…Is the cry coming from ICRAR Deputy Director Professor Steven Tingay, who’s spending time over the next two weeks inspiring the next generation of high school student ‘proto-scientists’ – as he calls them – in an innovative schools program.
If Steven wins, his plan is to send one of his PhD students to a conference overseas; “I joined this competition so that I could explain to people what I do, chat with some enthusiastic proto-scientists and hopefully inspire a few people to get interested in astronomy, science and a career in research. Inspiring one person would be worth ten times the prize money for me,” he says.
Steven has spent the last few days answering tough questions like ‘Is the world going to end this year?’ and ‘Can you swim in space?’ and even discussing climate change and how to build your own telescope. The voting stage starts next week, with one scientist being eliminated each day until a winner is crowned on Friday.
‘I’m a scientist..’ is an International program currently running in the UK and Australia, with hopes of expanding further in coming years.Check out the website to see all the questions and answers and cheer on your favourite scientists. You can also read Steven’s profile.
Here are some of our favourite questions that Steven was asked:
- What made you guys want to become scientists?
- Have you made any discoveries?
- Is the world going to end this year?
- Can you swim in space?
You can also see all the questions Steven has been answering here.
‘I’m a scientist, get me out of here’ allows Australian students to live chat, ask questions and learn from working scientists. The students then vote on which scientists to keep in an idol-like elimination contest, with the last scientist standing winning a cash prize to go towards a science education program of their choice.
