• Question: Who inspired you to become a scientist?

    Asked by pierogi to Claire, Kate, Matt, Rob, Sam on 18 Jun 2013. This question was also asked by lbuchanan312, hncireland312, kaytlin312, keirranandrachel, wizzyg12, spednik123, nataliewright, annaw, indygrant, kayliegh199912.
    • Photo: Kate Husband

      Kate Husband answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      I had a couple of good science and maths teachers in school who definitely encouraged me to do science but I don’t think there was anyone who inspired me. I think I just found it the most interesting subject. Certainly my parents are not interested in science (or weren’t until I started going on about it all the time).

    • Photo: Sam Geen

      Sam Geen answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      My mum was a doctor and my dad was (is) a sonar engineer, so I always had scientists to look up to. My teachers were also very good, and many of them had been scientists before. But like Kate says, even if you don’t know scientists if you like it, go for it!

    • Photo: Matthew Pankhurst

      Matthew Pankhurst answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      There are many people that inspired me to become a scientist; parents, teachers and so on who I learned from directly. One very important inspirational person for me is Sir David Attenborough, maybe you’ve seen some of his documentaries? I love the way he explains things, and how he brings amazing places and creatures into our minds.

    • Photo: Robert Woolfson

      Robert Woolfson answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      Probably my biggest inspiration was a physicist called Richard Feynman. Apart from the fact he was a genius, he was also an absolutely brilliant person. He had a wicked sense of humour and really showed me that scientists are more than just old guys with crazy hair wearing white coats.

    • Photo: Claire Lee

      Claire Lee answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      My parents played a big part, because they encouraged me throughout my life to figure stuff out for myself (even when I really didn’t want to!). My dad was an electronic engineer, and my mom was an English teacher, so I have an interesting mix of creativity & science in myself 🙂 (I say “was” because now they have their own business as training consultants, so the don’t do those things anymore)

      But, during my life, my dad specifically liked to show me all sorts of interesting things – he taught me the basics of building electrical circuits and soldering when I was still really young. He took us stargazing – I remember going out to see Halley’s comet when it was here in 1986! He bought my brother and I a microscope when we were young and showed us how to use it – that was really cool. And they took me to the planetarium and out for walks since I was born. (My first word was actually “moon”!)

      So I think my dad probably influenced my life the most, but there were lots of people along the way who helped too. I had some truly wonderful teachers at school. Even my now-husband, who pushed me to start at university immediately instead of taking a year off (I met him just after I finished school).

      Everybody you meet can influence your life in one way or another if you let them. (Sometimes even if you don’t!). So it goes without saying that you should choose who you hang around with carefully. And if you want to be inspired, surround yourself with amazing, inspiring people, and you will soon be one too!

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