Amy Bartlett chose the University of Surrey for her undergraduate degree because it offers the unique opportunity to spend a research year abroad. She graduated in 2004 with an MPhys in Physics with Nuclear Astrophysics, and stayed on to do a PhD entitled  “R-matrix and Dynamical Theory of Resonances”, in 2008. 

She explains "I had always wanted to go to America and so I spent a year researching nuclear astrophysics at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana (USA). My work involved calculating how quickly nuclei react with each other in supernovae explosions, where the temperatures are either too high or the nuclei too exotic to perform experiments. At the end of the year, I presented my results at a conference in Tucson (Arizona, USA) and even had my work published in a respected journal. The research year was a fantastic experience on both a professional and personal level.

Having had a taste of what real physics research was like; I decided I wanted to continue the work I started during my year away. Surrey has the largest group of theoretical nuclear physicists in the country, so it was the ideal place to continue my work. During my PhD, I have presented my work at the House of Commons and at international physics conferences. I have also attended workshops in Germany, Italy and the USA. I even spent a week in a school talking to pupils about my work.

In total I have spent 7 (8 if you count my year abroad!) years studying physics at Surrey and I wouldn’t have stayed so long if it hadn’t been so much fun! I"