IAS2011 — Day #5

Fifth day of the 'I'm a Scientist – Get me out of here!' event.

Three live chats today, and the science team in the Chromium zone are really working well together. However, this is the end of the first week. Next week, things start to get serious. Students will be voting for the best scientists. Of course this is best in their viewpoint, so they are the ones wielding the power on this. This means that it is not just our knowledge or experience by itself, but our ability to put it into an understandable form that actually excites, motivates and inspires the students. That's actually a demanding thing.

One thing I've found, is how rewarding it is when you can achieve that. During the online chat session this afternoon, I felt that the students were starting to express not just ideas, but visions for their futures. It is easy for those in established careers to forget what it was like to be a student. Mind you, some of the questions, do cause you to go back and view your own life again from that perspective! And having been reminded, I think of some of the people that were inspirational to me and who answered when I once asked for advice. (Thank you, should you ever read this!)

My top question for the Day #5 (sent in by "mollyrose") is along those lines. Following a long chat discussion about geosciences, she posted the following question: 'im the girl that wants to work in geophysics! do you have any advice please ?! :)'


Event website: http://imascientist.org.uk/
Or via Twitter: @imascientist (or search for #ias2011)