Stars

Before I went into the biomedical field for my PhD I was a physicist at a national laboratory doing space-based research. I got into physics in the first place because I loved space. In my home country there wasn’t that much light pollution; so I could stare at the stars and imagine what it’s like out there. And also realize how little each person is. I would read up on everything space related I could get my hands on. And being a part of projects that touched the edge of our planet made me feel great.

My youth also sparked a general interest in nearly everything scientific. From the way-outside-of-my-field to the publications that my academic and industry competitors put out. And in a lot of my service I focus on getting people interested in science. Right now, people seem to be most interested in one aspect of science: microbiology. But there’s so much more. And if we can get people interested in science and listening to people with the knowledge, maybe our great world can get even greater. I love the idea of looking up to scientists the way I look up in to the sky: with admiration and a realization of what’s important in life. And if scientists were treated with the respect of the people on ‘insert celebrity gawking show here’, then the world be better. I’m convinced of it. And it’s sad when things like my adopted country launching astronauts into space is barely passed over in the news. Everyone I talked to about this leading up to the launch had no clue that we were about to do something amazing. I know people don’t care about this stuff anymore, but people need to.

Tomorrow, Crew Dragon Demo-2 gets another shot at an absolutely incredible feat. And if the news doesn’t care to cover it, then I’m yelling to anyone that will listen.

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