• Question: what do you believe to be your greatest scientific acomplishment/achievement?

    Asked by 08mhook to Ailsa, Evan, James, Kath, Ryan on 20 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Ryan Ladd

      Ryan Ladd answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Unfortunately, most of what I do is very tiny steps towards a final goal of fuel efficient marine transport, so it’s hard to comment on one “big” achievement. I do get a feeling of accomplishment when helping others though, in some ways it feels better to solve someone else’s problems than my own!

    • Photo: Ailsa Powell

      Ailsa Powell answered on 18 Jun 2011:

      In terms of adding to the global knowledge it was small, but to me it was the biggest and best thing in my scientific life and that was the research that I did to get my PhD (and getting my PhD).

      A PhD is a degree based on discovering something new by doing research. It takes 3-4 years and you are examined by writing a big book called a thesis and sitting an exam that involves sitting in a room with a couple of examiners asking you questions on your research for a few hours. Once you have passed you are then a Doctor of the Philosophy of Science and it is quite an accomplishment.

      I put in a lot of hard work and long hours to get to the point where I had enough research and results to write the book and when I passed, I’d achieved something I’d dreamed about for years 🙂

    • Photo: Evan Keane

      Evan Keane answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      My PhD. This is basically a book that you write over 3 years to prove you are a scientist. It is hard to write, and it is judged by senior scientists. When they said that I had passed and that I could call myself “Doctor” it was the proudest moment I’ve had in science. 😀

      But I hope my greatest achievements are still to come because I am only young! 😀

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