I have been studying with the OU for 22 years now. I started with courses in computing to support my work. This lead to a BSc (Hons), Postgraduate diploma and finally my MSc. When I finished my MSc, there was a big hole in my life and then I heard about the SuperWASP project and embarked on a PhD looking at the stars under the supervision of Dr Andrew Norton, OU Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics.
SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) is an international academic organisation performing an ultra-wide angle search for transiting extrasolar planets. I chose SuperWASP because I have always been interested in astronomy and as I had just completed my MSc I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do something for me for a change. I am a Systems Analyst/Programmer with a medical company and I have a very busy job but luckily I have a brilliant, encouraging wife who has supported me through all of my studies.
I also received excellent support at the OU where I got immediate responses to my enquiries from my supervisors. They were Dr Norton at the OU, Dr. Peter Wheatley: Warwick University and Dr. Richard West: Leicester University at the time, but now from Warwick University. I had three or four face-to-face meetings each year and they were fabulous. I always came away enthused about what to do next.
"My research led me to look at millions of stars. If you look at certain stars over a period of time, they go dim and bright again."
These are called variable stars and they vary for different reasons. Each type of variability leads to a different classification. I looked at 4.3 million and I classified 1.1 million of them. As a result an astronomer can use the results from the software I created to analyse the stars. Instead of looking at all 4.3 million stars, an astronomer can look at my results and work from there. This saves time and cost of resources.
When asked how my research will change the world, I do not think it will necessarily change the world but it will allow astronomers to increase our knowledge of where we come from.