When was the first time you felt drawn to learning about this topic?
I don’t think it arose from a deep and abiding need to study magnetism, but rather it caught me in graduate school as an area of astrophysics that is poorly understood and avoided because of its complexity.
As for astrophysics in general, the summer before my senior year of high school, I did an undergraduate research experience at the National Science Foundation in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and it was amazing. That’s when I realized I wanted to work at the ISM, when I really appreciated what the ISM was. It was my first full-time research experience, and it was at this amazing facility, both because the telescope is amazing and because you live there in these little cabins. The cabin that Jodie Foster was in, in the movie Contactthere was my bunk bed.
Was there an earlier moment when you realized you wanted to be a scientist?
The truth is, I didn’t always want to be a scientist. When I got into college, I thought maybe I could major in biology and English. I loved biology in particular and I’ve always loved writing, so I thought maybe I could be a writer.
I’ve always been interested in everything. It’s a common saying among astronomers: “I loved space ever since I was little, and I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up.” And I certainly loved space when I was little, but I also loved rocks and dinosaurs and lizards. In particular, salamanders. Anyway, it all started when I looked for salamanders under rocks with my sisters in our backyard in Virginia. It’s just curiosity about nature and a love of learning, and that’s what you can do as a scientist.
Original story Reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazinean editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to improve public understanding of science by covering advances and trends in research in mathematics, physical sciences, and life sciences.