Why Physics?

I didn’t have any role models in my family of any other scientist. When I was in high school nobody from my family had ever been in University. I didn’t get influenced by anyone as to what I should or should not do in terms of my career. My mother was proud of me that I wanted to go into University since I knew I wanted to study a degree, but she never tried to convince me of what I should study or what I should focus on. It was a totally personal decision.

So, when I was a teenager, I already knew I wanted to go to University. I was a good student, but not just in science. I was attracted to both science and the humanities, such as history or philosophy (I still am). What made me decide to go into science was that though I could learn history and philosophy, I can make science. In science, I can be an active participant.

The most attractive part of science to me is the feeling that I can follow my own ideas, grow, challenge myself every day, and forge my own path. So, why physics in particular? I had an excellent physics teacher at high school. We had lots of discussions and he was always pushing me to not assume any limit on what I can or cannot do, to always try. He used to say ‘

If you find a different solution than the ones in the books, don’t assume that your solution is wrong. Sometimes, books are wrong’

Certainly, he influenced me a lot and he is still a role model to me. I knew I wanted to work with people like him.