• Question: what do you believe makes a good scientist in your field of science?

    Asked by farheene4n on 18 Mar 2025. This question was also asked by tape520vara.
    • Photo: Caroline Roche

      Caroline Roche answered on 18 Mar 2025:

      A good scientist in the nuclear industry (or any industry) has a genuine curiosity about how things work, together with a deep passion for their field. They exhibit patience and attention to detail, ensuring precision in every aspect of their work. Collaboration is also important, they are able to foster productive relationships. Adaptability to change allows them to navigate advances in the science and technology they use. While a strong ethical mindset ensures they uphold integrity and responsibility in their work.

    • Photo: Michael Capeness

      Michael Capeness answered on 3 Apr 2025:

      In my field (microbiology) and probably most fields of science, being curious is a great characteristic to have, that’s the thing that makes us ask questions and work towards their answers. We also have to know what experiments to do, the best way to do them, and to understand and interpret the results we get, and design new experiments based off of them. Much of this comes after practice, and failure, so persistence is all a great skill to have!

    • Photo: John Easton

      John Easton answered on 8 May 2025:

      Not to think that they always have the right answer or know the answer, especially when presented with data that shows their viewpoint needs a bit of “rethinking”. There are lots of people that will tell you definitively that “x is true” whatever x might be, yet refuse to change their mind when shown something that maybe means that statement cannot be correct. As a minimum they should be open to looking at the new evidence or data. A good scientist is open to new ideas and new ways of thinking.

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