Profile
Leila Moura
My CV
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Education:
I went to school in Portugal, my education up to my Master’s degree in Chemistry took place in Lisbon.
My Chemistry and Maths teachers in school were very passionate and really helped me start my career in science.
I had good grades and was able to attend a great University in Lisbon, called IST and loved it so much I decided to continue working in Universities all around Europe.
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Qualifications:
I did my education in Portugal (which is not exactly the same as in the UK) but I had to dedicate myself to my studies a lot to be able to attend the University I wanted to go to. My average grade was around 18 out of 20.
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Work History:
I had many jobs, and i had fun in different ways in all of them. I also learned a lot from each one of them.
I was a waitress for over 10 years, worked in a supermarket, in a call center and even in an underwear shop!
I also had jobs doing chemistry research in my home country Portugal, then France and now here in Belfast! -
Current Job:
I am a Royal Academy Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
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About Me:
I love talking about chemistry and science.
I really like to travel around the world, see new places and try crazy foods.
I am also a Underwater Hockey player and I travel to many places to go to international competitions with the Queen’s University Belfast team. -
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I love talking about chemistry and science. My family says that I was born a scientist! I really like to travel around the world, see new places and try crazy foods.I am driven by my own curiosity of the world, science, people, other cultures and languages.I love having friends from all over the world.
I am also an Underwater Hockey player and I travel to many places to go to international competitions with the Queen’s University Belfast team.
My family owns restaurants in Portugal and I love cooking and baking all the time, it’s like having a lab at home!
My partner and 2 cats and my family probably think I am a crazy scientist.
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My work involves creating new liquid materials called “ionic liquids” to use in air, gas and water purification.
These ionic liquids are really interesting because they are not like regular liquids. They are made of ions, like your kitchen salt. But instead of being solid like the kitchen salt, they are liquid!
There are thousands of different ionic liquids and we can create new one for a particular application.
I create new ionic liquids and test them to purify mixtures of gases (like biogas), remove pollutants from air (like carbon dioxide) and pollutants from water.
I also design and build equipment to make all these tests.
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My Typical Day:
A typical day for me starts with cycling to work to reduce my contribution to carbon emissions!
I read, write and discuss chemistry and chemical engineering for a large part of my day, either with PhD students or other researchers.
I like to spend some time thinking about some new crazy ideas to try in the lab! -
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My job at the University involves a lot of science discussion and reading about science. I talk and teach about chemistry and chemical engineering to undergraduate and postgraduate students. I also meet frequently with many of my colleagues, Lecturers and Professors in Queen’s and all over the world about our results and exciting new ideas and projects for our students.
I spend some time in my research lab teaching the student how to work with equipment, make the materials we need and how to obtain the results they need. Wearing the lab coat, safety specs and gloves always gives me a very comfortable and calm feeling.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like to bring some students to experience chemistry and chemical engineering for a day in Queen’s!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
curious international chemist
What did you want to be after you left school?
I knew I wanted to have a job related to science...chemistry looked like it had the most interesting topics. I was right!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Shhhhh, that's a secret!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I am a metal fan, I love Chelsea Wolfe, Opeth and Mastodon
What's your favourite food?
Any Japanese food!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I wish my research can help make the world a better place! I would like to live in Japan for a couple of years and to be a mermaid for 1 day!
Tell us a joke.
Don't trust atoms, they make up everything!
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