• Question: When did you first become interested in your area of science and why were you interested in it? :)

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      Asked by controlled_disorder to John, Laura, Luke, Rob, Ruth on 10 Jun 2016.
      • Photo: Robert Williams

        Robert Williams answered on 10 Jun 2016:

        Age about 7 when i won a science prize at infant school.

        I was fascinated by science and also was able to videotape The Sky at Night and watch it later

      • Photo: Laura Finney

        Laura Finney answered on 10 Jun 2016:

        I think this didn’t really happen for me until I did my A levels. I always liked science but found it very hard to choose which one.
        I think I was interested in it as we already know a lot about chemistry (a lot more than biology anyway) and I thought the experiments were cool when we had colour changes and things like that!

        I also liked the idea of helping to make new drugs to help sick people (although it isn’t what I ended up doing).

      • Photo: Ruth Patchett

        Ruth Patchett answered on 11 Jun 2016:

        For me it was much later too. At A-level when I started to understand how things on a tiny atomic level have a huge effect everything on a large scale. I was fascinated how the unique hydrogen bonding in water is a detail that basically allows life to exist. It is one of the few substances where the solid is less dense (less heavy) than the liquid so it floats. This way the top of a pond freezes over and fish can still live in the water underneath. All because of the way these tiny molecules interact with each other.

      • Photo: John Fossey

        John Fossey answered on 11 Jun 2016:

        I wanted to be a molecular architect or builder after I learned about the complexity of molecules in nature and the challenges humanity faces competing with that. The use of catalysts as tools for building complexity in molecules was something my eyes were opened to at university. Hopefully, by being part of this zone you can pick up a bit of the enthusiasm for the topic.

      • Photo: Luke Williams

        Luke Williams answered on 12 Jun 2016:

        I generally wander around science. Its not a particularly good habit, but it means that I only have an idea of the area I am researching as I start the project.

        I love the area that I am working on at the moment, and would be happy to continue that for a couple of decades more, yet equally if I was offered a job in another area of science, I would probably be just as happy to move over there for a bit.

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