Samsung Article 2 - Mark Richards

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Mark is also an entrepreneur. As an atmospheric physicist, he has always been interested in the environment and for his PhD, studied the factors behind ozone pollution. Ten years ago, he co-founded an air pollution monitoring company called Duvas Technologies with another academic. Currently he is researching air pollution monitoring using wireless sensor networks. Music is central to many of his projects. He runs his own record label Xtremix Records, and has been developing an app called Remixify, which will allow users to remix their favourite tracks. For example, they could do a reggae version of a Britney Spears song or a house version of an Ed Sheeran track. “If and when we launch it, users may think it’s just another fun app to play with. But there's a lot of technology behind it. The algorithm involves lots of different layers, aspects that are really embedded deep in mathematics and physics,” he explains.

Best of both worlds: Dr Mark loves being able to combine his twin passions for science and music

“Both my parents were self-employed. My dad was a pub landlord. Originally, he was a carpenter and picture framer. My mother had a home for homeless people, and she came from a nursing background. “In many ways, I don't lose sight of the fact that it’s possible to look for things that you can do for yourself. That’s partly why there is an entrepreneurial side to me.” In his spare time, Mark, who has two children and lives with his family in the home counties, produces beats and makes remixes using the Ableton Live software. He puts his laptop in tent mode to watch Netflix and YouTube, and uses it for video calls to friends and relatives abroad. “The Samsung’s screen resolution is great, as is its flexible, lightweight nature.” He adds: “I juggle a lot of things. I’m a technology person so I pretty much embrace that in most aspects of what I do. Technology can really enhance what you do creatively.”

As a professor, entrepreneur and creative Dr Mark juggles a lot, but tech helps make this easier and enhances what he does

In his role as in his role as lecturer (or physicist) Dr Mark finds his Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 invaluable for presenting

“Let’s say it’s a bar: as more and more people arrive, Arca creates its own software-based equaliser and starts to adjust the filters accordingly.” “It’s a way of combining my creative skills with what I know technically to push the boundaries a little bit further.”

"The S-pen is great for writing out derivations and equations to project in the lecture theatre."

Dr MARK RICHARDS

As a part-time DJ, Mark is passionate about exploring how the science and creative worlds can be combined, and how together they can push boundaries. His love of music coupled with his technical knowledge has led to some fascinating student projects. In 2019, Mark developed Arca (acoustic room correction algorithm) with two of his students, to automatically adjust the music played in bars and shops. “It’s a way of keeping the clarity of sound when the ambient noise starts to vary. You basically have a set of microphones in a room, and you compare those sounds to your original source output.”

Mark is a member of Imperial As One – the university’s race equality advisory group – and also set up The Blackett Lab Family, a network of black physicists. He adds: “I was always keen on trying to understand why there were not more people like me doing subjects like physics, in places like Imperial.” The pandemic meant that his course, which was being delivered to 250 students, immediately needed to be taught remotely. Tech helped Mark navigate the lockdowns. His Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 laptop is great for writing out derivations, converting equations and projecting these in the lecture theatre, or for teaching students, particularly when exploring very visual elements of physics. And he uses his Samsung S6 tablet and S Pen to do exam marking, which he says is easier than doing it the old-fashioned way. “I haven’t necessarily got the best hand-writing. You can always just correct what you’ve written using the tablet. Or if you’ve marked a batch, and then you think, they’re not quite calibrated right, you can change it easily without it looking like there are lots of scribbles on the exam paper.”

One of these projects is Dr Mark’s new app Remixify that will allow users to remix songs in different styles or genres. “The algorithm involves lots of different layers, aspects that are really embedded deep in mathematics and physics,” he says

Dr Mark is passionate about how the science and creative worlds can be combined and has been able to bring these together by developing programs and apps that use sound, algorithms and tech

In his spare time, Dr Mark loves DJing and runs his own record company Xtremix Records. “Both my parents were self employed,” he says. “There is an entrepreneurial side to me.”

A senior fellow, Dr Mark is a member of Imperial’s race equality advisory group, set up a network for black physicists and is passionate about getting young people from underrepresented groups interested in STEM

Dr Mark uses his Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 to explore sound waves with his students at Imperial College London. His laptop, S-pen and tablet are invaluable for everything from teaching to marking

A truly modern renaissance man

When physicist Dr Mark Richards discovered he’d been chosen as a superhero in a children’s book, he felt “very humbled”. He notes: “Having a book like this where you're featuring all these different icons in different sectors, it raises young people’s aspirations.” Mark reflects that when he was younger, he didn’t know any black scientists. Superheroes: Inspiring Stories of Secret Strength is the first children’s book from Stormzy’s #Merky Books and features Mark, a senior teaching fellow in the physics department at Imperial College London, alongside the likes of athlete Dina Asher-Smith and actor Riz Ahmed. “You can see someone [in the book] and say ‘I want to do what he did or what she does’. I think that’s a really powerful thing,” says Mark. Being a superhero is just one of the many hats (or capes) that Mark wears. He is Head of Outreach for the Physics Department at Imperial College, and has spent decades trying to engage young people in STEM careers, especially within underrepresented groups.

As a leading physics professor, campaigner, entrepreneur, DJ and app creator, it's not surprising that Dr Mark Richards has just been accorded superhero status. Here he talks about his many scientific and creative endeavours and the tech that helps make them happen

inspiring journeys

'Technology can really enhance what you do creatively'

Dr Mark appears as a superhero in new #Merky Books title Superheroes: Inspiring Stories of Secret Strength. He felt “very humbled” but is excited about how it can raise young people’s aspirations

TECH THAT INSPIRES Discover how the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 can help you work, create and play at Samsung.com

FIND OUT MORE

TECH THAT INSPIRES Discover how the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 can help you work, create and play at Samsung.com

FIND OUT MORE

Produced by Independent Ignite Project Manager: Lauren Sandiford Words: Ruth Emery Senior designer: Loraine Fajutag

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