I saw it as an opportunity to learn something new, it was a challenge but I got there in the end! Reuben Holmes, PhD Researcher, The University of Tokyo

Reuben grew up in Hawarth, Yorkshire and then moved to Cumbria before starting secondary school in Millom. Reuben enjoyed taking part in competitive sports when he was younger and particularly enjoyed tennis. He was also heavily involved in the Air Cadets and after four years at the Air Cadets he became the highest ranked cadet in his squadron. Reuben’s goal up until he was sixteen was to be a pilot, however due to his eyesight deteriorating, he went down the Chemistry route instead after being inspired by his enthusiastic chemistry teachers.

Reuben went to St Andrew’s in Scotland to study Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry. He really enjoyed his time at university where he worked part time at the betting shop, Ladbrokes and joined the local darts club.

After completing his masters degree, Reuben went on to work at British Sugar UK in the laboratory providing direct operational support. During his time at British Sugar UK, Reuben used the time to think about what he really wanted to do with his life and applied for a graduate scheme at Sellafield, where he ended up working in the Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing department as a Technical Specialist.  

Reuben then moved on to work for the National Nuclear Laboratory as a Plant Chemist. Within just weeks of starting at NNL, his chemistry responsibilities became split with public engagement research on nuclear topics, so he developed a broad range of experience in both the technical as well as social aspect of nuclear.

After working for NNL for five years, Reuben then decided to start a PhD at The University of Tokyo, Japan after deciding he wanted to gain more confidence in his technical ability and reasoning.

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