Bilal Armiyawo

Bilal Armiyawo chose to study Physics MSc at Leeds. Since graduating he has been working with SERCO, as an inventory supervisor on a temporary basis. On a more permanent basis, he is looking to work as an Applied Scientist/Graduate Physicist in a semiconductor manufacturing company.

Choosing Leeds

“Despite assurances in the well-known quality of teaching at the University of Leeds, I was particularly drawn to the non-limiting structure of the MSc programme. This helped in gaining a personalised feel, while keeping my acquired skills relevant to modern-day scientific and technological problems.

The assignment of a personal tutor was very helpful. It provided an avenue to improve my strengths and limit my weaknesses in a way that was exclusive to me.” Bilal commented.

Experiences at Leeds

The Current Research Topics in Physics module is one that Bilal enjoyed immensely. He said “I attended seminars delivered by top physicists from various countries. This helped in giving me exposure as well as improving my confidence in contributing to scientific work. It also improved my ability to assimilate scientific information delivered at a fast pace. It required reading top-quality scientific papers for my final article, which developed my research, critical reading and writing skills.”

Bilal added “Complications surrounding the real-space visualisation of hydrogen bonds have not stifled attempts to conclusively and accurately identify them in Atomic Force Microscopy images. Visualizing these types of interactions would have interesting implications for fields that depend heavily on understanding intermolecular and intramolecular interactions, such as crystal engineering and molecular self-assembly. My project found particular relevance in investigating this possibility by embarking on a feasibility study – whether hydrogen bonding interactions are measurable in real-space through Probe Particle Model (PPM) simulations.”

The next generation

Thinking about the next cohort of students, Bilal said “It is imperative that you strive for independence in thought because it is the best strategy to guarantee your continual growth. The atmosphere at the University of Leeds encourages you to be proactive, which implies limitless possibilities for any student. You can achieve anything you set your mind to.”