Student profile: Mac Curtis
What is the topic of your research?
What are you aiming to do and how does it relate to other work in your field?
Investigating the effects of strain on superconductivity using a mixture of computational approaches on a square lattice model and some analytical symmetry arguments - specifically focusing on the unconventional superconductor Sr2RuO4. There are some groups doing the experimental investigation for Sr2RuO4 under strain so this would be complementary.
In the last few years there's been great interest with Sr2RuO4 as it was found that an old experiment classifying Sr2RuO4 was done incorrectly and it's opened it up to lots of investigation.
How far along the journey are you? First year, second year, writing-up etc.?
I'm at the end of my second year.
What attracted you to the research opportunities at Bristol?
A mix of the project and Bristol itself. I grew up in the Southwest and always loved Bristol. When I went on to the website and found the project I knew it would be perfect for me.
What is Bristol like as a place to live?
Vibrant, lots to do. There's something for everyone. I love going for walks around Bristol's green spaces or harbourside which is nice since you usually lose those nice areas when you go to larger cities. Oh and plenty of good pubs. The harbourside in summer is the perfect mix of both.
What was it like starting a research degree as a new student?
What advice would you give to someone thinking about doing a research degree in Bristol Physics?
It can be a little overwhelming at the start - it feels like there's so much you need to do or learn so definitely remember you have years to do a PhD and you don't need to get it all in the first couple of weeks. Talk to the other PhD students/Postdocs in your group for advice.
And I'd highly recommend teaching - it helps break up your week so it's not just a whole week of staring at the same code.