3 Month Placement at Sphere Fluidics

, by lifETIME Team

By LifETIME CDT Student: Antonia Molloy (She/Her) (Aston University)

I recently undertook my three-month placement at Sphere Fluidics, Cambridge, where I was working with the welcoming chemistry team. The main aim of my placement was to help synthesise and test a new surfactant the company are looking to commercialise in the future applications for droplet microfluidics.

The data I produced throughout the placement has helped drive an intellectual property application and the work entailed training in polymer chemistry which is a new field to me as I am a biologist. I thank Dr Alaa Kadhim for her patience, direction, and knowledge of organic chemistry on this project. I also valued presenting my work to the R&D department and Sphere’s Chief Technical Officer, Richard Hammond. This visit gave me networking opportunities and allowed me to get to know the different departments in the company as well as presenting my research to them.

Alongside this, I look part in leading training sessions to the team on the technological devices I use and hope this will be valuable to them. What was particularly interesting was how the company functioned as a team between departments to reach their outputs as opposed to solitary working on a PhD project. I am looking forward to collaborating with Sphere Fluidics in the future.

My time in Cambridge was fun including lots of cycling adventures and sunsets and I am refreshed for one last (push) in the final year of my PhD.

Photograph of a river in Cambridge. There are teepees and camping pods in the background, trees and grass with people paddling boats in the water.Photograph of the sun setting on a field. The sky is slightly cloudy and orange, with the sun very low in the sky. The landscape is a grassy field next to a long road with trees in the background.