Staff Profile – Meet Beer-Brewing Code Writer, Christian Rennison-Jones

Christian Rennison-Jones
Research Scientist

Christian Rennison-Jones is a research scientist here at IBEX Innovations, he works closely alongside Thomas Jubb as part of the Data & AI Team. Christian has a strong background in physics, computer science, quantum computing, and other things I struggle to wrap my head around…

To learn a bit more about Christian, I asked him a few questions for a staff profile:

A quick summary of what you do at IBEX?
As a research scientist my work is quite varied. I’m part of the Data and AI team using machine learning to do some really cool things that could one day become future products for IBEX. A typical week involves writing Python and Matlab code, analysing results, and reading scientific papers to keep up to date with the machine learning and medical physics fields.

How did you find yourself at IBEX?
Shortly after graduating in 2018 with a degree from Durham University, I came across an internship vacancy advertised on the university’s careers portal. The job description seemed to fit me well, and the opportunity to stay in the Durham area – which I had grown to love over the course of my degree – was too good to miss! My application was successful, and I started on a 12-month internship with IBEX. By the end of my internship, IBEX had decided to keep me on as a permanent member of staff.

Professional background, life outside of work, and some key interests?
In my degree, I studied physics and computer science, and I’m a fan of anything that combines these two things (like my role at IBEX). Also, during my degree, I did a final year research project in quantum computing – another field that really interests me. Outside of work I enjoy playing the drums, brewing beer, and playing/coding strategy games.

What are some of your future goals and aspirations?
Professionally, I find the work I do for IBEX extremely rewarding, so at the moment I’ll keep doing what I enjoy. If I ever fancy a complete change, I’d love to get together with a few friends and open up a brewery… or a cat café… or a cat café brewery!

A moment in life that you’ll never forget.
Wow, it’s very hard to pick one thing! There was this one time I brewed a very tasty porter with a friend that I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to recreate ever since. But I think I will go for the day I got engaged to my amazing partner, although I’m sad that we can’t yet celebrate with people due to the pandemic.

Your go-to productivity trick?
I maintain a list of ideas and goals that help me prioritise my time effectively. That’s especially important at a growing company like IBEX where priorities can change rapidly. Flexibility is key!

What’s surprised you about working at IBEX?
How great the team is at IBEX! Every single person here has been extremely kind and supportive for the whole time that I’ve been here. It’s such a blessing to be surrounded by people like that and to be able to learn from them.

There you have it, a peek into the life of Christian… hopefully, he’ll be bringing some home-brewed beers into the office sometime… (hint, hint)!