• Question: in your opinion who is the most inspirational scientist you have met?

    Asked by anon-197733 to Dan on 1 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Dan Porter

      Dan Porter answered on 1 Mar 2019:

      Hi Sophie, great question!

      I’ve met a lot of inspirational scientists – from nobel prize winners such as the very enthusiastic Frank Wilczek and the pretty crazy Andre Geim (he levitates frogs!), to pioneering professors still working hard and enjoying every experiment in their 80s, to ambitious PhD students who will work all hours of the night to get that perfect measurement. My school teachers, university lecturers and PhD supervisor have also always been a constant source of inspiration.

      While it’s very difficult to pick the most inspirational, I think I would go with a supervisor I had for a university summer placement at the Institut Laue–Langevin (a neutron lab in Grenoble, France). Pascal gave me my first taste of scientific research and taught me to be logical and thorough in my work. She was an early career scientist then and having kept in contact and watched her career progress since I have always been impressed at how she can balance a great scientific career with an active personal life with family and friends – despite constantly jetting around Europe for conferences and experiments!

Comments

  • Photo: Srinath

    Srinath commented on :

    As an antibody engineer, I travel to international conferences where I have had the privilege to meet and interact with some of the top names in the field, people who discovered how antibodies work, how antibodies function, how you can make antibody into a drug. Most of them are nerd scientists, a lot of them are just common blokes who like to hang around and chat and super funny! But the most inspirational one I found close to home. The CEO of the company I worked for previously, Bahija Jallal, was one of the most inspiring figures. She was a Muslim woman from Morocco who broke the barriers and came out as a truly inspirational leader. She knew how to throw a party and keep the morale of her employees up. She knew how to deal with a difficult situation. But more than anything, she would always listen to the science and make decisions based on the science. She would take a decision to lay people off or to kill a project very personally and show true compassion. She was always available and very approachable, and would take time to meet and talk to young scientists, particularly women. She was really an inspiration for us working in the company as well as the scientific community at large!

  • Photo: Matthew

    Matthew commented on :

    Mine isn’t particularly glamorous, but by A level physics teacher. He used to be an engineer in the RAF, and had so many interesting stories about the practical applications of physics, as well as showing me that there was a world of insanely interesting physics outside of the curriculum… At that point I only saw physics as as dropping tennis balls and making waves in a water tub, and he opened my eyes to what it really is.

    So, if you are reading this Mr. [REDACTED], thank you so so much! You will definitely be getting an acknowledgement in my thesis.