Dr Devesh Mistry
1851 Industrial Fellow, 2015
In 2015, I was lucky enough to be awarded an Industrial Fellowship to support my PhD at the University of Leeds. The award transformed my PhD and I strongly encourage PhD students in the physical sciences to check their eligibility and apply if they can. With the funding provided, I became more ambitious in my research could afford to take more risks. I created bespoke equipment, which became fundamentally key to my results and outcomes, and I attended numerous conferences, where I developed a network that has been crucial to my career since.
Following my Industrial Fellowship, I took up an independent postdoctoral position at the University of Colorado, Denver – supported by a Lindemann Fellowship. Now I am a Leverhulme Early Career and University Academic Fellow in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds where I am building my own research group.
Looking back, the Royal Commission’s funding catalysed my career. It wasn’t just the additional funding, but also the opportunities to network with scientists and engineers working across UK academia and industry. The awareness I developed of the culture and challenges of various disciplines and sectors will continue to influence my research and career.
