• Question: What have been your inspirations to make you want to do what you are doing today?

    Asked by Josh Goddard to Alice, Bose, Christian, Emma, Steve on 9 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by Haadiyah, anonymous.
    • Photo: Alice Harpole

      Alice Harpole answered on 9 Mar 2016:

      I always find reading about some of the first women in computer science very inspiring.

      For example, Grace Murray Hopper invented the first ever compiler for a programming language, helped develop the language COBOL and popularised the term ‘debugging’ after her team found an actual moth in their computer.

      There’s also Margaret Hamilton, who was director of the team that built the on-board software for the Apollo missions required to navigate to and land on the Moon.

    • Photo: Steve Marsden

      Steve Marsden answered on 10 Mar 2016:

      Do you mean in terms of the science we do, or in terms of answering all of your questions?

      In terms of the science, I’m not really certain. I don’t think there really were specific individuals that inspired me. I’ve always enjoyed learning new things, and eventually if you study a single subject long enough, you run out of other people’s discoveries to learn. The only thing left is to go out and find something for yourself.

      In terms of being here answering questions. I always enjoy chatting with other scientists. I hope that chatting here, we might encourage some of you to go into science. Who knows, in a few years, maybe we’ll get to chat again. 🙂

    • Photo: Benjamin Bose

      Benjamin Bose answered on 16 Mar 2016:

      My inspiration has always been the mystery of this world/universe we live in and how science can teach you that things are sometimes far stranger than they seem. Good documentaries and talking to other scientists about crazy ideas and phenomena definitely stirs this sense of wonder 🙂

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