Profile
Loretta Wong
My CV
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Education:
After infant school, I went to an independent girls’ day school in West London where science wasn’t considered a high priority. I loved doing general science and after taking my O levels a year early at 15 I chose to go to college to take chemistry and physics O level nd then on to A levels.
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Qualifications:
O levels, then chemistry, physics and biology at A level.
Didn’t do so well at A levels because there was far too much other fun to be had and I was still quite focussed on dance.
Advanced ballet and modern
HND in chemistry at Kingston University followed by GRSC part II (equivalent to an honours degree)
NEBOSH certificate in occupational health and safety -
Work History:
Freelance beauty consultant (when I was trying to figure out whether I really wanted to do chemistry or not)
Production chemist working from small scale up to 20L chemistry
Research assistant
Senior development chemist
Process transfer specialist
Development lab manager
Company manager for a touring ballet company
School science technician
CatLab team leader -
Current Job:
CatLab Team Leader responsible for the safe and robust technology transfer from development processes to manufacturing
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About Me:
I’ve been in the chemical industry for over 30 years now, working from research to lab-scale production to all sorts of bigger pots up to thousands of litres.
Chemistry was never my ambition while I was at school, I wanted to be a ballerina! -
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I didn’t choose to be a chemist until I was about 16, I had always wanted to be a ballerina until then but I chose the “easier” path. I had also walked down several other potential career paths before I graduated from Kingston University and ended up moving from my home in London to Poole in East Dorset for my first job in the chemical industry.
I still love to dance and still do classical ballet classes at advanced/ professional level as well as aerial hoop and other circus skills which I took up about 4 years ago at the age of 52.
I’m a huge believer in throwing yourself into any challenge out there and succeeding – NOTHING is impossible. I also believe in living your dreams however impossible. There’s always a way through!
I also love to cook – after all, cooking is just edible chemistry!
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I’m a process chemist. That means I turn small scale experiments into real life big scale processes.
When I last worked in research at a government funded research institution in Singapore 5 years ago, I made “hazardous chemistry” into my research speciality and have spoken about exciting chemical reactions at international conferences.
I also believe strongly that in science you never stop learning. I’m still learning new things every day.
“Process innovation” is also a big interest of mine. It means working on new ways to do things better, more safely and more efficiently by using new technology and being at the forefront of process science.
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My Typical Day:
I work best early in the morning so I tend to start work at about 7.30 am. I get a nice cup of fresh coffee from my espresso machine and reply to any emails which either came through late at night or first thing in the morning.
Once the coffee and emails are done, I head off into the CatLab and check on any processes which have been running or start setting up a new batch. My team of a chemical engineer and a process chemist tend to start a little later so I need to figure out any plans before they turn up.
Our equipment is a mini version of a full scale process plant and we work to ensure everything is safe in a process.
Once my team are in, I start to look at future projects and also have discussions with the development team who give us the initial methods for our processes.
If the weather’s nice, I love to sit outside to have my lunch, otherwise I’ll sit at the table in our kitchen and have a chat about anything and everything with my colleagues.
The afternoon usually follows a similar pattern to the morning, then at the end of the day, I catch up with my team to see how the day has gone and figure out what we need to do the next day.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Energetic, bonkers and tiny!
What did you want to be after you left school?
A ballerina
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Always - for being too noisy!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Most 1970s/ 80's punk and new wave
What's your favourite food?
Anything new and different!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Be less tired, be less tired and be less tired
Tell us a joke.
Nope, I'm rubbish at jokes!
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