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Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 24 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
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Lynne Thomas answered on 24 Jun 2014:
Yes we have a good chance of succeeding with my project. Its a great project to work on though as we don’t have any definite aims, we are just making a new type of material which we can switch the behaviour of like changing colour by using temperature, light and pressure or by applying an electric current across it. I think we will definitely make new materials which do new things and then we have to make sure that we find somewhere we can use it to benefit technology. There are different types of project which get funding. Some look at research areas which are very well studied and so clear targets can be identified. Others are more speculative and about trying something really different and where the results could well be surprising! My project is more like the latter.
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Daren Fearon answered on 24 Jun 2014:
I have already had some good success with my project by solving the structure of a protein which is essential for bacteria to survive. It is unlikely that my project will lead to a drug for people due to the time I have left to work on it. Drug discovery takes on average 12 years with 10-100s of people working on it. So if we can use this protein structure and some inhibitors that I have identified to motivate other people to work on this target, then I would consider that a success.
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Phillip Manning answered on 24 Jun 2014:
My team and I always have many projects running, so….usually one or two succeed, while others do not. However, we learn almost as much from our mistakes, as we do our successes.
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anon answered on 25 Jun 2014:
Yes and no. I don’t think I’ll be the person to make the material that goes into a hydrogen car, but I think I’ll definitely be successful in making better materials than the ones that already exist. Science is quite often about taking little steps at a time and improving the work that somebody’s done before you.
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