A doctor who changed career paths to study physics is graduating from Queen’s University Belfast today.

Alan Currie, originally from East Belfast, worked as a junior doctor for over five years before taking over a small audio visual business in 2008.

Alan and his wife Claire also decided to apply to become foster carers and have now cared for around fifteen children. In 2012, they had their first son Adam and Alan decided to return to evening class at college to complete an A-Level in Physics “to check his brain still worked”.

Alan’s second son Alexander was born in 2014 and shortly after this he decided to do a Master in Science (Theoretical Physics) at Queen’s.

Alan jokes: “Not sure how good a physicist or mathematician I have become, but I am now a really excellent juggler!”

He adds: “I love learning and challenging myself in an academic way. The most interesting part was learning the science and maths behind a lot of every day phenomena that we see around us, and trying to grapple with understanding the nuances of all that.

“I met some lovely people along the way, both staff and students and this was one the highlights.

Looking to the future, Alan says: “My plans for the future are to take a deep breath for a bit and stop juggling to quite the same degree as I have been over the last four years. I have continued to run my small business alongside studying, so I will now focus fully on that. Further down the line I may consider applying for a PhD position.”

Media

For media inquiries, please contact Queen’s University Communications Office, 028 9097 5845 comms.office@qub.ac.uk