Profile
Kate Winfield
My CV
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Education:
Primary School: Monkspath Junior and Infant school (Solihull, West Midlands)
Secondary School: Tudor Grange Academy (Solihull, West Midlands)
Sixth form/ College: Arden School Sixth Form (Solihull, West Midlands)
University: Coventry University studying Physical Geography -
Qualifications:
GCSEs: Maths, Chemistry, Science, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Music, ICT, Food technology, French, RE
A-Level: Geography, Maths, Chemistry
University: 1st Class degree in BSc Physical Geography -
Work History:
In the past:
Customer Assistant at the local Cooperative Food
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) support assistant and student ambassador at Coventry UniversityWork experience:
Solihull Council environmental team
The Weather channel -
Current Job:
Environmental Data Scientist at the Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC), located Harwell, Oxfordshire
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About Me:
I am a very friendly, social person who is constantly busy. I am a Girl Guiding Brownie and Ranger leader and I also play the clarinet in several concert bands.
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I used to be a very quiet person but now I am very chatty and social. I love keeping myself busy so when I am not at work I am a Girl Guiding Brownie leader (Brown Owl) and I am also a Girl Guiding Ranger leader, where we have lots of fun and laughs doing outdoor activities, cooking, crafts, learning new skills and completing lots of badges! The best thing is going away on Brownie holidays and Ranger camps. Recently I went scuba diving!
I also play the clarinet in several wind bands performing in several concerts and social events. I have played in many concert venues including the Birmingham Symphony hall.
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I work at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in Harwell, Oxfordshire. There are many departments at STFC and I work in the RAL Space division in the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis Team (CEDA). CEDA serves the environmental science community by hosting a data analysis platform and data archive.
CEDA hosts a data archive holding vast diverse data from sources including aircraft campaigns, satellites, air quality observations, automatic weather stations, climate models, etc. The CEDA archive currently holds 15 PB data (this is equivalent to 15,000,000 GB), in over 550 millions of files.
It is my job to get these data from the scientists into our archive, making sure it is in a suitable format for long term preservation. Every day is different looking at all different types of data from weather reports to air pollution, to satellites to log books and models. To do this I use a Linux based system, running Python code.
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My Typical Day:
I get up at around 7:45am and get to work around 8:45am. I then look at my emails and see what data I need to put into the supercomputer. I then process data, attend meetings, answer emails and do anything else that needs doing. I then leave work at around 5pm. But every day is different!
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I am usually at my desk around 8:45am (this is dependent on me waking up to my alarm!). When I get in I usually scrolling through my emails and queries from the helpdesk. I then usually respond to the most urgent ones. The rest of the day depends on the data that has arrived and what is in my calendar. There is usually at least one meeting every day and a lot of data waiting to be processed/archived. I always break at 11am for coffee with the rest of the team and usually go to lunch around 12:30. Other times I could be going to lectures, conferences, giving talks, tours, writing documentation or helping out with public engagement events. I then usually leave work at 5pm. Every day is different!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
As I have already mentioned I am involved in Girlguiding. I would like to produce a Girlguiding and Scout STEM challenge badge based on different types of science and engineering jobs that can be found at the Science Technology Facilities Council using our stories, inspiring the next generation of workforce to become scientists and engineers. With the money I would get 1000 badges made for Girl guides and Scouts to earn. Or I would take the local Girlguiding units on a trip to the National Space Centre or The Science Museum in London.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
hardworking, friendly, supportive
What did you want to be after you left school?
Was not sure but I always liked the weather and the environment.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No, but I always managed to get my clarinet lessons during PE as I hated it!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Take That
What's your favourite food?
hmm this is hard but will have to go with my Mom's roast dinners
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Become a famous scientist, travel the world, make my family proud
Tell us a joke.
Q: Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? A: Great food, no atmosphere.
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