• Question: What drives you to continue your perfesion?

    Asked by Irie_leila to Alex, Ana, Clay, Keegan, Mark on 28 Apr 2016.
    • Photo: Clay Robinson

      Clay Robinson answered on 28 Apr 2016:


      Three things: curiosity, a thirst for knowledge (learning), and a passion for teaching.
      Even when I was your age, I wanted to know how things worked. The digital age had not yet begun, so if a radio or clock did not work, I took it apart to see if I could figure out what was wrong and how to fix it. Nowadays, when you take something apart, all you see is a circuit board, and you need special equipment for diagnostics and even more special equipment if it is possible to repair it. Still, I have taken water-damaged computers apart to study them and see what kind of damage the water caused.
      If I can understand how something works, I can begin to understand how to make it better, or how to make a better design to be more effective or efficient.
      Then I can teach others how to do that, then how to think about problems so that they can do even more than I am able to do.

    • Photo: Mark Ritchie

      Mark Ritchie answered on 29 Apr 2016:


      When it comes to science and discovering how the world works, I am extremely highly motivated. I think I have the best job in the whole world because of the freedom as a college professor that I have to explore and follow my curiosity. Doing science just makes me happy! When I get tired sometimes, I also remember that I have the responsibility to teach the world what I know through classes, writing articles, educational outreach programs, and forums like “I’m a Scientist!”

    • Photo: Alexander Taylor

      Alexander Taylor answered on 29 Apr 2016:


      Curiosity, and the opportunity to have engaging and insightful conversation with other scientists every single day! I also love teaching and seeing that spark of understanding in a student’s eyes.

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