A Year at Paragraf That Shaped My Future
I was born in Barranquilla, a vibrant coastal city in northern Colombia, and spent most of my life in Medellín, known as the “City of Eternal Spring” for its pleasant climate and warm community. In 2022, I made a significant move to the UK to pursue a BSc in Physics at the University of East Anglia. Little did I know that this journey would lead me to the opportunity of a lifetime – a placement year at Paragraf.
Back when I was finishing my second year at university, I learned about the possibility of doing a year-long industrial placement. I saw it as a unique chance to apply what I’d learned in a real-world setting and to grow both personally and professionally. While searching for companies, I came across Paragraf. At the time, I wasn’t deeply familiar with the semiconductor industry, or with graphene for that matter, but once I started researching, I quickly understood the groundbreaking nature of the work being done here.
From day one, the support I received at Paragraf was incredible. I had the privilege of learning from scientists and engineers from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds. Whether it was learning how to operate lab equipment or diving into the theory behind graphene’s unique properties, there was always someone willing to guide me. That openness and mentorship created the perfect environment for me to grow.
One of the highlights of my placement was developing a Raman mapping script to identify anomalies in our graphene sample maps. When I first received the task, I was handed a basic framework: no instructions, just code. It was challenging at first, but with the help of colleagues who offered guidance and with my determination to learn and make a meaningful contribution, I developed the script into a tool that is now used as a standard part of the workflow. This project not only strengthened my coding and data analysis skills but also taught me the importance of collaboration, persistence and curiosity – qualities I know will serve me well in any scientific or technical career.
Beyond the script development, I gained hands-on experience with a variety of advanced lab equipment, including Raman spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Hall effect measurement systems. Working with these tools gave me valuable insight into graphene device behaviour and helped me understand the nuances of materials analysis. I also developed individual Python scripts to automate data processing, applying various data cleaning and analysis techniques to extract the most meaningful insights from experimental results. These efforts allowed me to highlight valuable findings and contribute to ongoing research in a measurable way.
As I return to university to complete my final year, I do so with valuable experience under my belt. I’m confident that everything I’ve learned at Paragraf from hands-on lab work to data-driven problem solving will shape the rest of my academic journey and beyond. I’m excited about what the future holds, and no matter where I go, I’ll always be proud to say that my professional path started at Paragraf, a company helping to redefine the future of semiconductors. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again.
BELOW: During his Paragraf internship, Daniel created this video about his typical day for Empower LATAM UK, a charity for young Latin Americans living in the UK.
