Every week one of our bloggers will introduce themselves to the world and talk about how much fun it is working in Science Policy. Today the team’s only non-scientist, Ashley Tomlins, introduces himself and next week team leader Nicole Arbour says hello from Ottawa.
Ashley Tomlins – Vancouver
Hello.
My name’s Ashley and I’m not a scientist.
I’ve always been fascinated by science and the natural world. I remember getting a microscope one Christmas. Over the next few months I charged around making slides out of anything I could lay my hands on. I stared intently at onions, trying to make out the cells and wondering what mysteries they contained. Now I know, but the magic of peering into that minute world has never gone away. In a way that’s the beauty of science. It lifts the veil and shows us the wonder of the mundane.
Growing up I spent Saturday glued to C’est pas Sorcier. For hours I watched the team explain volcanoes, where clouds came from and how frogs jumped so high. Science at school was no less fascinating. My Biology teacher, Mr Barnet, had a gift for explaining anything with role play and a board marker. I have memories of walking in an out of the classroom as students became molecules and diffusion was explained. Ms Hood revealed the elegant simplicity of the plant world and Dr Smith taught us why you don’t mix fire and a distillation column full of petrol: it explodes.
I may not be a scientist, but I don’t think it takes one to realise that science plays a central role in modern society. After all, without people like Tim Berners-Lee there might not be the internet as we know it, and you wouldn’t be reading this blog. But, science offers us far more than technical convenience – it can also provide answers to some of the biggest challenges we face. Tackling Anti Microbial Resistance, sourcing new medical isotopes and understanding the impacts of climate change will all need science at their heart.
With research increasingly reliant on international collaboration, that’s where I come in. My job is to help scientists connect with each other, building the international links for the scientific research taking on global challenges. I may not be a scientist, but that won’t stop me helping those that are.