• Question: why have you chosen the type of science you do

    Asked by darkskin98 to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 15 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by howwilst1, tonieastup123, igloo23.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      I was interested in Mars since I read science fiction as a teenager. When I went to university I chose to study astrophysics, as I knew I loved space. However, it turned out that the things you study in astrophysics (stars, black holes, cosmology) didn’t really float my boat, which put me off for a while.

      Then I did a part time Open University course in planetary science while I was working after my degree, which made me realise what I was missing! That’s when I decided to go back into science and study to become a planetary scientist.

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      I thought I wanted to do biology for a job when I was at school, but then I had a really good Geology teacher when I was doing my A-levels, and he inspired me to go and do Geology at university. But then when I got there I really missed the biology, so now I am using my geology and my biology knowledge to research palaeontology.

      I got interested in astrobiology and the idea of life in the universe, by reading books and watching programmes by Carl Sagan, who is an amazing cosmologist. Here he is talking about our planet.

    • Photo: Karen Masters

      Karen Masters answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      I was just always fascinated by what is outside our planet. I loved the beautiful images and wanted to understand them more. I talk about it a bit in the video I linked from my profile: http://vimeo.com/20951068

    • Photo: Nazim Bharmal

      Nazim Bharmal answered on 18 Mar 2012:

      I chose to do Physics at university because I found out it suited me best; I was always interested in the way the world works, but I also enjoy maths. But I really enjoy geophysics too so in the end, as well as building experiments. After my degree, I found a PhD that let me do a bit of everything. I was lucky getting a job as a scientist, not everybody gets the chance, and here I am today.

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