Gillian Sandstrom

My undergraduate degree was in Mathematics and Computer Science, at the University of Waterloo, in Canada. I worked as a computer scientist for 10 years before deciding to return to higher education. I took two Psychology classes by distance education, volunteered in a lab, and then took the plunge and applied to do a Master’s degree in Psychology at Ryerson University (Toronto), on the topic of Music Cognition. An internship/placement that I completed during that degree led me to move to the University of British Columbia for my PhD, where I started studying conversations with strangers and acquaintances (weak ties). Next, I moved to the U.K. to take up a postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge. Since 2015, I have been at the University of Essex, continuing my work on minimal social interactions.