After visiting friends in Bath from Spain, Amos Martinez made the leap to transfer his physics studies and enrol at the University.
Amos pursued further study and went on to build an impressive career in the physics industry. He is now an editor for Nature Materials, responsible for assessing manuscripts to ensure they fit the scope and standards of the journal.
Read on to discover Amos’ story.
Why did you choose to study at Bath?
I moved to Bath in an unconventional way. While studying for my physics degree in my hometown in Spain, I visited friends that were starting their degrees at Bath. I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere of the campus and the student lifestyle. While I wasn’t considering a move to England at the time, on that trip, I met an Erasmus physics student from Spain and his stance was clear: if he could go back in time, he would study his whole degree at Bath. I managed to arrange a meeting with the UG admission tutor who was very encouraging and welcoming. The following academic year, I started my life at Bath.
At the time, it was a leap into the unknown for me, but I am not much of an overthinker, and the move felt right. Looking back, I realise how lucky I was to end up in Bath and what a special place Bath is, combining excellent academics, an exciting international vibe on campus and a beautiful city. Fast forward three years and, as I was leaving, my younger brother began his degree in physics at Bath. 
Did you have a particular career in mind when you chose your course?
I don't tend to set myself long-term goals and aspirations as I prefer to let things unfold naturally; moving to the UK and finishing my degree was enough of a challenge. If you asked me back then, I would have probably pictured myself as an astronomer in the Mauna Kea observatories in Hawaii!
More seriously, my main interests coming into university were mathematics and physics. While I hadn’t put much thought into my future career, I knew I wanted to work in something closely related to my field of study where I could apply what I would learn during my degree and continue to learn and experience new things – whether that was in academia or industry, I was open to the challenge.
My time in Bath was crucial in my move towards a career in photonics. I joined Bath in 1996 as an undergrad and, back then, Tim Birks, Jonathan Knight and Philip Russell had just moved to Bath and were revolutionising fibre optics with their photonic crystal fibres. As an undergraduate, I didn't know much about the area, but you could feel the buzz. Leaving Bath, I decided to do a master's in optoelectronics and laser devices at the University of St. Andrews with an eye in working in the telecoms industry. Thankfully, the burst of the telecoms bubble led me to starting a PhD and I truly enjoyed research life.
Can you tell us about your experience of studying here?
I loved the first year living on campus. With the newly extended library open 24-hours at its centre, the campus offered anything you may need within a few minutes’ walk. I was staying in Eastwood accommodation and there was always something going on in the evenings. After lunch, when the weather was nice, we gravitated towards the lake, and I spent probably too much of my time playing basketball in the sports hall. The library was always a meeting point – note that this was back in the ‘90s and nobody had laptops, and only few would have desktops in their rooms.
As an undergrad, I also spent some of the summer months working part-time at the Parade bar. The pace on campus slowed down for the summer and I enjoyed the quieter campus atmosphere. Back in the city, I remember one summer I stayed next to Royal Victoria Park in Park Lane which remains one of my favourite places in the city. Talking about it now is inciting me to book a weekend visit to Bath as soon as possible!
Describe your career journey since graduating.
After graduating, I studied a master's in optoelectronics and laser devices from the University of St. Andrews University followed by a PhD in photonics from Aston University where I worked on developing in-fibre photonic devices by femtosecond lasers.
After my PhD, I spent much of my career as a researcher with stints both in academia and in industry. Fresh off the back of my PhD, I moved to the University of Tokyo where I spent seven years, first as a postdoc and then as assistant professor, where we developed mode-locked fibre lasers using carbon nanotubes and other two-dimensional materials. On a personal note, this period in Japan remains among the most enriching experiences in my life.
Back in the UK, I joined Toshiba Research Europe Labs in Cambridge where I worked on the commercialisation of quantum key distribution technologies and at the Cambridge Graphene Centre at the University of Cambridge working towards the commercialisation of fibre lasers for advanced coherent Raman microscopy applications.
Finally, in June 2021, I joined Nature Materials as an editor, handling content in the areas of photonics, plasmonics and metamaterials. A large part of an editor’s job is assessing manuscripts and deciding whether they fit the scope and standards of Nature Materials as well as writing editorials, commissioning reviews, commentaries, news and Q&As. Being close to the research community is important so we regularly attend and organise conferences, do lab visits and give seminars about Nature Materials and scientific publishing.
How did your studies help you to develop, professionally and/or personally?
During my career, I moved towards applied physics and engineering, working towards developing practical devices whether it was for sensing, medical applications or quantum communications. In that sense, the physics degree taught at Bath suited me better than the more theoretical physics that I was been taught previous in Spain. On my first year at Bath, the autonomy and self-confidence with which my fellow students navigated the lab astonished me. It was an eye opener, it took me a while to adapt, but this self-reliance is something that eventually enabled me to become an experimentalist.
More generally, the experience in Bath was enriching beyond academia. Meeting people and making friends from all over the world can offer you a wider perspective, opening your mind and making you more adaptable as you interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
What advice would you give to prospective students thinking about studying your course at Bath?
I am not much of an advice-giver; I believe we should all follow our own paths and, importantly, at our own pace. Additionally, it is hard to predict what the employment landscape will look like in the coming decades.
However, I do believe a Physics degree will equip you with a versatility, critical thinking and learning ability that you can apply to anything from healthcare to quantum computing.
Obtaining your degree is an important step, but it is only the beginning. Keep learning, adapting and challenging yourself; there is always opportunity in stepping out of your comfort zone.
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