• Question: what topic do you research? and why are you interested in that particular topic?

    Asked by aidaaarr to David, Helen, Ian, rhysphillips, Sarah on 14 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Helen Fletcher

      Helen Fletcher answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I am doing research to develop better vaccines for tuberculosis. TB is one of the biggest killers in the world (2 million people die of TB each year). Using vaccines we have been able to completely clear smallpox from the world and have almost cleared the world of polio. I like the idea of doing research where in my life time I might see a huge benefit from the research I have done. If we can get a better vaccine for TB maybe we could save 2 million people a year from dying!!

    • Photo: Sarah Cook

      Sarah Cook answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I work on oil spill modelling, I’m interested in that so that environmental diasters as happened in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 don’t happen again by raising awareness to oil companies so that control measures can be put in place should the worst happen.

    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      My area is “vision science” which is, as it sounds, the study of how people see. I study it because I find it very interesting to try to find out how visual information is stored and processed in our brains, and because there are lots of unanswered questions in this area so there are lots of challenges!

    • Photo: Rhys Phillips

      Rhys Phillips answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I research methods of protecting aircraft against damage from lightning strikes. Planes are hit by lightning all the time (each plane about once per year) and so it’s vital that the planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes to ensure that the crew and passengers are completely safe. Metal aircraft doesn’t cause too much of a problem as they can conduct the electricty from the lightning strike. We are now making planes out of carbon-fibre (to make them lighter) and the research I do is to develop new methods of protecting this material.

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