What is it like being a scientist?
I think what would surprise most people is how much fun it is. There are, of course, parts of the job which are a real drag (marking student exam papers has to be the worst thing one does as an academic, which isn’t really about science), but the opportunity to do work that is engaging and important makes me feel very lucky to be able to do what I do.
What inspired you to become a scientist?
I didn’t know any scientists when I was young but, especially in primary school, I read lots of biographies of people I thought of as scientists but were really more inventors (people like Thomas Edison). Once I got to university, I knew I wanted to do my best never to leave!
What is the best thing about being a scientist/ your job?
I find the work itself so interesting and engaging. Maybe the best thing is when I get together with my collaborators, and we try to hash out a set of ideas for some new experiments.That can be hard work when ideas are not flowing, but terribly exciting when we come up with a new idea.
What do you do in your free time?
I love going to art exhibitions, and am especially fond of street performance art. London provides so many opportunities, most of which are free, and I take advantage of lots of them. I’m a keen recumbent cyclist (recumbent bicycles are much more efficient and much more comfortable!), and that’s how I usually get to work, which makes the journey more of a pleasure than a necessary evil. More on the home front, I really like to cook, having taken lessons in Thai, Indian and especially Chinese cuisine. And I like to be stuck in to a literary novel all the time. I wish I had more free time for all of these!
What is the first science you remember doing?
When I was about 10 years old, I had a toy computer called a Think-a-Tron, which would indicate in flashing lights the answers to questions printed on small punch cards. I figured out how this worked, made my own punch cards with questions, and wrote up my findings in a ‘paper’ for my own enjoyment.
What advice would you give a school child who is interested in science?
Follow your interests and don’t worry about how it will all work out. Maybe I was just lucky, but I never had a career plan
How would you inspire a child/non-scientist to be interested in the work you do?
Much of my work involves things that most people find interesting, concerning language, and how we speak and hear. Also, it’s possible to use lots of whizzy animations and software and interesting sounds to demonstrate different aspects of these areas, which makes understanding what is going on so much easier.
What’s the funniest/strangest/most surprising experience you have had in your career?
Although I originally came to UCL in London to work on a cochlear implant project for 2-3 years as a research assistant, I ended up spending 30 years working in the same hallway (I did have a few different offices!). And I’ve been at UCL almost that whole time.
What discovery or invention could you really not live without?
The bicycle. Fast enough to get places yet slow enough to see things, with the advantage of getting enough exercise so I don’t have to go the gym!
What do you think is the most important thing yet to be discovered/invented?
I am sure that there are many, many very important discoveries yet to be made, but I guess the question of how language has evolved, and what in the evolution of the brain allowed that to happen, has to be a central aspect of our understanding of what it means to be human.