• Question: Who is your science idol?

    Asked by lucyb to Ben, Jony, Katharine, Mark, Peter on 14 Nov 2011. This question was also asked by chiarna, chels1999, annabelsusan, edwardgowland, fowej004, bethl, jpo768, jord123, chlozza.
    • Photo: Mark Basham

      Mark Basham answered on 13 Nov 2011:

      Hi lucyb,

      When I was growing up I watched a lot of programs with Johnny Ball (Zoe Balls dad) in them, he was a great science and technology communicator and really got me interested in science.

    • Photo: Ben Still

      Ben Still answered on 14 Nov 2011:

      My science idol is Richard Feynman. He could make the most complex physics easy to understand and played a massive role in developing the maths (theory) behind particle physics. Nobel prize winner, ladies man and bongo player; legend.

      http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-lecture.html

    • Photo: Jony Hudson

      Jony Hudson answered on 14 Nov 2011:

      It’s hard to say, as there are so many people to look up to!

      If I had to pick one though I think I’d say Norman Ramsey. He always seems to take a really hands-on approach to solving problems, which I admire. He invented the basic technique by which all atomic clocks work, for which he won the Nobel prize in 1989.

      http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1989/ramsey-autobio.html

      I’ve been lucky enough to meet him a couple of times, at conferences around the world, which was a real pleasure!

    • Photo: Peter Williams

      Peter Williams answered on 14 Nov 2011:

      From history – Neils Bohr pretty much invented quantum mechanics and was also a really nice, jolly fellow (as opposed to Schrodinger, who was a bit of a scoundrel)

      Today – lots of people in accelerators inspire me, but they’re not famous (yet). There’s a guy at Stanford in California called Paul Emma who designed the world’s first X-Ray free electron laser – this lased for the first time in 2009. He’s really smart!

    • Photo: Katharine Schofield

      Katharine Schofield answered on 14 Nov 2011:

      When I was in year 9 I remember my physics teacher telling me about Jocelyn Bell Burnell. She discovered pulsars (rotating neutron stars which are exteremly dense, about as dense as if you squeezed 50 million elephants into a thimble) in 1967 when she was a PhD student. Her supervisor won the Nobel prize for the discovery, and many people have argued that Jocelyn should also have been a recipient. I remember thinking ‘wow, women can do physics, and be Nobel prize-worthy’. The fact she didn’t win it didn’t put me off, in fact the indignation I felt on her behalf perhaps even spurred me on. I think because it was a present-day example of a woman being absolutely at the top of her field it felt so much more relevant than other prominent female scientists like Marie Curie. I’ve had the pleasure to work with Jocelyn on STFC business on several occasions and she is absolutely brilliant. Definitely an inspiration.

      The science teacher who told me that story, Mrs Woodworth, is a science hero of mine too – boundless enthusiasm, energy and encouragement. Legend!

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