• Question: Why should i vote for you?

    Asked by miamimi to Cesar, Emily, Jamie, Kate, Philippa on 15 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by ambybaby, meggie, sasha, edwardcullen, smiffiieee, diviatasha, chloelou98, charlottelouise, shannoncourtney.
    • Photo: Kate Clancy

      Kate Clancy answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Where do I even begin? 😉

      First, I am in an amazing zone. Have you seen my other competitors? Very cool people, all of them. But of course, I wouldn’t be writing if I didn’t think you should vote for me! 🙂

      I already do a lot of outreach, on my own time, without any chance that it will really help me in my job. That’s because I really care about getting science right, having good information out there, and sharing my delight and excitement with others.

      Winning this outreach money would give me a chance to do a project I have long wanted to do: create a way for young people to actually talk to each other about their lives and bodies! In my blog, I do all the talking. Sure there are comments, and I do always respond to them and to emails, but I want to create a project where I’m not the one in control. I’m thinking this would mean some kind of youtube channel or something, but I am still working on the full plan. It doesn’t hurt that sciencegoddess herself Joanne Manaster is a friend and colleague here at the University of Illinois — have any of you seen her exploding gummy bear videos, or her science of makeup series?

      The reason this topic is important to me is that my research is all about how environment and lifestyle impact the body. But most people I talk to don’t know the first thing about how their bodies are impacted by how they live. Starting to build in some awareness about this, and also about how this impact creates tons of variation and differences among people, might get us to appreciate these differences.

      I don’t think we should all hold hands and sing songs about how great it is to be different after this. But the reason this is so crucial is that ideas about our bodies that we have when we are young end up getting set in our minds when we are older. So if you don’t feel “normal” when you are young, you won’t feel “normal” when you are older… even though you are probably quite normal!

      So, learn about how your lifestyle affects your body, understand what it means for your body, and then use that to understand all the people around you. It is a good thing!

    • Photo: Philippa Demonte

      Philippa Demonte answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      @miamimi @ambybaby @meggie @sasha Believe it or not, this is the toughest question of all to answer, because I am up against some s-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y amazing scientists, and both @Kate and I have been dedicated enough to get up at a crazy early time of the day (we’re talking 5 a.m.!) from half way around the world to answer questions in the live chats. That alone deserves a few votes!

      More importantly though, education is the key to everything. The more you learn, the more you understand, the more informed decisions that you can make in life,and with that empowerment every single one of you /can/ make a difference in this world.

      So you should vote for me if I have changed your opinions about science (in a good way), even more so if my responses inspire you to learn more about volcanoes and earthquakes than just what you see on the news, and then after voting….pass your new-found knowledge on to others.

    • Photo: Jamie Gallagher

      Jamie Gallagher answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      You should vote for me if I deserve it. If you feel I answer questions, try hard and your find what I say interesting.
      The more and more work with doing science out reach the more I love it. I am heading back to may lab after a week at Cheltenham science festival right now, which was amazing!
      I know I’m going to have a great time and if you like what I have to say then I would love to have your vote.

    • Photo: Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo

      Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I reckon you will have a though decision to make…if you haven’t done it yet. I take @Philippa’s view, you should vote for whomever has changed your views on science for good, whomever has inspired you, or even, whomever has managed to get you a bit more curious about nature.
      If i have managed at least one of them, you should vote for me 😉

    • Photo: Emily Robinson

      Emily Robinson answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      This is definitely a hard one to answer (especially after seeing all the good answers from my fellow scientist). But just ask as many questions as you can and see what your gut feeling is, whether it is because of a certain good answer, a similar science interest or a good live chat session. The important thing is that you get the most from this experience as you can. I must admit I am really enjoying this already and more than anything I would like your vote so I can stay in longer and enjoy it more!

      I am also very interested in science communication and do a lot already, but I would also love to win so I could use the money to make a whole new activity to get across the important message of the risk factors of stroke. I think I would do this as a computer program/game or video/animation. What do you think is the best way of getting a science message across to students your age?

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