Meet Kevin
Name and job title
Kevin Emery, Head of Innovation
Where did you grow up?
Born in Stroud Hospital, lived in Eastington, Stonehouse and Dursley. I now live in King Stanley.
How do you explain what you do to your kids / grandchildren / parents (how many do you have if of note)?
My two daughters Charlotte (33) and Harriet (31) think I am very clever, although they both groan now when I talk about it as they also think I am a proper geek! My 5-year-old twin granddaughters are Marcie and Matilda – I tell them I make sparkly jewels for princesses to wear. My 2-year-old Grandson, Finn is not interested as it is not Peppa Pig or Lightning McQueen related.
What’s the furthest / most exciting place you have travelled to?
Utah, overnight trip to the Bonneville salt flats – watched the sun go down and could see the curvature of the earth with no light pollution. Have worked in Utah and Huston, Texas.
What does a diamond signify to you?
Diamond is a mineral composed of pure carbon; it is the hardest naturally occurring substance known. It is also the most popular gemstone.
What do you think is the biggest scientific breakthrough in recent years and why?
Proving the existence of the Higgs boson. First theoretically predicted in 1964, the Higgs boson (also known as the God Particle) was finally scientifically proven in 2012 using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. And with the successful identification of this subatomic particle, the scientific community got a much clearer and definite picture of reality as we know it - a confirmation of why matter has mass. While that might seem like a very minor piece of the puzzle that is our universe, the Higgs Boson is . . . well, at the very heart of the matter. In the case of the standard model of particle physics, it was THE missing piece.
What makes you get up in the morning with a spring in your step?
I am one of those annoying morning people, I am out of bed ready for the day, although these days I would say it’s less of a spring and more of a slow-motion exit making the obligatory old man groan as I do it.
How do you spend your free time?
I weight train 2 to 3 times a week. One of these sessions is a cross between HITT and circuit training outside in all weathers. I have three dogs who I regularly walk around the stroud area (Up and down hills!) I run weekly and I am training this year to run the Stroud half marathon with some of the Sky diamond team. I am also a fair-weather cyclist.
What do you love about working at Skydiamond?
I love the awe and wonder on peoples faces as I try to convince them that what we are doing is real.
