Science PhD student Toby Shanley is a Chancellor’s Research Scholarship (CRS) recipient who has developed a photoelectron yield spectroscopy system that uses a gas cascade to amplify the photocurrent.
Toby Shanley
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“What this means it that for the first time ever we are able to examine things like reaction rates for oxidisation, reduction and fluorination; and the effect and strength of dipoles generated by adsorption of molecular species, to name a few,” he says.
“This instrument is a tool for other scientists, granting the ability to perform important solid-gas interface measurements. It represents a full forward step in the rapid evolution of surface science.”
His scholarship has, he says, freed up his time in a way that allows him to have a balance between work and home, and to continue his work as a laboratory demonstrator at UTS on top of his studies.
“If not for the CRS, I would certainly be taking on more work outside of my studies and I have no doubt that [that] would deeply affect not only my progress, but the progress of those around me and my relationships with my supervisors and colleagues,” he says.
Toby chose to undertake a PhD at UTS because of its highly regarded expertise in electron microscopy and related techniques, but says the UTS science faculty was also a draw card.
“There is a great combination of people here — down-to-earth ones, nerds and dreamers, all of them passionate and inspiring. I really enjoy the time I spend with my colleagues and supervisors,” he says.
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