• Question: what inspired you to be a scientist

    Asked by rebekahlee to Ed, Hayley, Jason, Nathan, Sophie on 10 Mar 2013. This question was also asked by alex11, kerrp, gpd123, paul123456789, thecoolboys, claudiasandra, adonaioliver, georgiasmith78, tkay11, weedpuffer12, stellamaris123, chatty2001, jammieb, kilgannons10158.
    • Photo: Hayley Evers-King

      Hayley Evers-King answered on 10 Mar 2013:

      This is a great question and I think I have a couple of answers for you:

      1. People: My grandparents, teachers and famous people like Sir David Attenborough have inspired me through their stories and encouragement.

      2. The world: As a little girl I loved animals, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve realised that nature is beautiful and fascinating wherever you look – whether that’s how the ocean moves or how specific insects pollinate specific flowers.

      3. The future: When I was at school I wanted to ‘save the whales’ and ‘stop deforestation’ so that these parts of nature would be around in the future. As I’ve learnt more, I’ve realised the world and its problems are quite complicated. In South Africa (where I live now) people need to cut down trees for firewood and they need to burn coal for business – but these people might also be affected by climate change in the future. By understanding how the world works, we can come up with solutions to our problems that can help people and protect the environment. I study toxic algal blooms which happen in the sea around South Africa. By understanding how and why these blooms form, and by mapping them from space, we can stop people from getting sick and protect their businesses. Being able to use science to solve problems is one of the most inspirational parts of my work.

    • Photo: Nathan Green

      Nathan Green answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      I had a maths teacher who had a huge beard and always wore the same jacket with elbow patches. He was Mr Geek Chic. Also, I also always wanted to get at the truth of things. when I was younger I didnt trust what anyone ever told me and wanted to see it for myself. I still dont think you should just blindly believe what anyone says unless they can back it up and thats basically science!

    • Photo: Jason King

      Jason King answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      I was always quite sciencey, and enjoyed working out how things work from a very tender age. I never really consciously planned to be a scientist, but just kept on following my nose, and doing the things that looked the most interesting at the time. Now I find myself doing proper scientific research and it’s great, and I find it more fascinating and fulfilling than anything else I can think of.

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