• Question: Are any of your family scientists and if so is that why you became one?

    Asked by animelvr7 to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 15 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Great question!

      My answer is yes!

      My dad was a university lecturer in biology and my mom was a biology teacher in a sixth form (both are retired now).

      Funnily enough, when I was at school I didn’t want to study biology because both my parents studied it – I much preferred maths! However, as time has gone on I have started to enjoy biology, and in particular ecology, much more and am now studying and researching similar things to what my parents studied and taught!

      I guess it was my fate to follow my parents and I couldn’t escape it!

    • Photo: Christine Switzer

      Christine Switzer answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      No, none of my family were scientists when I chose that path. One of my cousins married a nurse but otherwise, the rest of my family work as attorneys or business/finance. After my brother and I finished university, my dad gave up being an attorney, went back to school and became a science teacher. My brother and I like to say it was our bad influence on him, but I think it’s something he always wanted to do.

      Is anyone in your family a scientist?

    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Hey animelvr7!

      My dad is a biology teacher (he’s about to retire this year). I’d like to think I chose my own path but having a biologist around probably did rub off on me!

      I’ve visited my dad’s school to give talks on crayfish and some of the pupils have commented that we’re very similar…. I’m hoping they’re not talking about the beard! 😛

    • Photo: Jessica Chu

      Jessica Chu answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Neither of my parents have been to university or know a lot about science. They get bored when I explain my work to them! I just find myself enjoy learning about science at school!

      I have other friends who parents know nothing about science but they are brilliant scientists themselves!! But I also have other brilliant scientist friends who have parents that are lectuerers in physics and other parents of theirs are teaching science!

    • Photo: Nicolas Biber

      Nicolas Biber answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Yes and partially yes 🙂 My dad is a biologist as well, and there are lots of scientists around our family, so guess that inspired me a lot 😉 … I think we have all already written a lot about that in previous questions. It’s worth browsing through them, they are really good!

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