Our team ventured to Glasgow to attend the 2023 edition of the ECOC Conference and Exhibition. Amid the bustling conference activities, James found a moment to engage in a brief interview with our recently appointed Editor, Laura Hiscott. This conversation allowed them to delve deeper into Laura's background, providing valuable insights into her qualifications and experiences.
Laura, it's a pleasure to be here and thank you very much for taking time to meet with us. Could you tell us a little bit about your background?
Hi James. I studied physics at Imperial College and after that, I went into science writing, initially working for an astronomy organisation called ESO, and that's where I learned a little bit more about science writing. I went on to work for Physics World magazine, which is a public facing magazine all about physics and technology. Now, I'm very happy to be working for PIC magazine. I started last month.
What sparked your interest in journalism then, coming from a degree in physics?
So I've always really enjoyed writing, and during my degree there was one module where we had the opportunity to write a public outreach style article about any physics related topic that we liked. I really, really enjoyed the process of that, and I, it just got me thinking, I've always enjoyed writing, and I've always enjoyed learning about how things work, but I'm not sure that I want to continue in academia and research, but this seems like a great way to combine those interests, and keep up to date with what's going on in scientific discoveries and technology from a different perspective.
And then leading on from that, what sparked your interest in working for a publication like PIC Magazine?
Well, I think we're all very familiar with the idea of electricity and electronic circuits, but when I first heard about photonic integrated circuits and the idea of sending light around, and how much faster that could be, it sounded really cool and futuristic. It's a super exciting time to be joining the industry because innovations are starting to make that transition out of the lab. There are lots of really exciting potential applications on the horizon. It seems like a really great time to be getting involved.
Laura, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day at the exhibition and the conference to meet with me and to have this discussion. Looking forward to working with you.
Thank you, James. Looking forward to working with you too.
Watch the full interview online at https://picmagazine.net/video/421/Welcome_to_the_team_Laura!
Welcome to the team Laura!
