Although academic video presentations are common enough, I had never considered making such a uniquely reflective video before. This has been a totally different experience to preparing a conference presentation, and very worthwile. Making this 'digital story' has been a great opportunity for me to step back and remind myself of where I have come from, and why I am doing what I am doing.
As a scientist, I am not used to talking about any personal or emotional connection with my research. However, when discussing possible narratives with Alys Kay, it became clear that this wasn't about what my particular topic was or its justification, but instead about my personal experience of becoming a researcher. The main character of the story became me as an individual, rather than my project, which was an unusual, but useful, position to find myself in.
I found it very helpful to focus on memories of my journey of intellectual development, from playing with construction sets as a child to building nanoelectronic devices as a PhD student. To me, the line, "as a child I always wanted to know how things worked", seems something of a cliche for physical science researchers. However, phrases become cliches because they are true. I was able to build on this and find my unique twist by focussing on very specific memories tied together with a common theme of creativity and imagination. The focus of my story centered around the idea of my motivation to develop new technologies, and how I coped when that was challenged.
This introspection has rekindled my enthusiasm for my research by reminding me why I made the choices that got me here. It has been a very insightful experience that has brought to light my particular approach to my work, helping me to get more involved and in-depth with what excites me. This is a fantastic, unique opportunity to engage with both your research and yourself.
