Finlay Gerrand (Physics PhD 2021) hails the University of Cambridge as the perfect place for pursuing research interests and wider passions in tandem.
Finlay works in the Molecular Engineering group, led by Professor Jacqui Cole, at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge’s Department of Physics. This team is developing Artificial Intelligence tools to facilitate the discovery of new functional materials and the optimisation and repurposing of materials we already have, and Finlay’s personal focus is on electrocatalysts, materials that speed up electrochemical reactions such as those which occur in batteries and certain industrial processes. Finlay’s AI tool will extract data from vast quantities of existing scientific literature to help shed light on the crucial relationships between the atomic structure of materials and their electrocatalytic properties, reducing the time and money spent on synthesis and testing.
It was during his undergraduate degree in Chemistry with Molecular Physics at Imperial College London that Finlay first developed his passion for computational science. He then took this interest further during his MSc by Research in Theoretical Soft Matter Physics at Durham University, where one of his supervisors was Gonville & Caius College alumnus Dr Mark Miller (Chemistry PhD 1995), before moving to Caius himself for his PhD.
Having the opportunity to take part in significant research at Cambridge has been a delight for Finlay. He says: “Doing a PhD is a privilege in that you are surrounded by interesting and interested people, and you have the freedom to explore things. There’s something really cool about doing this kind of research, and I have no regrets.”
When he speaks to current undergraduate students who are unsure whether to pursue postgraduate studies, he shares his experience. “Research suited me more than lectures,” he adds. “Even if you don’t like lectures, try research – you might love it! It’s a very different lifestyle and approach, and you get different freedoms.”
Among these freedoms has been Finlay’s opportunities to throw himself into his love of music alongside his research, which has allowed him to realise that he wants “to take music a lot more seriously”. In addition to his recent performance in the band Postbox at Take it to the Bridge, the Cambridge University Centre for Music Performance's annual 'battle of the bands' competition, Finlay was particularly thrilled at the end of Lent Term to host a performance event with his band Quasar. This event, called Quasar & Friends, brought together around 25 musicians from a range of Cambridge-based bands and for Finlay testifies to the uniqueness of Cambridge as a place for pursuing one’s passions to the fullest.
He adds: “They went so above and beyond to do this thing just for the love it. Everyone was so busy and yet willing to drop everything to do that. It was so heartwarming. And there’s lots of support for it, and the facilities are great – I’ve used the Ruth Mott Room, Caius’ practice room in Harvey Court, a stupid number of times. It’s one of the best in Cambridge, definitely!”
Although keeping his options open, following his PhD Finlay is particularly interested in applying his skills to green technology. “I came across a role recently that made me realise the skills and tools we use can be used in the world of renewable energy policy,” he says. “They do a similar thing where they take unstructured data from sources like government and industry reports, turn them into organised datasets and publish the tools that allow policymakers to use the data most effectively to make decisions. So there are roles out there that combine the tools from my research and this space, which I never really thought there were.”
