Katherine takes her research to the Solar System and beyond

A FORMER RGS student is embarking on exciting new research that is out of this world.

Dr Katherine Dale, who left RGS in 2018, completed her doctorate in astrophysics, with a specific focus on the formation of the Earth, at the University of the Cote d’Azur.

She has now been offered a post-doctoral position in Bayreuth, Germany, to work on ageoastronomy project which aims to characterise the composition of planets outside our Solar System.“This opportunity feels like a natural progression for me as I really want to continue with an academic career and eventually become a professor,” she says.Q: What did you go on to do after leaving RGS?

A: After taking A-levels in maths, geography, physics, and chemistry I began a four-year earth sciences degree at the University of Oxford, finishing in 2022. I went straight into further study without a break, which worked well for me.

Q: What has been your career path since then?

A: Far more education than career, I finished my master's (integrated) in 2022 with my PhD position already lined up. I moved to France in September 2022 for my studies, and here I am now.

Q: Can you outline a typical day?

A: Far less interesting than you would imagine. I get into the

somewhere between 8:45 and 9:30am and check my before getting coffee

with my colleagues. On Tuesday mornings, I often go to a seminar where an invited guest, who can work in any area of astronomy and astrophysics, gives a talk about their work. On Thursday afternoons, we have another seminar, this one often

has people from our group (planetology) giving a talk. The rest of the day really depends on what needs to be done: writing papers, my thesis, applications, or conference abstracts have been a lot of my recent work. Sometimes I spend my day

adding updates to the code I use, running the code or analysing and

plotting the results.

Q: What have been the highlights of your career to date?

A: Defending my PhD in front of my friends and family was probably one of the highlights. It is an incredible feeling to realise that your hard work has come to fruition and how much you have achieved. You also feel so powerful standing up and talking about something you are the world expert on. My supervisor also said some lovely things during my defence, that my work has changed the course of the wider project, and his saying that was enormously meaningful.

Q: What’s the best bit about your role?

A: There are lots of best bits, but I think the most obvious is getting paid to do something I love. I love research, and I love science, and I am getting paid to be part of it. Travelling is also a big bonus; I love going to conferences and getting to experience new

places while I’m there. I’ve been to the US twice, Paris, Helsinki, and Prague as part of my PhD.

Q: And the worst?

A: Having to leave your friends and family behind. Research, particularly in astrophysics, is an incredibly competitive field. If you want to progress in it, it is likely you will have to be moving cities, even countries, every 2-3 years from the beginning of your PhD to the point where you have a permanent position (often more than 6 years after you finish your PhD). That means you leave any friends you made behind. I see my friends from school and university 2-3 times a year, if I’m lucky. I’m about to leave

a whole host of friends in Nice that I will be coming to visit. My relationship is also about to go long-distance: not something I’m looking forward to, but that’s the world of research.

Q: What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced?

A: This one is easy: moving to another country where I knew no one and didn’t speak the language. Understanding the French system, French supermarkets, and the French way of life has been hard at times. Hopefully, it will be easier the second time mwhen I move to Germany in January.

Q: What was the most important thing you learnt at RGS?

A: That everyone has different skill sets and all of them have value: whether in social skills, creativity, management, sports, or academics. I look at what my schoolmates are doing now and find myself far more impressed with the amazing things they are

all doing than I ever have with myself.

Q: What extra-curricular activities were you involved in while at RGS, both in and out of school, and how valuable were they?

A: I tried to be involved in a lot of things while at school, though sport was not my strong suit; I did do athletics. I was also involved in a lot of the theatre productions within school, particularly House Drama. Writing that script for Beauty and the Beast

somehow has helped with academic papers, and seeing the cast bowing on stage at the end of the production is still the proudest I’ve been of anyone in my life. Through drama and through things like Prince's Trust, I was also able to improve my social skills, which have really helped me make friends in new places throughout the years. My participation in public speaking (specifically debating) has also allowed me to adapt quickly to giving speeches at conferences, clearly and naturally.

Q: What do you wish you’d known back then?

A: That something doesn’t have to be perfect to be good. My perfectionism has been my downfall many times. Also, I should trust other people with my burdens. All the work does not have to be mine to be the standard I want it to be.

Q: What was your dream when you were at school?

A: Honestly, I don’t really remember. Find something that made me happy, I guess, and I was always interested in pursuing science.

Q: What is the one piece of advice you’d give students interested in following a similar career path?

A: Don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to people. Academics love to find others interested in their work. While cold emails aren’t always the best, there are ways to make them more personal. Find someone who has worked with them before and ask if they can recommend you. Connections are far more important in academics than intelligence.

Q: Who was your favourite teacher and why?

A: There are too many answers to this question and all with different reasons, I’d be here for the next year writing it all out.

Q: What would you say has been your greatest success?

A: Probably moving abroad and making a life for myself here.

Q: What do you miss most about Yorkshire?

A: Apart from my friends and family, I miss the countryside. I live in the south of France, and I still firmly believe that the Yorkshire Dales have the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Q: What are your hopes for the future?

A: Keep researching, keep learning, be happy.