Integrated Graphene Meet the Team: No.15 - Beck Hunter, Development Engineer
Author: Caitlin Ho
Today, we're delighted to introduce Beck Hunter, one of our Development Engineers. Beck works on the research and development of both internal and external projects to help bring new and innovative microfluidic products to life.
Q: Where are you from and what is your professional background?
BH: I grew up in Edinburgh, then moved to Glasgow to study MEng Product Design Engineering due to my interest in both technical and human-centred aspects of product design. The course was run over two universities, where we learnt our mechanical engineering knowledge at the University of Glasgow and worked on practical projects at the Glasgow School of Art. Throughout this degree, I developed my interest in the medical field and subsequently pursued an MSc in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, graduating with Distinction in November 2021. Here, I was able to apply my engineering knowledge to biomedical problems and learn about interesting topics such as the mechanics of blood, the medical device regulatory system and cardiovascular devices. I recently joined Integrated Graphene and I am really excited about applying what I have learned and developing my skills as an engineer in this open-minded and forward-thinking company.
Q: What does a day on the job look like for you?
BH: Each day as a development engineer is different! I contribute towards both internal tasks and consultancy work with external customers. The job varies depending on what stage we are at in a project, however there are always multiple projects on the go, keeping things nice and interesting! As we have our own in-house laboratory and workshop, we can create rapid prototypes and run product testing on site with ease and accuracy. It also means we can manufacture internal products for the scientists to accompany their experimental set-ups and protocols. This means that some days I am working at my desk producing 3D CAD models or illustrations for the marketing team, and other days I am in the workshop testing or building products. All in all, it is a very varied and collaborative work environment with a huge scope of freedom for innovation.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2022?
BH: I am excited about progressing with the projects we are currently working on and helping bring them to the market in the coming years. It is hard to predict what new projects might come our way, so I am looking forward to facing new technical challenges while innovating with graphene at the core of the designs to help produce life-changing products.
Q: How do you see graphene changing the world?
BH: Bringing graphene to the global market has the potential to revolutionise healthcare and sustainable design. Products will be capable of so much more than ever before, whether that be with regards to energy storage or optimised sensing capabilities. It is very exciting to know our innovations can be the drivers of this change.
Thank you for the insight, Beck! Stay tuned for more meet the team interviews in the coming weeks.
If you have a project you would like to discuss with Beck or one of her colleagues, then please get in touch today.