found that a knowledge of physics is critical for her role. Over to Nimrah. 

[00:03:22] Nimrah Munir: Yeah. So I am a principal scientist specializing in biomaterials. So I'm responsible for the development of a gel electrode, which is a core component of our medical device called Grace.

[00:03:34] So Grace is an electric physiotherapy device, which we are developing for the treatment of the most aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is a devastating disease. It has no cure. Generally patients undergo tumour removal surgery followed by chemo and radiotherapy, but despite intensive treatment, patients only survive just over a year on an average.

[00:03:57] And this is because it is impossible to remove all the cancer cells during surgery. These residual cancer cells then divide, the tumour grows back, and this ultimately kills the patient. So at QV Bioelectronics, we are using physics to tackle this problem. So our device uses electrical currents at specific frequencies which are known to stop the division of these cancer cells, slowing down the tumour progression and ultimately improving outcomes of these patients.

[00:04:24] In fact our company named QV Bioelectronics was inspired by what drives our entire device. So Q is the scientific symbol for electrical charge, and V is the scientific symbol and for voltage, both, which are essential for delivering this. Yeah, I think people don't realize that physics is in a lot more than we think.

[00:04:44] So when I came across this biomaterial scientist position, I knew that with my biomaterials experience, I can develop the technology. But when I started, I realized I have a lot to learn, especially because physics plays such a big role in this technology and I am not a physicist. In fact, the last time I studied physics before this job was in high school, I dropped physics and selected biology and chemistry instead because I enjoyed them more.

[00:05:09] And that was enough for me to get into my undergraduate degree. But now it is essential that I have an understanding of the basic physics principles that are relevant to our device. I wouldn't say that I have to be an expert because the main expertise needed to develop this technology is in biomaterials.

[00:05:27] However, it does have a physics component to it, so I definitely have to be open to learning. But I guess this is where the importance of having a multidisciplinary team comes in place. So when developing a complex device like ours it is impossible to be an expert in everything, and this is why we have such a diverse team.

[00:05:47] So we've got engineers, mechanical, biomedical, electrical engineers. We've got biomaterials expertise, we've got cancer biologists, and we also work with neurosurgeons. And I think that bringing together people for multiple disciplines really allows us to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions to challenging questions.

[00:06:06] The reason I came into science was to be able to work on something that can have a real impact on someone's life. That's always been a driving factor for me and having a science related degree, be it in physics, chemistry, or in my case, pharmacology. And bioengineering really does open up the doors to work in something that can have a positive impact across previous disciplines, and I believe that now through my role at QV Bio, I have been given an opportunity to do exactly that. It feels amazing to work alongside such an incredible team and to use my knowledge in STEM that I have gained over the years to develop this cutting edge technology that would hopefully provide a paradigm shift in the treatment of Glioblastoma and really give these patients a treatment option they deserve.

[00:06:54] And not only in the uk but hopefully internationally. 

[00:06:57] Simone Roche: It is fantastic and so lightning to hear what Nimrah has to say about the incredible difference that her and her organization are making with physics at her side. Thanks, Nimrah. Next we're going to hear from Kal Grocott and unlike Nimrah Cal did study physics at degree level covering classical thermal, astro particle, and theoretical physics.

[00:07:18] He entered his degree wanting to be a theoretical physicist, but as he progressed, found himself being pulled towards renewable energies, and so now he's studying data science at the University of Salford a course he says he would never have been accepted for without his foundation in physics. You will hear now that Kal's passion for physics cannot be underestimated, and I'm sure you'll come to learn.

[00:07:39] Let's hear from Kal. 

[00:07:41] Kal Grocott: Physics is a way that we understand the universe, things like that. And I think over the generations as a species, it's allowed us to sort of generate a vast amount of knowledge. I think that knowledge has actually helped us to learn about how the world and the universe operates. We are using that knowledge now to actually help them do some of the things that we've done in the past, such as climate change, the idea of solar panels, things like that, generating electricity. It's helped us fight against things like the global pandemic that we've recently had, the physics behind, like things like robotics and AI and things like that is now helping with facial recognition technologies to help capture wanted criminals and things like that.

[00:08:24] The other aspect of it as well is that physics also helps as well save lives in a very real sense, particularly in the healthcare sector. So things like MRI scanners, all come from physics. The understanding of how magnets work is absolutely key in how a lot of these things work without a lot of that technology nowadays we just wouldn't have the expertise and knowledge to be able to actually save real people's lives. Physics doesn't sleep. It never stays still. And as a physicist and as other physicists around the planet, we've constantly wanted to learn more and more and more and more. I think that actually helps create a healthier society as a general rule, it can actually ground us to who we are, what are our places within the universe and through all these big differences, like I mentioned before, you've got all these MRI scanners which have now come out, CT scanners. Electric cars nowadays are some of the best safety features in them that we have ever designed and come up with, and it's purely from Physics. How do you improve a car?

[00:09:25] You smash it into something, you take the data, you learn about tensile strengths, you learn about all these type of things, and you make something safer. The role that physics plays in making a difference is making our lives easier, safer, and making us as a species just far more accepting of the natural world around us. 

[00:09:46] We are a part of that world and we should never be removed from it, and I think physics just really helps ground everything together and enlightens us to be a better species overall, I think. First and foremost, I was not good at school. I was absolutely useless at a lot of the subjects that a lot of people think you have to be really good at at school.

[00:10:10] So I was mediocre in math. I was mediocre in science. But what I did have more than anything else, so actually I had a massive passion for physics, for learning and understanding nature and things like this. As I did my degree, I started stuff going in, thinking that I was, some amazing person who could do all this wonderful things.

[00:10:30] I could be the next Richard Fireman, I could be the next orange dime. Turns out I'm not, which is fine, but it taught me that I can be self-critical. I can look at myself and go, I'm not good at this thing. How can I improve on it? It also, as well as you go through life, allows you to do things that you wouldn't necessarily associate with physics.

[00:10:55] Every employer on the planet wants somebody who's good at thinking, who can problem solve, who's good at math? They want those type of people because they are easy to work with. They're intelligent. They are. They're wanted, basically. I mean, I've got friends who've gone from university to work in robotics and AI and other ones working in the NHS and other ones gone into the banking industry.

[00:11:20] You know, someone else has gone into the software development. These are massively different areas, which physics allows you to go into they would never have got there if it hasn't been for their physics degree in the first place. I mean, I'm doing a data science degree as well now, and I could not have gotten to that course without doing a physics degree.

[00:11:38] Simone Roche: I loved all of the passion that Kal has to share with us about physics and everything around physics that is about what we can use to do for good, and it has been so incredible to hear about the opportunities that physics opens up to us in so many ways. So thanks everyone who has contributed to our box set season for the Institute of Physics?

[00:11:59] So has this episode or our box set series got you interested in the world of physics? What else can you do or get involved with? Here's Katherine to let you know.

[00:12:08] Katherine: So the Institute of Physics and the Limitless campaign are calling on people in employment with a post 16 physics qualification to get out there and spread the messages of the limitless campaign to young people in their community, whether that's through public engagement, events or in schools.

[00:12:27] We want people to tell young people that physics is for them, that it doesn't matter what your background is, you can do physics, and it presents so many opportunities for you. We've got lots of things to support people in doing that, so check out the IOP website, check out the show notes. 

[00:12:45] Simone Roche: Thanks. So much Katherine, and please do check out our webinar as well, all the details in the show notes.

[00:12:50] Thank you so much for listening, and please do join the conversation on social media. My name's Simone. This is the Northern Power Women Podcast In what goes on media production.