• Question:

    What has been your most intresting experience when being a scientist?

    Asked by Shetland24 on 4 Sep 2024. This question was also asked by grey520emyd.
    • Photo: Claire Sycamore-Howe

      Claire Sycamore-Howe answered on 10 Sep 2024:

      I had a really amazing opportunity to go and live in Sweden for a year in my twenties and work for AstraZeneca (AZ).
      I worked in their Medicinal Chemistry department and learned loads. But I also got to live in a new country and experience what life out there was like.
      It was an amazing opportunity and experience that I am really glad I did.

      Although if I am honest, when I first applied for the job, I wasn’t 100% sure where Gothenburg was. I just put an application in on the off chance I might get an interview. Which I did, and then I got offered the job. You should always try even if you doubt yourself, someone else might believe in you and give you a chance.

      Gothenburg is the the second biggest city in Sweden but it’s not as well known as Stockholm.
      When working for AZ I got to work with amazing scientists from all over the world, and got to do some really interesting chemistry as well.

    • Photo: Sheridan Williams

      Sheridan Williams answered on 10 Sep 2024:

      Explaining to others what you have discovered/learnt.

Comments

  • Photo: Eleftheria S

    Eleftheria S commented on :

    One of the most interesting experiences I had as a scientist was a few years ago when I visited Brazil. It was thrilling to discover new plant and animal species. Among the highlights was seeing an extraordinary tree known as the Jabuticaba, or grape tree. This remarkable tree grows fruit directly on its trunk and older branches, which is quite unusual and fascinating. It was a perfect example of the unique wonders that nature has to offer.

  • Photo: Andrew M

    Andrew M commented on :

    There have been a number, from sleep-deprived experiments at neutron beamlines, to the experience of sites, cities, conferences and talks and the friends and colleagues met along the way, but the best ones have usually started with the phrase “Hmmm, that’s weird!”. Possibly the happiest phrase to hear in science.

  • Photo: aureliabrzezowska

    aureliabrzezowska commented on :

    The coolest part of working in cybersecurity is definitely the investigations. Some days, everything on your to-do list gets thrown out the window because something crazy happens. You might have to dig through someone’s entire online activity, piecing things together like you’re Sherlock Holmes, or even be called in as a witness for some cases. Other days, you’re in full-on problem-solving mode, trying to help prevent cyberattacks that are causing chaos for a company. It’s like solving puzzles with high stakes, and that adrenaline rush is what makes it so exciting! No day is ever the same, every one tops the next.

  • Photo: martinmcmahon

    martinmcmahon commented on :

    I think after more than 30 years of working as a scientist and engineer I’ve seen and experienced so many super interesting things it’s almost impossible to choose what has been the most interesting. I guess part of being a scientist is having the chance of experiencing new things nearly all the time and I never know what will be the next most interesting thing. For instance, not so long ago I had the chance to go and discuss some work with the scientists at SPACEX in Los Angeles, and being shown where they build rocket engines and their spaceships has to be one of the coolest things I’ve seen in recent years, but just earlier this year I went to speak with BMW in Germany to talk about 3D printing parts of their cars in their super modern high-tech factory, and that was also an incredibly cool thing to do.

  • Photo: Martin M

    Martin M commented on :

    I think two things stand out…

    First, I was lucky enough to spend time as a PhD student working in the Technical University of Munich. This was very uncommon at the time and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland who funded my PhD also funded that trip.

    The second highlight is more recent. I was one of three or four laboratory scientists who were part of a large global team who were awarded time in the first 6 months of operation of the James Webb Space Telescope.