I was born and grew up in the southside of Glasgow – with my main interests being in maths and the sciences. In sixth year I thought I wanted to do science, but wasn’t sure what specific area. I ended up going down to London to study physics at Imperial for my undergraduate degree. Since then I have found a passion for the more mathematical parts of physics. This has led me to a masters degree in applied mathematics at St John’s College, Cambridge, and eventually to a PhD in mathematical physics at Balliol College, Oxford – where I am now.