INESAD News: Welcome Tracey Li

Tracey Li has an unusual background for an INESAD intern. She has been passionate about science all her life and studied physics at university before going on to complete a PhD in theoretical particle physics. Afterwards she continued her career as a researcher in Valencia, Spain, where she worked for two years.

At some point she realised that although she still loved physics there were several reasons why she didn’t want to be an academic scientist for the rest of her life. One of the main reasons was a growing desire to use her skills to solve real-world problems that could improve people’s lives in some capacity, rather than abstract mathematical ones. She became interested in topics such as biophysics, climate change and renewable energy technology and realised that it was possible for her to use her scientific skills in the context of fields that have the potential to solve practical problems.

Tracey has a long history of volunteering for organisations such as Oxfam, fundraising for charities, and being involved in community development projects. She would like to combine her scientific skills and method of thinking with her desire to help make the world a better place. As an INESAD intern she hopes to be able to start doing this whilst learning about all aspects of the field of development.