Profile
Josh Wolstenholme
My CV
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Education:
Croft CofE Primary School, Croft, Darlington
Hurworth Secondary School, Hurworth, Darlington (GCSEs)
Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington (A-Levels)
University of Leeds, Leeds (BSc, MSc)
University of Hull (PhD) -
Qualifications:
2009-2012: GCSEs- 13.5 A*-C including Maths, Applied Science, Art, German and Geography
2012-2014: A-Levels – Geology (A*), Geography (B), Chemistry (C), Extended Project (A*)
2014-2017: BSc – Geological Sciences (2.1)
2017-2018: MSc (by research) – Physical Geography (pass)
2018-Present: PhD – Physical Geography -
Work History:
2012-2014: Sales Assistant, W. Boyes & Co., Darlington
2015-2018: Sales Assistant, Essentials, Leeds University Union, Leeds
2017-2018: Supervisor, Essentials, Leeds University Union, Leeds
2017-2018: Module Demonstrator, University of Leeds
2018-Present: Module Demonstrator, University of Hull
2020-Present: Research Assistant, University of Hull -
Current Job:
Research Assistant, University of Hull (part time) whilst completing my PhD also at Hull.
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About Me:
I once was a geologist and gradually drifted towards physical geography, instead of rocks, I now look at rivers, flooding and hedgerows.
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I currently live in Leeds with my girlfriend with our two terrapins, I enjoy being outside whether hillwalking or collecting data for my PhD with lasers and drones. I started out as a geologist before moving to physical geography but when I was younger wanted to be an architect!
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My work looks at how effective more sustainable, natural, forms of flood management (NFM) are in terms of moving sediment through a river, reducing flood risk and storing water in the upper catchment of a river. These forms of flood management are often cheaper than traditional flood management that you might see in large cities, things like flood walls that are designed to increase the amount of water a river can hold. There is currently a lack of information about NFM in terms of how the river responds and moves when things like dams are installed (see pictures!).
I specifically go out to different rivers and measure the size of the river with a cool piece of kit called a Terrestrial Laser Scanner. This measures the distance to the ground and allows me to look at how the area changes over time. I also put on waders to go in the river and collect rock samples and look at how deep the river is. Sometimes I use a drone to get high resolution pictures that can be linked together with computer software to make a 3D model. This model then goes into our computer model which is called CAESAR-Lisflood, which allows us to look at how the river changes over time, from days to millennia!
I have also been lucky enough to travel to Peru on behalf of the university to conduct fieldwork at high altitude glaciers. My job was to install some sensors to measure how water coming off the glacier is changing, so we can have an idea of how quickly the glacier is melting. This is very important for understanding how the water supply for the locals will change over the next 100 years.
Separate from my PhD, I am a research assistant for the THYME project. I look at different parts of the bioeconomy (anything business related that works with the land like farming, waste management and ecology) and put the data onto maps that people can use for their business. I also am working towards a project to map hedgerow gaps which are important for flood risk, biodiversity and biocarbon storage using satellite data, drones and computers.
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My Typical Day:
I usually get up in the morning (quite early if I’m commuting to uni!), check my emails and start running models with a coffee. I’ll also read a paper or two, do some writing and wrestle with different software until it does what I want.
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I start my day with a coffee, before going to my home office or commuting into university, here I’ll check my emails, read a bit on twitter and see if there’s any new papers that have come out. That gets me into the work mood where I can start focusing on things that are more complicated.
Between 10:00 and 12:00 I’ll either be doing some writing focussing on fieldwork techniques, study sites or models, or, I’ll be working on gathering data to put into CAESAR-Lisflood. The models can take some time to run, so I’ll leave it and have lunch for half an hour somewhere between 12:00 and 13:30.
After lunch I’ll come back to see if my models have worked or not (usually not!), but that’s part of the PhD, we are creating something new and it won’t work all the time! In the afternoon I’ll look at the model outputs, or run the models again. I also work on my 3D data to see how the environment has changed over time. I like to finish between 17:00 and 18:00 so I don’t end up working for too long!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d use the prize money if I won to enable me to create online 3D web resources for students to use at home, with details on rivers, flood management and model outputs.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
I like lasers
What did you want to be after you left school?
Architect
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not that I can remember...
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Pink Floyd
What's your favourite food?
Lasagne
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To get better at running, to travel more and to do the Scotland 500
Tell us a joke.
How do mountains see? They peak!
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