Projects I've been involved in
Unlike most people who stick with one project throughout their university years, I've taken a different approach in trying out different areas of physics. This approach has its drawbacks in that it is quite difficult in making the transition from one area to another. The one thing that I find most difficult to understand is the specialised language present in each area. This is especially true with my current project. Having said that, I believe my decision in sampling different areas has been beneficial to me, as I have the chance to broaden my skills in computational work, experimental work, and working with people from different disciplines. It is true that my knowledge of a particular area might not be as deep as someone who has been spending the whole university years in one area, but I think my approach would be beneficial for me in the long run.
For my 6-month project in third year, I did computer simulation of thin films. Then, for my Honours project, I did experimental work on colloidal systems. My current project deals with the computer modelling of the response of proteins under external stress, as part of a larger collaboration between RMIT University, University of Wollongong, The University of Sydney, and Cytopia Pty. Ltd..
My latest work is rather unusual for a PhD project in my department because it is a cross-disciplinary project between physics, chemistry, and biology. In fact, I found that I have to learn quite a lot on the biochemistry of proteins, which presents a huge challenge in itself. The fact that there's no other fellow PhD students in my department who is in the same field, or indeed, use the same software as me means the learning curve is extras steep. But, that's where the challenge is, I guess. It can be quite frustrating sometimes, but I'm giving it my best shot.
For the future, I would love to get involved in an astrophysics/astronomy project. While some people think it has no practical application (well, they're probably right), I've always wanted to be an astronomer. In fact, I was very close to choosing astronomy over physics. I want to do projects that combine theoretical and experiment.