2022 PhD Yearbook

It was a lot of work but I feel changed by it. Thank you to my supervisors and friends.

My research area is the processing of polymers for medical devices. My future research interest is in circular economy and processing of polymers. I am currently a lecturer in Mechanical at Ulster University Belfast campus. I did my masters and bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Pakistan. As a PhD. researcher, I worked with Armstrong Medical Nothern Ireland. We developed a respiratory device as a result of our research which helped the hospitals to cope with the requirements of respiratory devices during Covid 19.

Hi, my name is Guilherme Couto, I am originally from Portugal and now working in Malta.

I started my PhD in 2015 and my supervisors were Prof Ciara Hughes, Dr Sonyia McFadden and Dr Patricia McClure, to whom I am extremely thankful for their support.

The PhD is a journey that is much easier if you don't make it on your own, and I couldn't have done it without the support of my supervisors, friends and family.

I will never forget my supervisors, who were always kind and supportive, and my colleagues, who shared their experiences during their own similar journeys.

The people I met on this journey are my best memory!

My undergraduate degree was in Textiles and Fashion Design. I have a post-grad in Higher education, an MBA and an MSc. in multimedia computer-based learning with education.  My project involved designing and testing clothing which could unobtrusively read and respond to sub-conscious stress using physiological bio-markers and tactile memories related to nature deficit disorder.

My supervisors were Professor Justin Magee and Professor Chris Nugent – Thanks guys for your sound advice and for sticking with me through the journey!

My proudest moment was finally putting on that red silk gown – I wish my mum could have been there to see me. She never had the education opportunities that she worked so hard to make sure I had.

My favourite memory was working late one night and finally getting the programming in my electronics textiles to read and respond to physiological biomarkers of stress through haptics. No one was there to see my little eureka moment, but I realised I had become truly multidisciplinary- pulling together physiological body systems, psychology, mental wellbeing, engineering, computer coding and fashion design.

I will never forget the student in my class who inspired the research (R.I.P), or how overwhelmed I felt after launching a small survey on female student mental health and receiving almost 800 responses in 2 weeks! I knew then that this research was important.

I couldn’t have got through this without my amazing family. My sons are all studying to become doctors and dentists and watching their work ethic as we all studied together at the kitchen table through dark covid days and long nights spurred me on. My husband never doubted me, even when I doubted me.

If I could speak to myself at the start of my PhD, the best piece of advice I would give myself would be: Don’t ever doubt yourself and why you started this journey – There is an old Japanese proverb (Nanakorobi yaoki), which literally means fall seven times and stand up eight. Be prepared for lots of unexpected obstacles along the way. Keep jumping the fences, there will be many and some seem very high, but one day you will arrive at the finishing line. Be resilient and to thine own self be true!

I have a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and a master’s degree from the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom, where I studied Sustainable Environmental Management. My passion and love for ensuring a clean and sustainable environment was fully developed during these studies. As a result, propel me to pursue a PhD in Environmental Sciences at Ulster University.

I relocated from Nigeria to Northern Ireland to pursue my PhD study in 2017 by securing the VCRS research scholarship at Ulster University. Before then, I had worked as an environmental consultant, providing technical expertise on environmental management and sustainability to diverse clients in different sectors. My PhD research focuses on the development of a sustainable, cost-effective and alternative material for the treatment of antibiotic-contaminated water. I had a wonderful time at Ulster University and my study was filled with many beautiful, memorable moments.

One of my proudest moments was when I represented Ulster University at the 3MT UK final and won the People’s Choice Award. Another significant moment was meeting the love of my life at the start of the PhD and getting joined together in holy matrimony during the PhD.

I am blessed to have got three amazing supervisors who have an open-door policy and the support, advice and help I received from them were truly priceless. My supervisors and the Doctoral College made my PhD journey easier. I couldn’t have got through without them.

If I could speak to myself at the start of my PhD, the best piece of advice I would give myself would be that “PhD research is a marathon journey and not a sprint and the road is filled with some ups and downs”.

I had the chance to undertake a part-time distance PhD about Structural Fire Engineering (SFE) in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. Indeed, I have been working full time as Engineer for ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg.

My favourite memory was ... the Viva. It's a wonderful experience to be able to defend the research you've been working on for years and to have highly interesting exchanges with your jury.

As I'm located abroad and the Viva was set to take place early 2022 (when there were still travel restrictions due to the pandemic), it was foreseen to take place online. I was over the moon when I learn I could travel to Belfast. I'll never forget the absolute joy feeling, walking out from my successful Viva, enjoying the first days of Spring in Northern Ireland.