We work among extraordinary people doing extraordinary things; get to know some of them by reading these quick-fire interviews.
Name: Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bloomfield
Job title: DPhil student, Particle Physics
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working as a particle physics research student with the Quantum Enhanced Superfluid Technologies for Dark Matter and Cosmology (QUEST-DMC) collaboration. I work with a small team of particle and condensed matter physicists to research and develop quantum enhanced systems with an aim to implement them in a search for sub-GeV dark matter with a quantum-amplified superfluid 3He calorimeter.
In this collaboration, I am specifically looking at the effect of background noise in the detector. Dark matter detectors are extremely sensitive as they are looking for some of the smallest particles theorised to exist, and as such, understanding background interference (such as ambient radiation, electrical noise, cosmic rays and solar neutrinos) in the detector is a key part of detector development.
In addition to this collaboration, my DPhil work also extends to the DarkSide-20k collaboration, another dark matter direction detection experiment based in Gran Sasso, Italy. While QUEST-DMC uses a 1cm squared bolometer cell filled with helium-3 as its target volume, DarkSide-20k is a much larger scale experiment, consisting of a 50-tonne liquid argon Dual-Phase Time Projection Chamber (TPC). Across both these experiments, I work with the research and development of the hardware that allows us to detect events with the target volumes, with a particular focus on spin-dependent interactions in these experiments.
Describe a typical day
I usually get into the office at around 9:30/10am as I find I am more productive when the office is quieter (and we have a DPhil group of nightowls). I usually have an hour or so of a quiet office to start the day before others start arriving at 11am onwards. Currently I am working on analysis and simulations, so I will spend the morning submitting and running any large jobs that will run in the background of the next few hours.
We have an office jigsaw so if I ever get really stuck on an analytical problem, I will give my brain a break and try and add some more pieces to the puzzle. We are currently on a very tricky one so even placing one piece feels like an achievement! The research group usually has lunch together, so I will pick up a sandwich from Taylors eat with everyone else. We then all go for a walk after, to one of our two favourite coffee spots in town, to stretch our legs and get more caffeine!
My afternoon is more of the same, although I usually like a change of scene so I will move to work in my college Middle Common Room or one of the many university libraries. After work, I like to spend my evenings catching up with friends, exercising and, on Fridays, working behind the postgrad college bar.
What got you into physics?
I have always been a lover of any kind of science, and I grew up in a very science-focused household. But what really solidified physics as the subject I wanted to pursue was my three amazing physics teachers in secondary school. Their enthusiasm for the subject and hard work to make the curriculum engaging was the perfect environment for me to be inquisitive. Physics can seem rather impenetrable, especially at the start, and having the space to ask genuine questions and work outside the set curriculum piqued my interest in the subject.
Having started an undergraduate degree in physics, I was interested in so many sectors of physics; geophysics, nuclear physics, particle physics, the list goes on. But my love for particle physics and more specifically, dark matter, really grew after my summer internship at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the summer after my third year. I spent that summer developing particle detectors for an outreach project, and the opportunity to work both with software development and building hardware was such good fun. I quickly looked to change my masters project into a particle detection/dark matter project, and I haven’t looked back.
If you had an entire day at your disposal (not at work/studying), what would be your ideal way to spend it?
I would definitely spend it with my friends. I value community a lot and spending quality time with friends is my favourite thing. I would most likely try to wake up early and walk to a local coffee shop to get a pastry for breakfast. Then, head to my friend’s house and spend the day doing fun activities together like baking, creative projects, reading or playing D&D. We would end the day with a walk up the Oxford canal to Port Meadow and head to The Medley for a drink and a pizza before sitting in the fields and playing cards while the sun sets.
What is your favourite place in Oxford?
That is a tricky one, there are so many to choose from. I think honestly my favourite place is my college Middle Common Room (MCR). It is a small common room for the postgrad community in my college and it is just a very homely space. I know that if I head there after a long day, there will always be a friendly face; I love to just head there after work every day to see friends, or just tidy the kitchen or cupboards as a way to decompress – I enjoy maintaining the space and making it comfy for anyone who comes through the door.
Plan B: what would you be if you weren’t doing the job you are currently doing?
If I hadn’t followed a career in physics, I think I would most likely have done a degree in environmental studies or geography. But knowing me, I would’ve probably ditched all that after univeristy and become a gardener as soon as I graduated. I still think that if I ever want a proper change of career, I will retrain as a gardener with the Royal Horticultural Society and become a groundsman in some old National Trust house or maybe even at an Oxford college!