The Team
Here in my current research group at Sussex we are so lucky as we have many common interests along with our shared love for materials! If you would like to know what we get up to outside the working day then take a look below.
The Dalton Wanderers
The Dalton Wanderers were first conceptualised as early as 2015 when Alan Dalton was an academic at the University of Surrey. Here the physics department holds an annual "Jim Al-Khalili Cup" where students and staff within the department enter teams into the knockout tournament to win the cup. Students normally name their teams after academics within the department with a nod to real teams within the English football league (EFL). This led to the birth of the Dalton Wanderers, inspired by the Bolton Wanderers currently in League 1 of the EFL.
When Alan moved to Sussex in 2016 the students at Surrey stopped entering a team under the name of the Dalton Wanderers and the namesake lay dormant until 2019. When I joined Sussex as a PhD student after finishing my masters at Surrey I happened across an old member of the Dalton Wanderers, Ben Reed. After sharing the team name with the current group at Sussex and Alan himself, it was decided that the Dalton Waderers were to be reborn.
The first kit
An ode to the Bolton Wanderers - Design by Chris Brown
The first charity match
A 4-0 loss but with over £500 raised we were over the moon!
The new kit
Designed by Chris Brown and Hannah Wood, every aspect of this shirt is carefully thought out.
It's in the design
The logo was carefully thought out with the design being polished by Chris pictured to the left (or above if you are on a mobile device!). It's shape, a hexagon like the structure of many 2D materials the group work with. The seagull, a nod to Brighton where the group resides with 2016 being when Alan moved to Sussex. We landed on this green Umbro base kit as the triangles reminded us of CVD MoS2.
As a kit we love it and it now comes as standard issue when you join the group!
The Swan Inn, Falmer
Some sunny days after work you will find us at the Swan. The group has been going here since 2016 and has even had a few workshops and seminars hosted in the function room at the pub!
It's a great place to hang out, write your thesis, and the group love to try out the specials menu that updates every week. Although, we never venture too far from a bowl of cheesy chips!
Football Games
Unfortunately, not all of us are West Ham fans and I try not to hold it against them! As the university is right opposite the Amex stadium, we have taken advantage of cheap tickets where we can get them!
One of the best sporting experiences of my life was at the Amex where, as a research group, we watched the Lionesses beat Spain in the quarter-final of the Euros. We then watched the final at the Swan, where England went on to win the competition.
Sports Days
It's not all football! We love to play loads of sports together and are willing to give anything a try... including rugby!
Cricket
When I first joined the group everyone loved to play cricket on a sunny day. We even had our own bowling and batting averages. Mine left a lot to be desired but that didn't stop it being so much fun!
Tennis
We have booked the tennis courts at the Falmer sports complex and played some sets of doubles. It's something we would love to do again when the weather allows.
Rugby
Although there are five of us in the group who are either currently playing rugby or have retired from a rugby career, we have decided that full contact would be unwise! Instead we play some kick tennis now and again.
Group Dinners
To sit down and have a meal together as a group is one of my favourite things to do. We have so many restaurants to choose from in Brighton that cater to a large range of cuisines, very useful as lots of our group are veggies. Although we are very lucky to have an amazing chef in the group too, Chris, who often invites us over for pizza and a BBQ on a bank holiday Monday afternoon.