What is your main role?

I work on the design of new biopharmaceutical facilities, which manufacture complex drug products through cell culture. Recently I've also worked on a gasification power station project too, which will gasify coal into hydrogen, and capture the carbon dioxide, making for much cleaner electricity generation.

What part of your job gets you out of bed in the morning?

It's exciting to think that the equipment you're designing on the page will become real items working in a real facility. It gives you a great sense of purpose.

Briefly, what does your typical day involve?

Design work generally revolves around sizing equipment - will the pump deliver the flowrate we need? Will the heat exchanger keep the bioreactor at the right temperature for the cells to grow? Will the relief valve keep everyone safe if the heat exchanger tube ruptures?

What is the most interesting thing you have done today?

Today I participated in a cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) review of a client's new pilot plant. This is where we look at the whole plant to make sure that we can make the drug product in a safe way that will prevent any contamination that could harm the patient.

What is the most unusual thing you have done as part of your job?

Our company puts on a weekend away for that year's intake of graduates up at Lake Windermere. At one stage I found myself flying down a zip wire throwing a bottle of coke into a canoe...

What is the most unlikely place your job has taken you?

Last year we worked on a project in Basel, Switzerland. On one weekend a few colleagues and I opted to go snowboarding in the nearby Black Forest in Germany. At the end of the day, the owner of the B&B we were staying in took us to his local bar - whereby we were introduced to 'The Nail Game' which involved taking it in turns to swing a lump hammer to drive a 9 inch nail into a tree trunk. You'd take one swing and then pass on the hammer, taking it in turns around the trunk. The lowest number of strikes to get the nail completely in won. Some of us managed single figures but the local hero, Olaf, managed it in just one hit - very surreal!

What is the one personal ambition you still want to achieve?

I'd like to cycle the Tour de France route one year.

When you are not at work what is your greatest pleasure?

I really enjoy cycling and have just recently started climbing too. It's good to get out of the house when you can!