Profile
Hermione Salter
Sad it's the last day! Don't forget there is still time to stick your questions on the ask page!
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About Me
I'm Hermione I'm a Nuclear Fusion Physicist/Engineer in Oxfordshire, Isle of Wight Born and Bred, lover of crafts, singing, steam trains and animals.
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I grew up on the Isle of Wight with my two sisters and various fluffy pets. I spent many sunny summer weekends at the steam railway with my family, working as a lifeguard or building ridiculously elaborate sandcastles on the beach! At christmas time I work at the Steam Railway as an elf taking children to see Father Christmas…
I’m an enthusiastic human and will bounce with excitement for hours about the things that I love:
Steam trains
Singing
Crafts
Animals
Cool Science (particularly fusion!)
My Friends
Harry Potter (though I am not named after Hermione Granger…)
At school I loved learning, and was curious about everything, and that curiosity led me to be a scientist! My Physics degree let me question the Universe, and now my job as an engineer lets me design ways to solve some of the mysteries…
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My pronouns are
she/her
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My Work
Physicist/Engineer at a government research lab for nuclear fusion!
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At 16 I went on a school trip to the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) and thought nuclear fusion sounded like the coolest thing ever. I did my Physics degree at the University Surrey and while there took a year long placement at the CCFE, doing lots of research and engineering on experiments to do with Tritium (a special type of Hydrogen you use to power a fusion reactor). I learnt so much during that year, and will still talk anyone’s ear off about the cool Tritium puzzles I got to tackle!
When I came back to Culham as a graduate I spent some time doing coding for lasers on JET- the Joint European Torus (big fusion reactor we have). I used a big high power laser to measure the temperature and density of the plasma inside the reactor. (Plasma is the fourth state of matter like solids, liquids and gasses. If you make a gas really really hot it turns into a plasma!) When the laser needed maintenance, I got to climb to the top of JET!
My next role was working on STEP, which is the big fusion power plant we are designing to build in the UK. I have been talking to lots of different companies to find out what they would want from a fusion reactor so we can make it the best it can possibly be!
Now I am working in the office of the chief engineer and getting to oversee engineers working all over UKAEA and learning about their work!
In the longer terms I want to do more experiment design and planning of big new projects as I think this is super useful and exciting!
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My Typical Day: Get up, eat beans on toast for breakfast, drive to work and take it from there!
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I’ve really never had a typical day, they can look so different!
Sometimes I am in my office, sometimes in a roof lab, occasionally climbing a fusion reactor.
Sometimes I eat lunch with my friends in the canteen, sometimes while watching a lecture, sometimes I eat in my office then go to choir or to play frisbee during lunchbreak!
Some days I’m working almost entirely alone, some days I see lots of different people, some days I am in back to back video calls for 7 hours.
For the first 6 months of working here we were in lockdown and so I was working from my bedroom, but now I get to come to site and it is so great to see and talk to so many people! The key thing that happens almost everyday is that I get to learn more new things, and develop as a scientist and engineer!
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What I'd do with the money
I want to use the money to reach out to people from all backgrounds!
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I went to a state school that wasn’t rated very highly by ofsted, but I was really lucky that places like UKAEA did outreach and inspired me to go to University and to become an engineer! I want to use the money to reach out to people who wouldn’t otherwise think a STEM career is for them, and hopefully teach them something cool!
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Education:
Medina College (yr9-11), Island Innovation VI Form Campus (yr12-13), University of Surrey
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Qualifications:
GCSEs (11A*,2A, 1B including maths, english and triple science), AS Levels in Maths, Chemistry, Physics, French & Further Maths (5A), A2 Maths, Chemistry & Physics (A*AA), MPHYS Physics Degree
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Work History:
Lifeguard at OneLeisure IOW, Assistant Swimming Teacher at Flippa Swim School, Physics Outreach Ambassador at SEPnet, Engineering Placement Student in the Tritium Department at UKAEA
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Current Job:
Graduate Physicist/Engineer at UKAEA, working in many different areas across the company from operating lasers, to helping to design a future reactor!
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Employer:
UKAEA
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Crafty, singing fusion-enthusiast
What's the best thing you've done in your career?
I got to climb on top of JET (the big European Fusion Reactor we have in Culham) to fix the laser diagnostic I was working on right before the big new Deuterium-Tritium Campaign started! I've been excited about fusion since I was 16, so it was a bit of a case of 'meeting my idol'! (even if it is a machine...!)
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
I was lucky enough to have super supportive science teachers at school, who convinced me I could do anything even when I was telling them I was sure I had failed every single exam... My A-level physics teacher actually took me on a school trip to UKAEA and I have been obsessed with Fusion ever since!
What was your favourite subject at school?
I was the biggest nerd at school, and just wanted to learn EVERYTHING! Picking fewer and fewer subjects as I went to GCSE and then A-Level was super tough! I knew I wanted to be a scientist or engineer, so I always loved maths and science and tried really hard at those, but I also loved Art and Drama and History and French, so I kept all of those up for as long as I could!
What did you want to be after you left school?
A Fusion Scientist/Engineer!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
My teachers were usually so supportive and lovely that I didn't really need to act out at school, however I could definitely be a bit stubborn at times!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Since I was at school I really really wanted to work where I am now, but I assumed that would be at some distant point of 'when I am older', I didn't think I would make it so soon! If I wasn't doing fusion research, engineering or other physics things I would want to be a zoo keeper or something else working with animals I think!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
A tricky question! I LOVE singing, so anything I can sing along to is great. I was in lots of musicals at school and love listening to musical theatre soundtracks. If I had to pick a band it would probably be Madness.
What's your favourite food?
Beans on Toast!
What is the most fun thing you've done?
I get ridiculously enthusiastic about most things, so my idea of fun can be very simple, so there isn't one big thing that jumps to mind! I love going on walks in beautiful places (and I am still obsessed with wearing wellies and walking through puddles when I am out), and I love playing board games with my friends! Performing musicals is possibly one of the best experiences I have had, looking up and seeing a crowd of people captivated by whatever show I am helping to create is a super cool feeling...
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be happy and healthy and fulfilled in my career, to be part of the team that cracks fusion, and to be able to eat gluten again because I really miss good tiger bread and eating croissants and pain au chocolats in France...!
Tell us a joke.
What do you do if you see a space man? ... Park in it, Dude! (terrible I know, but it once won a worst joke competition I entered...)
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