Question One: If you hadn't become a physicist, what would you have been?

Michael Marder:

When I was in high school I sometimes thought about becoming a violinist. I was pretty good at the violin, but the way I thought about things then was that you needed to have Nobel-prize-quality gifts in music even to make a decent living, while in science there seemed to be a broader range of people who could make a decent living. Also I could continue music as a hobby if I went into science, but I had never heard of a musician who did science as a hobby. So I focused on physics.

Stephanie Viola Chasteen

My career path was so unconventional; I've often wondered what other paths I might have taken. The path that I *did* take was to get an undergraduate degree in psychology, then go on to get a graduate degree in physics while also learning about science journalism and doing some freelance work. I now do physics education and outreach, with a strong emphasis on writing. But if I hadn't followed the physics path, I could imagine that I very easily could have become a science journalist.

Shadow Robinson

For a long time, I was torn between being a physicist or a mathematician. If I had to pursue something far from the sciences though, I would have become a novelist.

Laura Greene

I actually never thought I'd make it to actually be paid as a physicist, so every day I got to do physics was a gift. Before graduate school, I would have been a shoe salesgirl. In graduate school I fell in love with machining, soldering, and welding, so I would have been a machinist or a welder. I still love shoes.

Wim Leemans

I would have been a chemical scientist (loved chemistry as a kid) or an airplane engineer. I was trained as an electrical engineer but with physics emphasis. I got hooked on lasers and plasmas (cool discharges!) in my undergrad years and have not left the field since then.

Question Two: What's the most interesting question anyone has ever asked you?

Michael Marder

A postdoc came into my office with a plastic bag of cookies he had ripped open. The edge was rippled -- try ripping a plastic garbage bag and you'll see what I mean -- but I could not understand what he was so excited about. Yeah, the edge is rippled. And so? He bought large sheets of plastic and built a machine to rip them, and kept babbling in an excited sort of way about the shape of the edge. Gradually the question began to grow on me; why did the sheet ripple? As I learned more about the mathematics of rippling sheets, I eventually developed several theories for what is happening. Although the project began with cookies, and seemed to be completely whimsical, I have found several applications since, including speaking with companies whose products were rippling in undesired ways.

Stephanie Viola Chasteen

"What do you notice?" This is the question that my old mentor Paul Doherty (of the Exploratorium) always asked anyone he was teaching. This question was genius in its simplicity and non-judgment. I could answer anything and it was "right." The first thing we had to do was to report what we perceived. And what was interesting was that in a group, invariably someone would "notice" things that others hadn't. So, this question was a real awakening to me to open my eyes to the world around me and begin to really notice... how the light bounced off a puddle, or the way a marble rolled down a hill. I began to open my eyes with a little more curiosity.

Shadow Robinson

I find all questions about the nature of the workings of the universe interesting. The most interesting though is the over-arching one: Do I really believe that the Universe is describable in its entirety by a set of physical laws that can be expressed mathematically and that nothing else is needed to explain everything we see?

Laura Greene

There are way too many science questions to prioritize: They are all interesting! I'll answer with a "Life Skills" question that has helped me a great deal in working with a broad range of students and collaborators: "In retrospect, how did you figure out exactly how to work with that person?"

Wim Leemans

Hard to answer. I find most questions interesting, especially when they are asked by young teenagers wondering about the world around them and you have to come up with analogies to explain them. This makes me think deeper about the topic and I find that fun and challenging.

Question Three: What's the coolest technological innovation that you know about?

Michael Marder

It's tempting to choose the iPhone, but everyone knows about that. I think I would choose the open source software movement. This movement is responsible for the fact that browsers such as Firefox and Explorer are free, that search engines like Google are free for users that sites such as Wikipedia are free, and that in turn has led to the explosion of the internet.

Stephanie Viola Chasteen

One of the coolest is flexible electronics and solar cells. These have been coming along for a while, and one day I imagine we'll be able to wear our electronics, or power our iPod with a solar panel sewn into our jacket.

Shadow Robinson

I love my gadgets but I think the technology that allows me access to information is amazing. I grew up 15 miles to the nearest library which probably had fewer books in it than I now own myself. Now, in a few minutes on the internet or using a device like a Kindle, I can have at my fingertips almost any information I desire.

Laura Greene

I'm totally amazed by and addicted to my Blackberry, but my kids think the iPhone is way cooler. Kids!

Wim Leemans

New ceramic materials that are of optical quality can be tailored to have the right properties for making a laser and have the potential to build very high power laser systems. I also do love my iPhone.

Question Four: What do you wear when you go to work?

Michael Marder

Years ago I started running an office at the University of Texas at Austin, and ever since then I have gone in to work every day in a jacket and tie.

Stephanie Viola Chasteen

Nothing too exciting -- jeans and a nice shirt. Unless I'm feeling playful, in which case I might wear my geeky t-shirt.

Shadow Robinson

It varies a lot depending on the weather and my mood. Most days some simple slacks and a nice shirt with a collar will suffice. About 1 or 2 days a week I will wear jeans with a science geek t-shirt. If it is warm, I will sometimes replace the jeans with a pair of shorts, though I never lecture in shorts just as a habit. If you see me wearing shorts during the spring or fall semesters, it means I am doing research but not teaching on that particular day.

Laura Greene

If it is a simple office/lab day, I wear comfortable, stretchy clothes and sneakers. When I teach, I usually wear nice slacks and a jacket with funky, clunky shoes. When I give talks, I wear some nice skirt suit and high heels. Hiding behind clothes makes communication easier.

Wim Leemans

Usually jeans, a shirt and comfortable shoes. When I have to give a talk, I'll put on a sports coat with on occasion a colorful tie. Very rarely a suit and tie.