 My name is Laura Russell and I am a PhD student in Southern Ireland based in the Tindall National Institute and University College Corp. And so what's actually involved in the team? What do you actually do? So a year and a half ago I joined the research group and I am working on a cold atom experiment. So this is a biggest experiment which has been set up and been running in my group for four years by now. So I've taken over from the two senior PhD students who have been working on it previously. Okay, so how did you actually get involved in physics as well? So when I was studying in school for my final exams I actually took up physics the last moment before my exams. And I studied the course within five months and managed to get into the college course. I did this because I realised that actually it's the one area that I really wanted to go into. You know, I just really felt a passion for it. So I started a degree in university in physics and then because I did a project in my final year with the quantum optics group where I work now, I loved it a bit and I joined and started my PhD immediately. So what would you say to young girls about doing science or physics? Well basically I think that because it's such a male dominated area now still we need to get sort of the ratio of males to females. I think that the female input in physics is very important because we think in a very different way. And I think we approach problems with just a different sort of approach to problems. And I think that sometimes where males may not think of a particular answer to something then a female will. And I just think this is really important, you know, just to progress in college. And who inspired you as well? One of my major inspirations is my dad actually because he left school when he was really young. He didn't complete any of his education and he was always interested in science. But he had a very layman's understanding of it. So he really inspired me when he was talking to me when I was younger about all sorts of things, co-refusion and everything. And now that I'm doing a PhD it's definitely my supervisor, she inspires me. She's just a role model. Okay, and what are you going to do next anyway? Well I have to finish my PhD. So I'm about halfway through and after that I really would like to continue in outreach because I think it's just so rewarding. I would love to, even in Ireland, just be an outreach officer because I think that in Ireland this is really lacking. And I think that I would like to bring some more optics and information to kids so they can consider physics as a career opportunity.