Profile
Paul Bowdler
My CV
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Education:
I went to Wodensfield Primary school and then Heath Park High School in Wolverhampton. I was lucky that these schools were both good schools, especially as they are both in areas of low attainment and low participation in higher education.
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Qualifications:
I got 11 GCSEs in total, mostly A and A*, with C’s in French and PE.
I then got 4 A levels – Music (B), Art (B), Maths (C) and Chemistry (D). I was disappointed by my A level grades as I know I was a better student than those grades, but in hindsight I really did not apply myself at all during this time.
I still managed to get onto a degree studying Biological and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of the West of England (which was my second choice), and I managed to get a first class degree.
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Work History:
I have worked in my current job (technical team leader – forensic, analytical and chemical sciences) for about 4 years, before that I was in the same labs but not the team leader. During summers at uni I worked for a company called Optima in their street lighting team – working to help repair street-lighting on motorways. I enjoyed my time there as I worked closely with both my dad and brother, but I helped me realise that I found manual work tough and not really for me.
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Current Job:
My current role is Technical Team Leader for Forensic, Analytical and Chemical Sciences at the University of the West of England. I look after a team of 3 other lab technicians, Sarah, Alun and Heather. I am responsible for the day-to-day running of a suite of laboratories, the management of my team and the teaching and support of hundreds of students ranging from forensic scientists, biomedical scientists, environmental scientists, law students and police apprentices! I love my job and every day is different. It has been tough working from home recently, as my job is usually so tied-in to the laboratory. Instead I am mainly writing risk assessments, lab posters and completing my team’s appraisals. I can’t wait to be allowed back to work!
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About Me:
I am a science and nature nerd who loves music, food, socialising with friends and awful TV.
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Read more
I live alone in North Bristol, close to the university I work, though I am originally from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, and all of my family still live there. I have one sister and one brother. My brother has 1 son and 2 daughters (my nephew and nieces 🙂 ).
I spend most of my time outside of my flat, walking in the countryside, taking nature photos, meeting my friends (yes, even 35 year old nature nerds have friends :-P) and I enjoy eating out too. My Favourite takeaway food is Chinese (Chilli Beef, mmm). When I am at home I love to cook and bake – I make great triple chocolate brownies and my favourite dish to cook is Paella.
I have played the violin since I was 9 yeas old, and I am a member of an orchestra in Bristol. This year we have been playing Wallace & Gromit, Star Wars and The Planets by Holst. I have recently been watching lots of Disney+ and love the Mandalorian and almost every Marvel film (except the Hulk, it’s awful!). My favourite Netflix shows are Schitt’s Creek, The Witcher and Shadowhunters (it’s really terrible, but addictive).
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Read more
I am technical team leader of forensic, analytical and chemical scientists at a university. I manage three other technicians, and together we teach scientific skills and crime scene skills to a wide range of students.
My main areas of expertise are chemical synthesis, analytical chemistry (using cool expensive instruments), forensic science and crime scene science. I have been teaching these subjects now for over 13 years and I still love it.
I look after a group of labs and my team are responsible for stocking these areas with equipment, gloves, lab coats, chemicals and other materials. We also have to set-up and clear-away all of the materials we use when we teach our students. My job is not always very glamorous!
One of my favourite activities, is to set up mock crime scenes for my students to investigate. We often use fake and real blood, broken glass, drugs, bones and fake bodies to create realistic scenes for our students – they are sometimes pretty gory and a little bit creepy.
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My Typical Day:
My typical day starts answering emails with a cup of tea. I then set-up the day’s classes, teach my students scientific skills and then have lunch. I will probably have a second class after lunch, clear-away and head home.
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I usually get up around 7:30am, and am in work for between 8:00 and 8:15. I don’t like to have breakfast too early so I will often have a tea and some food once I have got to work. In my job I get quite a few emails, so I will spend some time replying to these before I have to set-up today’s classes. Most of my morning classes start at 9:30 can last either 2 or 3 hours. Some common classes are:
- Forensic analysis – I will help teach students how to search for different evidence types and how to then examination and analysis this evidence.
- Synthetic/medicinal chemistry – I love making chemicals in the lab, using Bunsen burners, distillation apparatus, filtering equipment and cool glassware to react chemicals together to form new ones. These classes usually take 3 hours, as chemicals take time to react!
- Toxicology/drug analysis – Perhaps my main area of expertise is in the instrumental analysis of drugs. These could be pharmaceutical drugs such as paracetamol or codeine, or illicit drugs like cocaine, ketamine or methamphetamine. I help teach students how to extract these drugs from various samples (blood, urine, water, food etc.) and how to analyse them.
Once I have completed my morning class, I will usually tidy away the area and then go to lunch. I usually have an hour for lunch with my colleagues. I am quite lucky as the university has lots of places to get food from if I haven’t brought my own in.
After lunch I may have an afternoon class that I need to set-out, help run and then tidy-away again. Then I’d usually head home between 4:30 and 5:30, depending on the day.
Sometimes I don’t have a full day of classes, but I may have meetings to discuss new course content or students, or I may be managing my team, or helping them set-out their classes.
After work I go to the gym 3 times a week when I can, and in spring/summer I like to go out walking.
Once i’m home from work/gym/walk, I will usually cook dinner (I love cooking) and then watch some TV. At the moment I am loving Disney+ and Netflix, plus I sometimes play on my xbox before bed.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I am looking to make some forensic science specific videos that will be freely available on YouTube to students everywhere. Ideally I would put this money towards buying an HD video camera which was able to track me as I undertook these tasks, as a totally static camera does not work so well.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Geeky, greedy, stubborn
What did you want to be after you left school?
I never knew what i wanted to be, so i follwed the path i most enjoyed.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Very rarely, though occassionally i would hate being seen as the teacher's pet so i would rebel!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Hmmm... at the moment i am loving The Weekend, Ann-Marie and Mabel amongst others.
What's your favourite food?
Chinese takeaway, or paella.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To own my own home with a big garden, to earn more money (i'm not greedy, but unfortunately you can do more stuff with more money!), to see a bue whale :-O
Tell us a joke.
Billy was a chemist, but Billy is no more, for what he thought was H2O was H2SO4... (sorry for the lame chemistry joke!)
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