Why science?

Today we asked 5 of our fellows: Rémy Rodiac, Karel Innemée, Mathias Boström, Pablo Cavagnaro, and Biswaranjan Das Mohapatra  when they started thinking about a scientific career and what confirmed them in making such a decision. Obviously, each of them had different visions of their future and different motivations, but despite the clear contrasts, they all became leading researchers in their fields.

So tell us, was a career in science an obvious choice for you and when did you start thinking seriously about becoming a researcher?

Remy: No, it wasn’t obvious until quite late. For example, I wanted to be a high school teacher, and then, when I started my PhD, I became more interested in research. So, I started thinking seriously about being a researcher, when I was doing my PhD, because before that I didn’t know what the job of a researcher was. 

Karel: It was of course a conscious choice. I could either choose a profession that brings money but without a lot of motivation, like law, or finance, or study the history of art and archaeology. Well, and you know that you’ll never be a billionaire as an archaeologist. But I would rather choose something where I can work with motivation or select a profession just to earn money. 

Even as a schoolboy I was able to join excavations. This experience proved to be very useful. I did my first fieldwork in Sudan. So, basically, research was something that I did from the moment I entered the University. 

Mathias: I was probably the first in my family to get a science degree when I got my Master’s in Physics and later a PhD. My sister later studied to become a Master of Science in Chemistry. I do not recall when I started to think about a career as a scientist but I think I must blame my late physics teacher at Platen Skolan (high school in Motala/Sweden) Ion Saeflund for getting me excited about science. At university, I had some excellent teachers (three of the main impacting researchers/teachers are no longer alive) and a fantastic and supportive Ph.D. advisor in Prof. Emeritus Bo Sernelius. When I finished my Ph.D. I got in contact with 4 Professors: one in the USA, one in France, one in Spain, and Barry Ninham in Australia. Three of these eventually offered me the chance to do a postdoc. Most importantly, Barry told me about how he and his wife were battling for their lives (Barry’s first wife died shortly after). Yet, Barry explained the beauty of fundamental physics, and when I got offered positions in Spain (in theoretical materials physics) and in France (in chemical physics) I was already in a postdoc position with Dr David Williams at the Australian National University.  Barry of course was the one who helped me get this position and he has ever since been a friend and mentor. He is now 88 years old so I have committed to some main work with him while he still has a chance to enjoy this.

Pablo: I started developing a taste for basic science when I was in the middle of my University career.

In my case, I started enjoying the research aspect and the genetic aspects when I started doing internships at some laboratories. At that time, I became aware that I like research. So, it wasn’t so obvious to me from the beginning. 

My dad was a researcher in another field. He kind of opened my mind in the sense that if I like it, I need to develop certain skills. I needed to get good grades and a scholarship. I needed to achieve certain goals to go into that path and be successful. Once I was convinced that I like research and could do that, I started paying attention to the things that my dad was saying. For example, I started studying hard to get better grades. I started applying for scholarships. So, after I graduated, I got a scholarship for a PHD as I had good grades. During my PhD I tried to have publications. Later, I did a postdoc in the US.

Biswaranjan: For me, it was an obvious choice, as I always wanted to pursue a career in science. I started thinking about being a researcher after I finished my master’s degree. I was inspired to conduct research, become a researcher and do better research.

Soon other POLONEZ BIS fellows will share with us their scientific passion stories…