We work among extraordinary people doing extraordinary things; get to know some of them by reading these quick-fire interviews.
Name: James Gillanders
Job title: Postdoctoral Research Assistant
What are you currently working on?
My ongoing research is quite broad, and encompasses the discovery, observation and interpretation of all manner of (extragalactic) things that explode – mostly supernovae, the explosive death of stars, and kilonovae, the explosion resulting from merging neutron star–neutron star (or neutron star–black hole) systems. My primary research focus lies at the intersection between observation and theory, and is centred on analysing spectroscopic signatures of kilonovae to constrain r-process elemental production, the mechanism responsible for producing many of the heaviest elements in the Universe (including, for example, platinum, gold and uranium). For this, I employ Monte Carlo radiative transfer techniques, combined with state-of-the-art atomic physics calculations, to model observations and make statements as to the properties of the material ejected from these explosions. Specifically, I try to infer information about their energetics, composition, expansion velocity, and ejecta structure and shape. All of this combined will (hopefully) allow us to ultimately determine whether kilonovae are the sole (or dominant) production site for these very heavy elements.
Describe a typical day
I don’t think I have a typical day – it really depends on what I’m in the middle of doing, whether that is project work or paper writing. But generally speaking, I start the day in the office around 9.30am with some coffee and a peruse of my emails and Slack messages. Afterwards, I’ll shift to work on whatever project I’m currently focused on, which likely involves some combination of Python programming, data analysis and running radiative transfer simulations. If it’s close to a proposal or paper submission deadline, I’ll be spending my day bouncing between my proposal/paper draft on Overleaf and the coffee machine!
Outside of term I don’t spend that much time in meetings, so my days are reasonably flexible. During term, I like to attend many of the seminars and talks that are ongoing in the department. Aside from meetings, seminars and my day-to-day research, the next most significant time commitment for me is my role as the new postdoc representative for the Astrophysics sub-department. This position involves consulting with the postdoc community to understand what issues and hurdles they face in their work, and how it may be possible to resolve or mitigate these. Now that the 2024/2025 academic year has kicked off, I will be devoting more of my time to making sure everyone’s opinion is heard and presented at the upcoming staff meetings.
Finally, my day usually wraps up around 6pm and I cycle home (unless it’s pouring rain, in which case I’ll catch a bus).
If you had an entire day at your disposal, what would be your ideal way to spend it?
That’s a great question – the obvious (but financially unfeasible) answer is lying on a Mediterranean beach somewhere, eating and drinking cocktails like a king! The more practical (Oxford-based) answer is highly weather-dependent. I love being outside and exploring new places, so assuming good weather, I would head off for a day to explore the Cotswolds. I’d do plenty of meandering around, admiring the scenery and wildlife. Afterwards, I’d take a trip to Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm – my family and I love the TV show, and so I’d love to go and have a look around.
Assuming poor weather (a pretty safe assumption for most of the year…) I’d do a day museum-hopping, with a few interspersed café breaks. Lunch would probably be from Gloucester Green Market or the Covered Market. I’d also squeeze in a trip to the cinema in the late afternoon.
In both scenarios, the day would end with a trip to the pub with some friends, to either grab a few beers while watching some football, or to enjoy a pie and a pint while generally catching up and having a laugh.
What is your favourite place in Oxford?
Probably University Parks – the whole park is stunning and filled with many beautiful plants and trees.
Plan B: what would you be if you weren’t doing the job you are currently doing?
As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut or a vet, and later on my (realistic) back-up career plan became being a postman in rural Ireland, so I could spin around in my van and chat to all the locals. So, a job that combines some driving, animals, space and chatting would be perfect!
What discovery would you like to see in your lifetime?
For me, the obvious answer is the discovery of aliens! I don’t think it’ll happen, but I would be so intrigued as to how that discovery would impact our perception of life. I’d also be really curious to see what iteration (if any!) of alien life depicted in TV or film best predicted what they look like.