Sense and serendipity, the two aspects of my career that have led me here. As DVC(R) at an aspirational and ambitious, research-intense University I get to support other researchers as they pursue their passions. Research is the application of hard work, intelligence and common sense, to an issue that fires the mind and feeds the soul. Serendipity is the chance conversation that leads someone's research in a new direction. My job is to ensure that researchers have the opportunity for all these things.
My own research has led me from a PhD in aluminium smelting, through materials characterisation and surface engineering, to food materials science and the properties that dictate how food feels as we chew it. Food oral processing and texture perception influence our enjoyment and satisfaction with what we eat, and also our nutritional outcomes, making it a fascinating area of study. Most recently my research has evolved again, into "meta-research", the research of research, but that's another story...