Question: why do you study science?

Adam Washington answered on 9 Feb 2021:

To be completely honest, I’ve always studied science mostly because I find it interesting. Seeing all the weird ways that nature connects things together. My favourite project that I ever worked on was studying how light reflects off of bird feathers. Toward the end of the project, we wound up using x-rays to map the entire structure of a bird feather. I could then take that x-ray data and use it to reproduce a photo of the feather. The idea that light we couldn’t see could tell me about something about how biology would interact with visible light just made me happy for months.

Sometimes when people ask this question, I try to give answers about all the things that science can give us. That bird feather work was a step towards lowering the carbon footprint of paints and making more effective sunscreens. My current research will help pharmacists with drug delivery. But, if I’m fully honest, I just do this job because it’s so interesting.