Laura Brown, (No.3, 2007-12)  was one of the first three students to be awarded the Brighthelm Award. She graduated in 2017 with a MEng (Hons) in Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the University of Bath before working as an Electronics Engineer at Dyson within the Software Department. However, she didn’t feel her calling was in engineering, so decided to leave her job and went on two ski seasons whilst trying to figure out what to do. In 2020 she decided she wanted to “retrain” so she attended Cranfield University to study for an MSc in Forensic Explosive and Explosion Investigation. She is now carrying out her PhD research with the Cranfield Forensic Institute at Cranfield University. Her research is entitled "Development of Sustainable PPE for Higher Threat Clearance Operations by Humanitarian Organisations." 

What is your favourite memory of Roedean?

There are too many things to list just one. Getting to direct house plays when I was in 6.1 was special and a time I will never forget. My memories of house plays in general are very happy (especially when House 3 won.) One of the funniest moments I had though was during a trip to Wimbledon when I was in U5. We were all getting ready to leave after a long day when out of nowhere we heard a scream of “Oh my gosh it’s Chris Evert…Chris!!!” We all looked around to see one of the sports teachers sprinting as fast as she could down the road to go and get an autograph and a photo. I don’t think I have ever laughed so much.

What was the best piece of advice you were given whilst at School?

It might be a bit of an odd one, but it worked for me at the time, and I still carry the sentiment with me. I remember during GCSE’s I hadn’t done so well on one of the Maths modules. I went to my teacher to ask if they could put me in for a retake. They weren’t sure I’d be able to improve but I was adamant I should be allowed to at least try. I was therefore added to the list, but they turned to me and said, “I’m not sure you can do any better, but prove me wrong.” And that was all the motivation I needed! I remember the pride I felt when I was able to march down to the office on results day and wave my 100UMS result. And I still use that advice to this day - if anyone ever questions your ability to do something, work your hardest and prove them wrong.

When you were at Roedean, what did you want to be when you ‘grew-up’?

I knew I always wanted to do something in science or engineering, and I really enjoyed watching and playing sport, so in my head my ideal career would have been something within the technical design side of sport. For a while I really wanted to work as an engineer in Formula 1.

What are you now you’ve grown up?

I am currently in my 2nd year of a PhD at the school of Defence and Security at Cranfield University (Shrivenham). My thesis project is titled “Development of Sustainable PPE for Higher Threat Clearance Operations by Humanitarian Organisations." In a nutshell, I am trying to improve the armour within the protective vests used by demining charities. We are working on both making them more sustainable and on improving their ability to protect again blast and high-velocity fragmentation.

What does your job involve?

My fundamental role is as a researcher. My day-to-day job involves a lot of planning, reading, and experimental set-up and work in relation to my thesis topic. I do a lot of writing for both my thesis and for journal papers. I also sometimes get the opportunity to present my work to industry or at academic conferences. However, on top of this, I get to be involved with a lot of other cool day-to-day things. I have lectured and supervised master’s students on the Forensics MSc courses, I have been involved with a lot of department-wide experimental work (including work with explosives and ballistics), and of course, at the end of the day I am technically still a student, so I get to take part in lots of social events with other researchers at the university.

What have you done that you are most proud of?

There are a couple of things I can think of, but the one that immediately comes to mind, is the decision I made to leave my job as an Engineer so I could take some time out to find a career path that I was truly passionate about. I am proud of this because it was a big risk to take - I had a good job, had spent the best part of 5 years studying engineering at university, and lots of people thought I was a bit mad making this decision. However, I decided to take the plunge and went back to university to complete a MSc in Forensic Explosive and Explosion Investigation and now I am in a role and industry that I really enjoy and believe is worthwhile and can make a difference in the world. I am lucky enough that I can work directly with demining charities so I know the research I do will go towards making a difference.

What are the three objects you would take with you to a desert island?

An electronic tablet of some description so I can load it with books and tv shows, a fully stocked mini fridge, and unlimited sun cream because I burn annoyingly quickly and easily.

What books have had a significant influence on you and why?

It’s not a book, but there is a tv series called “The Innocence Files” which completely solidified my desire to do a forensics master’s degree. It details the misuse of forensic science and how it leads to wrongful convictions, and it really motivated me to enter the field and in particular, try and get into research.

What is on your bucket list?

Definitely travel some more. There are so many places I would really like to visit in the world. I would also really like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro one day. On top of that, I would like to complete all 6 of the World Marathon Majors (London, Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Boston, and Chicago). I’ve already done London so only 5 more to go! Career-wise, the big one, after finishing my PhD, would be to go and work in a research lab in Australia. They have some awesome facilities out there and it would be such an amazing opportunity.

If you had one year and unlimited funds, what would you do?

I would definitely invest a big chunk in some current research projects. There is some really cool engineering and science happening in universities at the moment so it would be good to help that along a bit. I would also love to take myself and my family and friends travelling. I am a big skier so I’d love to go on a big trip to Canada and Japan.