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Case study: optics The art of continuous transformation How does an industrial physicist end up in an arts faculty working on historic printing processes – and why? Susanne Klein tells Joe McEntee all about it r r a n k M e n g e F 2 4 Back when the 18-year-old Susanne Klein was considering her subject options for university, friends and family assumed that it wa s a s t r a i g h t f o r wa r d p i c k b e t we e n a d e g r e e in law (her father was a barrister) or German literature (her strongest subject at school). It turns out they were half-right. Klein did i nd e e d f a c e a b i na r y c h o i c e – j u s t n o t t h e o n e that everyone had anticipated. “When I went t o r e g i s t e r a t un i v e r s i t y, I wa s n ’ t s u r e whe t h e r to opt for German literature or physics,” she explains. “I flipped a coin, that’s literally how I decided, and once it landed for physics I figured why not – this will be much more of a challenge. I ’ve never looked back.” Since then, it’s fair to say that Klein has made a point of defying convention. In her student days, she admits to being driven to succeed, at least in part, by the somewhat unenlightened guidance of one physics professor. “He actually said to me ‘physics is not for girls, you are on the wrong course’,” she explains. “I thought to myself: ‘you old bastard – I’ll show you’!” Spurred on, Klein has taken the path less travelled as a professional physicist, pushing and crossing boundaries between industry and academia, theoretical and e x p e r i men t a l r e s e a r c h , a s we l l a s h e r h omeland in Germany and adopted home in the UK – long before Brexit was even a word. In her la t es t inc ar nat ion, K l e in f inds her sel f at another interface – this time between art and science – as an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) manufacturing fellow in the Centre for Fine Pr in t Research at t he Univer s i t y of t he West of England (UWE) in Bristol. Based in the UWE arts faculty, the fellowship sees Klein heading up a five-year Printworks Susanne Klein and her research team at the University of the West of England are giving 19th-century printing processes a 21st-century makeover. project (2018–2023), funded to the tune of £1.2m, with the goal of reimagining two 19th-century printing processes – Woodburytype and Lippmann photography. These historic technologies have been largely forgotten as they were not commercially competitive, despite the fact that they produce prints far superior to anything available today. “My task is to find out how they did it and then give these processes a 21stcentury makeover so that they are cheaper, faster and more accessible,” Klein explains. That makeover seeks to exploit Klein’s diverse research experience – spanning colloidal chemistry, optics and 3D printing – as well as an extensive network of industry and academic contacts developed over two decades working as a senior scientist at Hewlett-Packard (HP). If she and her team are successful, the resulting high-quality, continuous-tone printing processes will likely find a range of high-end commercial applications: from original works of art and designer fashion to the packaging of luxury goods and unhackable anticounterfeiting for pharmaceuticals and credit cards. So what’s life like working as a scientist surrounded by artists? Klein sees a lot of hands-on knowledge, craftsmanship and deep understanding among her UWE colleagues, adding that “people are very generous with that knowledge”. However, boundaries remain between the two cultures. “Science is almost forgotten in art,” she says. “There is a real block, in the sense that a lot of people who study ar t hated science in school.” For Klein, though, this feels like an opportunity. By helping arts students and researchers to understand the science better, she reasons, it should be possible for them to deliver better outcomes in their art. “If you know how to make your inks and how colour is generated, for example, you don’t need to experiment so much – there is less t r ial and er ror.” Physics World  Careers 2020 In association with brightrecruits
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Industry insights Klein’s current research post at UWE is no outlier. Throughout her career, she has s oug h t new r e s e a r c h d i r e c t i on s on a r e gu l a r basis. A PhD in theoretical physics – which focused on analytical methods for treatment planning in radiation therapy – was followed by a stint at Deutsche Telekom, Germany’s biggest telecommunications company, where she worked on nextgeneration optical switching technologies for fibre-optic networks. Then came the move to the UK – permanent as i t turns out – as a Royal Society research associate, working on theoretical and experimental aspects of classical optics in Michael Berry’s group at the University of Bristol. For the most part, though, Klein’s “scientific DNA” has been shaped by the time she spent as an industrial R&D scientist at HP Labs in Bristol. Her unwillingness to be typecast was evident – in fact encouraged – at HP, where her research programme spanned from liquid crystals and advanced display materials, through 3D printing technologies to optical cryptography. That adaptability and openness to new r esearch pathways holds a le s son for ear l y career scientists, says Klein. “Physics can come across as a dull, secret society – an unattractive choice for free spirits who Susanne Klein in brief Things she does when not doing science: taekwondo (K lein is a black belt, 3rd dan) and mountain biking (she ran all-female group in Gloucestershire for several years, exasperated by the macho male mountain-biking culture). Three “must-haves” for a desert island: book – The Long Ships: a Saga of the Viking Age by Frans Bengtsson; music – Seasick Steve; possession – Swiss army knife. On women in physics: “I don’t want to tell young women it’s easy. When you go into physics there’s no red carpet – you have to fight for it. If you know that, and you’re ready for i t , then i t ’s no problem.” On optimism: “When I was young, I thought we’d have a world revolution, and everyone would be equal by the time I was grown up. Well I ’m st i ll waiting!” want to be creative. I try to show young people that physics is something exciting, collaborative, an adventure. You just have to dare.” Having crossed from academia to industry and back again on several occasions, Klein is well placed to advise on what it t akes t o pr osper on bot h s i des o f t he f ence. Money, of course, is right up there. “At HP, as long as you sold your projec t t o t he company you were never short of money for your R&D,” Klein explains. “And I was a good seller of the science, both within HP as well as to the customers.” Put another way, successful science is not just about the results, it’s the story you tell about those results – and telling that story with passion, energy and enthusiasm. “You have to be a good entertainer and be remembered as a person who is really connected with the science,” Klein adds. “If you just show your results, the audience will fall asleep and you will be forgot ten.” For Klein, that passion for science (and art) remains as strong as ever – perhaps not surprising given that the EPSRC fellowship is very much her dream job. “The environment at UWE suits my personality and approach. I can spread my wings,” she concludes. “You can apply your ideas directly and quickly here. I also get to be more eccentric and no - one notices.” Joe McEntee i s a cont r ibu t ing edi t or based in south Glouces t er shir e, UK NETPark, Thomas Wright Way, Sedgefield County Durham TS21 3FD T: +44 (0) 1740 626060 E: Recruitment@kromek.com Kromek is a leading developer of high-performance radiation detection solutions based on cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) and advanced scintillator technologies. Using our core technology platforms, we design, develop and produce x-ray and gamma ray imaging and radiation detection products for application within the medical, nuclear /CBRNe and security screening markets. Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking on ever increasing and sophisticated role within our in our business both internally within our signal and data processing technologies and externally through the ways in which our customers exploit this data. This will allow us to deliver more and better products and services. In medical imaging products there has been much coverage of how AI is providing for better decision making and leading to earlier and more accurate diagnoses of critical illnesses such as cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Kromek is extending the applications of AI beyond just image processing and are committed to being at the centre of development of AI applications in industry. If you see yourself as part of a team developing groundbreaking innovative technology, why not give us a call. 2 5 In association with brightrecruits Physics World  Careers 2020

Case study: optics

The art of continuous transformation

How does an industrial physicist end up in an arts faculty working on historic printing processes – and why? Susanne Klein tells Joe McEntee all about it r r a n k M e n g e

F

2 4

Back when the 18-year-old Susanne Klein was considering her subject options for university, friends and family assumed that it wa s a s t r a i g h t f o r wa r d p i c k b e t we e n a d e g r e e in law (her father was a barrister) or German literature (her strongest subject at school). It turns out they were half-right. Klein did i nd e e d f a c e a b i na r y c h o i c e – j u s t n o t t h e o n e that everyone had anticipated. “When I went t o r e g i s t e r a t un i v e r s i t y, I wa s n ’ t s u r e whe t h e r to opt for German literature or physics,” she explains. “I flipped a coin, that’s literally how I decided, and once it landed for physics I figured why not – this will be much more of a challenge. I ’ve never looked back.”

Since then, it’s fair to say that Klein has made a point of defying convention. In her student days, she admits to being driven to succeed, at least in part, by the somewhat unenlightened guidance of one physics professor. “He actually said to me ‘physics is not for girls, you are on the wrong course’,” she explains. “I thought to myself: ‘you old bastard – I’ll show you’!”

Spurred on, Klein has taken the path less travelled as a professional physicist, pushing and crossing boundaries between industry and academia, theoretical and e x p e r i men t a l r e s e a r c h , a s we l l a s h e r h omeland in Germany and adopted home in the UK – long before Brexit was even a word. In her la t es t inc ar nat ion, K l e in f inds her sel f at another interface – this time between art and science – as an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) manufacturing fellow in the Centre for Fine Pr in t Research at t he Univer s i t y of t he West of England (UWE) in Bristol.

Based in the UWE arts faculty, the fellowship sees Klein heading up a five-year

Printworks Susanne Klein and her research team at the University of the West of England are giving 19th-century printing processes a 21st-century makeover.

project (2018–2023), funded to the tune of £1.2m, with the goal of reimagining two 19th-century printing processes – Woodburytype and Lippmann photography. These historic technologies have been largely forgotten as they were not commercially competitive, despite the fact that they produce prints far superior to anything available today. “My task is to find out how they did it and then give these processes a 21stcentury makeover so that they are cheaper, faster and more accessible,” Klein explains.

That makeover seeks to exploit Klein’s diverse research experience – spanning colloidal chemistry, optics and 3D printing – as well as an extensive network of industry and academic contacts developed over two decades working as a senior scientist at Hewlett-Packard (HP). If she and her team are successful, the resulting high-quality, continuous-tone printing processes will likely find a range of high-end commercial applications: from original works of art and designer fashion to the packaging of luxury goods and unhackable anticounterfeiting for pharmaceuticals and credit cards.

So what’s life like working as a scientist surrounded by artists? Klein sees a lot of hands-on knowledge, craftsmanship and deep understanding among her UWE colleagues, adding that “people are very generous with that knowledge”. However, boundaries remain between the two cultures. “Science is almost forgotten in art,” she says. “There is a real block, in the sense that a lot of people who study ar t hated science in school.”

For Klein, though, this feels like an opportunity. By helping arts students and researchers to understand the science better, she reasons, it should be possible for them to deliver better outcomes in their art. “If you know how to make your inks and how colour is generated, for example, you don’t need to experiment so much – there is less t r ial and er ror.”

Physics World  Careers 2020

In association with brightrecruits

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