Profile – Sodium Zone

My CV

Education:

BSc(hons) Earth Sciences, PhD in palaeobiology
Qualifications:

See above
Work History:

2002-2006: PhD 2007-2008: postdoc 2008-2009: Geopark Geologist
Current Job:

Senior Lecturer in Geology

About Me

I’ve got two kids and I always try to see the funny side of things – even if only retrospectively! I live in the countryside and love hiking and running – especially in the rain.
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I live in County Cork with my husband and two kids. We grow lots of veg and spend our free time getting mucky and having adventures in wild places. I’m vegetarian and love Asian and Italian food, but my favourite quick meal is a toasted sandwich! I am fully committed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also like thrillers and period dramas, but I can’t stomach horror movies.
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Being a palaeontologist is like being a fossil detective. You’re trying to answer questions like: What is this creature? How did it die? Where did it live? It’s great fun but is also a serious science because we need data from fossils to understand climate change and to predict how modern ecosystems might respond to changing habitats and climate.

I work in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UCC. The School isn’t located on main campus but actually on a separate campus on North Mall in UCC. It’s great because we have lots of space for greenhouses, ponds, etc. and it’s closer to the city centre than main campus. My lab has lots of nice equipment in it for simulating the fossilization process, including creepy-sounding “decay chambers” as well as dangerous-sounding things such as a high-pressure bomb (yes!) plus a handheld X-ray gun (don’t point it at anyone). In another building I have some bigger equipment including an electron microscope to see very tiny things and an infrared microscope to analyse chemistry of fossils and rocks – both very exciting to use. Most of the time I work in Cork but every year I also go on fieldwork (usually in China) and have lots of other trips abroad to do analyses, study fossils, and go to conferences.
My Typical Day

My job is really varied so it’s hard to describe a typical day. I might give a lecture in the morning and check on our electron microscope – I’ve to do regular calibrations to make sure everything’s working properly. I’ll probably spend an hour or more dealing with emails, and will spend the rest of the day having meetings with my PhD students. That’s one of my favourite aspects of the job.
What I'd do with the prize money

I’d spend the money developing a national competition for Ireland’s Favourite Fossil! I would love to see my project come to life because in Ireland we have very little awareness of our geological heritage relative to other countries. This is because we don’t learn much about them in school. This is a terrible shame because fossils can teach us about where we come from, and they can give us a sense of pride in our local area. Ireland has actually some pretty important fossils on a global level, so I believe that Irish people should have an opportunity to learn about them and to use fossils to get inspired by science.

My Interview
- How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  Energetic, motivated, passionate
  
  What did you want to be after you left school?
  
  Everything
  
  Were you ever in trouble at school?
  
  Yes – for too much chat
  
  Who is your favourite singer or band?
  
  No favourite – I’m a bit eclectic - but I’m listening to Eminem, SIa, Puccini and Lana del’Rei at the moment
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  Broccoli!
  
  What is the most fun thing you've done?
  
  Zipit
  
  If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
  
  Win the lotto and buy loads of cool science equipment! Play more with my kids. Look at the stars more.
  
  Tell us a joke.
  
  Why do gorillas have such big nostrils? Because they have big fingers....