Mentors

Mia Hadjiloucas is a 3rd year undergraduate Biology student at Imperial, with a great passion for biology. She aims to nurture a genuine curiosity about the natural world. Through her teaching experience, she has been able to cater to students of many different abilities and is a firm believer in making science accessible to all, by making sessions engaging and simplifying complex ideas. (Image credit and information from https://galileosvoyage.com/about-us)

Matthew King left school early and went straight into a five-year apprenticeship in the making of historical musical instruments, which let him into more diverse areas, such as furniture making and furniture restoration. He became self-employed, and continued with a wider range of work and a greater client base. He has worked as a tutor at "Skillway" in Godalming Surrey and “West Dean College” on Art and Conservation in Sussex. He founded Time Traveller Clocks Ltd as a separate entity to focus on manufacturing. Mr King runs this in parallel with his restoration business. Currently he is writing a book on a particularly important area of work that he undertook. His website is timetravellerclocks.com

As an expert rock guitarist with a PhD in guitar acoustics, Dr Mark Lewney brings vibrating strings to life in ways Pythagoras could never have imagined, explaining the science of rock with the help of riffs from AC/DC, Slayer and Jimi Hendrix. And if you understand waves and resonance, a vast landscape of physics and engineering is out there for you to explore. Share the wonder and excitement of the biggest experiment ever built and how it will let us glimpse what the universe was like in its first trillionth of a second. Learn how to break the sound barrier, how to see vibrations using holography, and even how to think in extra dimensions! (Image credit and information from http://school-workshops.com/the-rock-doctor-625.html)

Vlad Tir: I am currently a 1st year PhD student in Particle Physics at the University of Birmingham, having previously completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Oxford. My journey began during school, where I was passionate about science and participated in many national competitions and Olympiads, winning medals and meeting many inspiring people, including but not limited to future scientists. This path led me to explore various research experiences across different topics in physics, from building simple solar cells to analysing data from the Large Hadron Collider and simulating high-power lasers. Through these projects, I learned that research is effectively just solving the ultimate puzzles. I also discovered a joy for mentoring by returning to my high school to deliver talks and designing problems for coding contests. My goal is to demystify physics, mathematics, and coding, showing that these subjects are actually just logic waiting to be understood. You do not need to be intimidated by them, as you just need the curiosity to start solving them.

Pete Walters is a second year PhD student in Particle Physics at the University of Birmingham, specialising in Dark Matter research. He has a great passion for scientific engagement and outreach. His life's goal has always been to understand more about how things work, and in his physics studies he has been pursuing this goal tirelessly. This passion and desire for understanding and experimentation is something he tries to pass on to his students.  He is also an avid musician, playing at the Isle of Wight Festival last summer!