{"id":749,"date":"2017-10-30T08:55:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T07:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/?p=749"},"modified":"2017-10-30T08:55:08","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T07:55:08","slug":"pgr-profile-elisabeth-matthews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2017\/10\/30\/pgr-profile-elisabeth-matthews\/","title":{"rendered":"PGR Profile- Elisabeth Matthews"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Name<\/strong>: Elisabeth Matthews<\/p>\n

Discipline<\/strong>: Astrophysics (forth year, full-time)<\/p>\n

Location: <\/strong>The physics building \u2013 if you don\u2019t know it, it\u2019s the really ugly one right on the top of the hill!<\/p>\n

What is the working title for your research project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDirect imaging of planetary mass companions and circumstellar debris disks\u201d<\/p>\n

Can you describe your research project in more detail?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to detect planets around other stars, using the \u201cDirect Imaging\u201d technique: we basically point some of the biggest telescopes in the world at some of the brightest, closest stars and then try and filter as much of the starlight out as possible to reveal the planet. I\u2019m particularly interested in stars with lots of dust \u2013 in these we can model the interactions we expect between the dust and the planets, and hopefully find some planets.<\/p>\n

… and can you explain it in a single sentence?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m searching for planets around other stars, to understand how they might be forming, and how they are related to the dust that is sometimes also present around the stars.<\/p>\n

What is a typical day like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I try to get in by around 8:30, although this doesn\u2019t always happen if we\u2019ve had an astrophysics pub trip the night before! I start by checking my emails and diary for the day, before getting down to some research. My most productive hours are early in the morning so I try and get some serious work in here: writing a few more paragraphs of a paper, debugging some code I\u2019ve been writing or reading a relevant publication.<\/p>\n

We break at 11am for a coffee in the interaction area \u2013 everyone from PhD students to lecturers attends. Conversations vary between serious and scientific, and much sillier topics, and sometimes we even do a Guardian crossword! Then it\u2019s back to my desk to get a bit more work in. Since we\u2019ve just had a coffee break, lunch is usually a quick sandwich at my desk. By about 3pm I\u2019m starting to flag, so I do some of the tasks on my to-do list that don\u2019t require thinking as hard \u2013 running through some routine data analysis, tweaking a figure for a paper I\u2019m writing or drafting some slides for a talk. We break for coffee again at four, and squeeze in a bit more work before heading home, or out for the evening. I try and fit in a gym trip or a run during most days, so I\u2019ll normally end up staying in the office a bit later to make up for the hour I took out during the day! It\u2019s great to be in a flexible environment where I can head out and exercise whenever I like.<\/p>\n

My evenings are pretty varied: sometimes we\u2019ll have astrophysics pub nights or cinema trips, sometimes I\u2019ll have a rehearsal with the university folk band or for the upcoming EUG&S production of \u201cThe Mikado\u201d, and sometimes I\u2019ll just head back home and relax.<\/p>\n

What would you say is your proudest moment during your research journey so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first discovery I made: just under two years into my PhD I finally directly detected a debris disk, a ring of dust orbiting the nearby star HD129590. This discovery has now led to my first paper as lead author, which was accepted back in May.<\/p>\n

What do you like to do when you are not researching?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A good mix of activities! I like to keep active, and have just completed a half marathon. I\u2019m also a keen climber with the University club. Outside of sport I\u2019m a flute player, and am in a couple of university ensembles: the folk society band \u2018Pigasus\u2019, and the pit band for a university production of \u2018The Mikado\u2019. Apart from that I like to relax at home by watching terrible TV, or head out to the pub!<\/p>\n

If you could start again, what would be your advice to yourself as a new postgraduate researcher?<\/strong><\/p>\n

PhDs can be really tough on your mental health, and I wish I had been more prepared for that. I\u2019ve struggled a lot with Imposter Syndrome, which is where you feel like you\u2019re not good enough, and that sooner or later someone will realise that you\u2019re secretly really stupid and kick you out. This also lead to me having a pretty unhealthy work\/life balance because I was convinced that if I stayed in the department late every evening working then I could start to make up for the fact that I wasn\u2019t really smart enough to be here. I\u2019ve experienced some feelings in the realm of depression and anxiety, and some mild panic attacks \u2013 although I\u2019m lucky and have never got to the point where I\u2019ve needed professional help. Mental health is a constant journey for me, but I\u2019ve grown to understand my brain and the way it operates far better, and feel much more equipped to cope with some of these feelings.<\/p>\n

If I could go back, I\u2019d warn my 22-year old self that the Imposter Syndrome was coming, and give myself a few tips for looking after my mental health more generally.<\/p>\n

And finally \u2013 can you explain your research project in 5 emojis?<\/strong><\/p>\n

🔭- We use some of the best telescopes in the world to collect data for my project. World-class telescopes don’t look much like this, but it’s the closest that the emoji world gets!
\n🌟 & 🌍-\u00a0We’re looking at nearby stars to try and identify exoplanets orbiting around them.
\n\u2753 – Are there planets around the types of stars we’re looking at?
\n\u2716\ufe0f- This is maybe a pessimistic choice, but so far it appears that there’s not much out there. The answer to the question that the previous emojis pose is negative. That agrees with the literature: although planets are incredibly common (latest results suggest more planets than stars in our galaxy!), the specific types of planets that we’re looking for are rare, and are hard to detect. It might sounds like a negative, but is still very important in understanding how different types of planetary systems form.<\/p>\n

Want to learn more about Elisabeth and her research? You can view her 3 Minute thesis video<\/a> or follow her on twitter @astro_lizzie<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Name: Elisabeth Matthews Discipline: Astrophysics (forth year, full-time) Location: The physics building \u2013 if you don\u2019t know it, it\u2019s the really ugly one right on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,29,31],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPGR Profile- Elisabeth Matthews - Doctoral College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2017\/10\/30\/pgr-profile-elisabeth-matthews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PGR Profile- Elisabeth Matthews - Doctoral College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Name: Elisabeth Matthews Discipline: Astrophysics (forth year, full-time) Location: The physics building \u2013 if you don\u2019t know it, it\u2019s the really ugly one right on […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2017\/10\/30\/pgr-profile-elisabeth-matthews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doctoral College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-30T07:55:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/299\/2017\/10\/93ThreeMinThesis170530Matt-Austin-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2017\/10\/30\/pgr-profile-elisabeth-matthews\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2017\/10\/30\/pgr-profile-elisabeth-matthews\/\",\"name\":\"PGR Profile- Elisabeth Matthews - 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