Why I give: Lindsay Grant
A degree in Physics led Lindsay Grant (BSc Hons 1984) to a career in technology, developing and enhancing silicon chips for use in smartphones, cars and even the Mars Helicopter. Lindsay and his wife, Nicky, have chosen to give back to the University through the Grant Family Scholarships, which support undergraduate students and PhD researchers in Physics with a focus on long-term research impact.
I grew up on the west side of Glasgow and felt St Andrews was sufficiently far from home for a place to study. I knew it from family holidays as a child when my parents would sign up for summer courses and we’d stay in McIntosh Hall. My mother was interested in everything and would take courses in all sorts of subjects. My father was largely interested in the golf!
Coming to St Andrews as a student gave me a great feeling of independence. I stayed in David Russell Hall and Fife Park, then moved to a flat on Playfair Terrace. I was heavily involved in both rugby and golf and was part of the Mountaineering Society where we’d set off on excursions to the likes of Dairsie Crags, Dunkeld and Glencoe.
The academic families ‘system’ at St Andrews was invaluable. I had a first-year ‘mother’, Jan, who guided me through a turbulent first year and we are still in touch today. Friends I made as a student have remained lifelong friends.
I spent a memorable summer working at the old Niblick Bar behind the 18th green of the Old Course. After work I could play a round of golf on the Old Course with the student ticket and get back to the pub before closing.
The School of Physics and Astronomy was very good. I studied under the late Professor Malcolm Dunn and Dr Phil Gribbon. Malcolm Dunn offered me a PhD opportunity at St Andrews when I finished my studies. I declined it in favour of going into industry and moved first to Bristol, where I started my career working in semiconductors. I worked on early plasma etch equipment for a UK company that was leading edge at the time. However, I found it almost too practical and didn’t stay long before moving to STL near Harlow, which was one of four big electronics research labs in the UK at that time. That got me back to solid state physics.
Back in Scotland, I spent 12 years at a wafer fab plant in Livingston, the heart of Scotland’s Silicon Glen, learning semiconductor device and process engineering. When the plant closed, I joined VLSI Vision Limited (VVL), which was a startup formed by University of Edinburgh Professors Peter Denyer and Dave Renshaw, later acquired by STMicroelectronics. I joined VVL in the late nineties right at the start of the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) Imaging boom. This is the semiconductor technology used to build integrated circuits, including the image sensors found in most modern cameras. From there, my wife Nicky and I moved to Silicon Valley in 2016, where we spent eight years. I had joined Omnivision, another of the early CMOS Imaging startup companies from the 1990s which by then had grown to be a global supplier.
We have three boys, none of whom followed us into physics and electronics, but one of whom, Euan, did follow me to St Andrews. After undergraduate studies at Oxford, Euan took a Masters and then with a PhD in Theology under Professor Judith Wolfe and was later the Gifford Fellow in Divinity. Euan is now Senior Tutor at St Stephen’s House, Oxford. Our middle son, Russell, studied finance and accounting. He has been working overseas but has now returned to Edinburgh with his wife and our first grandchild, so that’s great. Our youngest, Duncan, is making a go of being a musician in London and last year formed a band, Kuleeangee, with his pal Kesh. It’s not easy to break through in music. They are working on it and having some fun.
When the boys were young, we continued our connection to St Andrews through family holidays. The town remains a very special place for us, and we have fond memories of camping at Craigtoun Meadows or the East Sands, days at Craigtoun Park, rides on the miniature railway there and, of course, the beaches.
We wanted to give something back to St Andrews and, reflecting on my own journey, we decided to support undergraduate students and PhD researchers in Physics through the Grant Family Scholarships.
Our donations have leveraged additional support through the University’s Handsel Scheme and the NextGenTech Centre for Doctoral Training, which has further increased their impact.
There is impressive work going on at St Andrews in Physics, some of which takes place in the ultra-low vibration labs, built by the University in 2015 and which have attracted excellent PhD candidates. We support four PhD students across two labs, led by Professor Peter Wahl and Professor Phil King. They hail from all around the world, which brings a wonderful, international perspective.
In terms of supporting undergraduate scholars, we wanted to focus on those coming to St Andrews through the Gateway to Physics and Astronomy programme (now Gateway to Science), which was set up by a contemporary of mine, Dr Bruce Sinclair, who celebrates 40 years in the School of Physics and Astronomy this year.
Our hope is that by enabling research that will have a long-lasting impact, and by opening doors to higher education for students who otherwise might not have that opportunity, talented young people and researchers will be able to write their own St Andrews stories, start fascinating careers, and make discoveries that will increase our understanding and help shape the future.
Undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships are a priority of the Making Waves Campaign.