Profile – Radium Zone

Education:

Toot Hill Secondary School (2002-2007), Toot Hill Sixth Form College (2007-2009), University of Leeds (2009 to present)
Qualifications:

BSc Zoology (Hons), MSc Biodiversity and Conservation
Work History:

Membership Recruiter (Wildlife Trusts), Lab Research Assistant (University of Leeds)
Current Job:

PhD Student in Animal Locomotion

About Me:

I’m Alex, a 25 year old PhD student studying animal locomotion, focusing on bird flight!
Read more

I’ve been at the University of Leeds for almost 8 years and have spent lots of that time learning about animals and the natural world.

In my spare time I like to write articles for science websites and contribute to blogs. I’m also a board game nut, TV addict and video game fan!

I recently got married to girlfriend and we live together in a tiny flat in Leeds – we’ve been together since I was 14 years old!
Read more

I’m interested in how animals use the metabolic energy in their food and oxygen they breathe to move, which is called animal locomotion! I mostly work with small parrots such as budgerigars, cockatiels and lovebirds – but I also work with beetles and mice sometimes.
My Typical Day:

I’m either training parrots to fly in our wind tunnel, or playing around with tiny little beetle muscles!
Read more

My day-to-day routine varies a lot. Some days I might be organising the training of a flock of parrots, and other days I’m measuring the force production of muscle fibres that are thinner than a human hair! My time is split between the bird flight room (where I fly my birds), the lab (where I work with my beetles) and the office (where I write about the science I’ve been doing).
What I'd do with the prize money:

I’d produce a fun card game that can be given to schools to educate about wildlife conservation.

Alex Evans