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Laura Thomas-Walters

    • About Me:

      I work to change people’s behaviours in ways that are better for the environment. I love sewing, puzzles, and animals.

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      Although I live in Cardiff, I actually work for an American university! It means I sometimes have late meetings, but I always get to have a lie in.

       

      I make all my own clothes, and I particularly love fabric with animals on. I’ve even sewn a scientific poster before!

      I have a super beautiful black cat called Pip.

    • My pronouns are:

      She/her

    • My Work:

      I work to change people’s behaviours in ways that are better for the environment. Right now my focus is on helping people understand the links between extreme weather and climate change. In the past I worked with lots of endangered animals.

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      I do online experiments to find out what sort of messages help people understand that climate change is causing extreme weather like heat waves and flooding.

       

      I also do experiments to help promote plant-based diets (or, getting people to eat less meat!)

       

      Some of my research is with the climate protest group Extinction Rebellion, to see what sort of messages will get people to protest the government about climate change.

       

      In the past, I’ve worked on using video games to understand why people might decide to hurt animals, and I’ve tried to persuade people to stop eating things like rhino horn or pangolin scales.

    • My Typical Day:

      I work from home, usually in my pyjamas on the sofa!

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      I wake up around 9 and cuddle my cat. Then I do some exercise and have breakfast. I start the “workday” by checking my emails before I do proper work. I might have some online meetings in the afternoon or evening, with people from all over the world. When my wife comes home from work, we’ll eat dinner together.

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      Buy water quality testing kits for the “Dirty Water” campaign – teach members of the public how to use them to see firsthand just how polluted our rivers are!

    Candidate CV questions (extra)

    • Education:

      I went to 5 different schools as we moved around a lot, but I did my GCSEs at Bishopston Comprehensive and my A Levels at Gower College Swansea.

      I went to the University of Kent to do Religious Studies and Philosophy, but swapped for Animal Science instead.

      Then I did a MRes (masters by research) at University College London in Biodiversity, Evolution and Conservation.

      Finally I went back to the University of Kent for a PhD!

    • Qualifications:

      11 A’s and A*’s GCSEs, including double science, art, Latin, and geography.

      AS Levels in Science for Public Understanding, Government and Politics, Ancient History.

      A Levels in Pure Maths (B), Religious Studies (A), and Philosophy (C).

      1st Class Animal Science BSc (Hons)

      Then MRes and PhD!

    • Work History:

      From earliest to latest:

      Waitress at a casino, dealing with drunk people

      Education tutor for Wildwood Trust, taking students on tours of the animal park

      Stepping Up tutor for University of Kent, helping 6th form students to apply to university

      Guest lecturer for University of Kent and University of Stirling, teaching uni students

      Researcher at University of Stirling, working on video games

      Senior Advisor for the government (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

      Researcher at Oregon State University, working on plant-based diets

      Researcher at Yale University, working on climate change and extreme weather

       

      (Also lots of consultancy jobs, doing short-term projects for people like National Geographic Society and TRAFFIC International)

    • Current Job:

      Research Scientist

    • Employer:

      Yale University!

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        marketing for good!

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        I didn't really know - like a million different things!

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        Not really

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        Fashion designer

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Pink

        What's your favourite food?

        Chocolate

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        1) Be healthy and fit without needing to exercise, 2) Win the lottery, 3) Make my cat live for 50 years

        Tell us a joke.

        What steps do you take if you a tiger is running towards you? Big ones!

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