Self-isolation blogs: Professor Mete Atatüre

Professor Mete Atatüre

This is part of a series of self-isolation blogs, written by students, Fellows and staff during the coronavirus pandemic so we can learn about their experiences over the coming weeks.

To read other blog entries, take a look at our main self-isolation blog page.

Professor Mete Atatüre is a Fellow in Natural Sciences (Physical) at St John's. He lives on-site. 

Mete

Week 1

What a week!

Usually, as the busy Lent Term comes to an end, we all welcome a bit of calm to rest and recover.

Not this time…

Many members of the College community put their heads together to prepare as best as possible against the approaching pandemic. Once the first few messages went out to the students about going home where possible, the Tutors worked hard to support our students by listening to their individual cases and offering support. I am one of the Tutors and I joined my colleagues on interacting with my tutees, including those in their year abroad. I am also a Professor of Physics and I lead a research group in the Cavendish Laboratory. My team of around 30 PhD students and postdoctoral fellows conduct quantum optics research on a range of material platforms. The end of lectures and the beginning of the Easter Break usually means nothing for an active research group, all the hustle and bustle continues uninterrupted. Research never sleeps!

Again, not this time…

Last week our Department decided to close its doors completely for several months, following the University’s guidance. This was not an easy decision. After all, the Cavendish Laboratory, with the famous James Clerk Maxwell as its first Professor, had never during its amazing history of 146 years, shut down. Even during both world wars, the Cavendish Laboratory managed to stay open and redirected its research efforts to help the crisis at hand. So, it was with a heavy heart that I initiated our full closure protocol. On Friday March 20th my laboratories, which conducted research continuously for the 12 years since I moved to Cambridge, closed its doors. The noise and the hum of all the equipment, the vibrancy of the research team sharing these laboratories, the loud scientific discussions we had in the hallways of our offices – they all went quiet. We took the weekend to reflect and regroup, and on Monday we started again. We cannot do experiments, but there is plenty to do via online interactions: writing manuscripts, having project discussions, planning new research directions - and we will even have our usual group social!

These are extraordinary times, let’s see how the future unfolds.

28 March 2020