• Question: Why did you become a scientist?

    Asked by bayleigh to Daniel, Giovanna, Greg, Kelly, Lowri on 7 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by sunnyD123, zara pagett, bean, xFusion360[YT].
    • Photo: Giovanna Tancredi

      Giovanna Tancredi answered on 7 Mar 2016:

      My parents are both scientist, so I grew up surrounded by science. My dad is a plant phatologist (he is interested to cure plant’s diseases) and my mum is a chemist (she is interested in studying the quality of certain food such as cheeses and orange juices). I remember visiting their lab when I was little and being fascinated by them.
      Then, when I was in secondary school I really loved my Physics class and so decided to enrol for a Physics degree. I was very lucky to be able to do a 1 year research experience during my last year at university and this made me realise that I wanted to be a scientist!

    • Photo: Daniel Biggs

      Daniel Biggs answered on 7 Mar 2016:

      For as long as I can remember I have been interested in all things biological. I wanted to study dinosaurs while at primary school, this changed to becoming a forensic pathologist in my teenage years. I have always enjoyed science and growing up at school I found out that I was actually quite good at it. My aim had changed from pathology to becoming a forensic scientist. As I went to University to study forensic biology I knew I was headng in the right direction. At the end of my degree I went to work in a lab that was research based and nothing to do with forensics, and I am glad I did. Without this I would not be in the job I am today.

    • Photo: Lowri Evans

      Lowri Evans answered on 7 Mar 2016:

      Honestly, I wasn’t overexcited by Science in school. I grew up in rural Wales, which meant that our access to cool science stuff was pretty limited at the time. I’d always been really interested about how people interact with their environment, and how the things that people do can have such an impact on what goes on around them. I chose psychology at A Level and my interest grew from there. I suddenly had access to labs and got a taste for experiments…then I was hooked 🙂

    • Photo: Kelly Houton

      Kelly Houton answered on 7 Mar 2016:

      Much like Daniel, I loved dinosaurs as a child and wanted to be an archaeologist.
      As I progressed through secondary school, I found a natural interest and talent in Chemistry and pursued it. I was fascinated how things like number of protons in a nucleus can change an elements properties.

    • Photo: Greg Irving

      Greg Irving answered on 10 Mar 2016:

      For me it was the moment I looked inside a cell in biology class and was amazed at all the small structures inside. I was filled with a deep sense of wonder that hasn’t ever really left me. None of my family were scientists but my A level biology teacher, Dr Scott, was a great role model as someone who understood the spirit of science.

      Have you ever felt that sense of wonder ? I still get it when looking at the night sky or looking inside a cell.

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