Open University PhD has Jack seeing stars
STUDYING for a natural sciences degree at Cambridge, Jack Wright developed an interest in geology and decided to continue into postgraduate studies.
Considering topics for his doctoral research, the 26-year-old, from Milton Keynes, discovered that the Open University (OU) was offering a number of PhD projects in space science.
Successful in his application to undertake one of the projects, he began his research more than two years ago and is now working on a geological map of part of Mercury.
Jack says: ‘I’d been interested in space from a young age, so combining geology and space at the OU was the perfect solution.’
Jack’s PhD is fully funded by a Research Council grant from the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
He says: ‘Studying for a PhD is challenging. I was given a very broadly defined PhD but with the expectation that at the end of that mapping period I’d have produced some scientific work as a spin-off. The details were left entirely up to me.’
Being responsible for his own direction of study is one of the most rewarding aspects for Jack. His work has so far taken him to Texas, Madrid and around the UK.
Jack says: ‘If I were giving advice to someone considering PhD study, I’d advise them to take a look at the OU.
‘The OU doesn’t get the same exposure as conventional universities but people don’t realise it is, in fact, entirely conventional.
‘It has a campus, and academics work on campus and PhD students do as well.’
He adds: ‘What gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing that I’m producing something new.’
For more information about the open University go to www.open.ac.uk