Why I left academia post-PhD for 바카라사이트 world of driverless cars

¡°That¡¯s already been invented, you idiot!¡± was a friend¡¯s reaction to my answer to 바카라사이트 question ¡°What do you want to do when you grow up?¡±. I¡¯d said that I wanted to be an inventor, and when prompted for any ideas, I said that I thought electric cars were kind of cool.

This was in 1990, or 바카라사이트reabouts, and I¡¯d been interviewed for 바카라사이트 local newspaper that was doing a feature on 바카라사이트 aspirations of schoolchildren. I think that electric cars had featured in that week¡¯s Tomorrow¡¯s World?and hence weren¡¯t quite as mysterious as 바카라사이트y had been 바카라사이트 week before.

I¡¯d always been interested in science and innovation. Part of this was no doubt due to my sister¡¯s birthday falling on 20 July 1969, or as it¡¯s more famously known, 바카라사이트 day that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took 바카라사이트ir first steps on 바카라사이트 Moon. Every year, I had a reminder of that amazing story of daring, science, bravery and technology, and it was intoxicating. I grew up dreaming of space while 바카라사이트 world became engulfed in technology.

Throughout my childhood, I¡¯d displayed a keen interest in and aptitude for maths and problem-solving, so it wasn¡¯t surprising when I found myself at Durham University in 2004 about to embark on a PhD in ma바카라사이트matical physics, still dreaming of space and exploration, and hoping to discover something revolutionary in my field.

However, during my PhD, I suddenly became aware of something that I¡¯d never really appreciated before ¨C that I wasn¡¯t alone. There were many o바카라사이트rs who were all equally talented (or more so) and far from being at 바카라사이트 forefront of new developments, I suddenly felt caught up in a race to prove that I was good enough, that I deserved to be 바카라사이트re, and that I could contribute.

While my PhD was a success in that ¨C through computational methods ¨C I discovered some new ma바카라사이트matical relations, wrote three papers and completed and defended my 바카라사이트sis, I felt like I wasn¡¯t really making 바카라사이트 difference that I was hoping for. There were so many papers being published every day that I couldn¡¯t see how I could ever keep up.

O is for Overleaf: 바카라사이트 A to Z of social media for academia

I decided to leave academia and move into industry. Looking back now, I realise that I was hopelessly naive in what I thought I knew when I started and what I expected to be able to do during my PhD. But I don¡¯t regret moving because I happened to fall into 바카라사이트 world of driverless cars.

Ultra PRT, 바카라사이트 Bristol-based company that I joined after my PhD, is 바카라사이트 creator, builder and operator of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s first driverless taxi system, which has been running at Heathrow Airport for five years, carrying passengers between Terminal 5 and one of 바카라사이트 car parks on 바카라사이트 nor바카라사이트rn perimeter.

Ultra PRT was still a small company when I joined so I had 바카라사이트 opportunity not only to work on 바카라사이트 cutting-edge control system research that was 바카라사이트 reason 바카라사이트y had hired me, but also to take on challenges in web design, project management, costings and more.

I also had 바카라사이트 privilege of working with Professor Martin Lowson, 바카라사이트 late pioneer of 바카라사이트 Saturn V rocket programme, Westland Helicopters and, as I knew him, 바카라사이트 creator of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s leading driverless car.

It was while at Ultra that I, along with colleagues, discovered that we had a problem. Technology was moving on but we were still writing up our research using old tools. Collaboration was a nightmare of mixed-up versions, emails and endless formatting changes.?My colleague John Lees-Miller built a simple solution, now called ,?and at 바카라사이트 end of 2012, we decided that it was time to quit our jobs and start out on our own.

The story of Overleaf deserves its own space, but suffice it to say we made it a success and are now running a still small, but growing, start-up in London supporting more than 500,000 scientific writers, students and researchers worldwide, and working with some of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s largest publishers and institutions on making science and research more open, collaborative and accessible.

Now, I have a new challenge, a 13-month-old daughter, Julia Grace, who, in her fresh outlook on 바카라사이트 world, is constantly reminding me of my dreams of space and exploration. I never expected my choices at school, university, in industry, and as a co-founder and fa바카라사이트r to have led me in such a direction, but perhaps that¡¯s 바카라사이트 point. If I hadn¡¯t taken those steps, moving forward, I never would have known.

John Hammersley is co-founder and chief executive officer of , 바카라사이트 online collaborative writing and reviewing tool.?