Profile
Andrew Maynard
Well color me purple, I won! Not sure why - the others were fab - but thanks for the votes! Now for a holiday...
My CV
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Education:
Pilgrim Upper School, Bedford (1979 – 1984) – sadly closed now.
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Qualifications:
University of Birmingham (1984 – 1987), studying Physics. Cambridge University (1989 – 1992) – doing a PhD in Physics
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Work History:
Severn Trent Water (learning how to manage a sewage works, amongst other things), 1987 – 1989; The Health and Safety Laboratory (part of the Health and Safety Executive), 1992 – 2000; The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (in the US), 2000 – 2005; The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (also in the US), 2005 – 2010. I also used to work at Boots, but I guess that doesn’t count.
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Current Job:
I direct the Risk Science Center in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, which is a research center studying how substances potentially cause harm, and how they can be used safely.
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I started life as a physicist (in the UK); got involved in research measuring how much dust people inhale in factories – and how to avoid inhaling the harmful stuff; moved into studying the safety of nanotechnology (nano what?!) – which led to working with people at a reasonably high level in the US government; ended up leaving research to work full time helping politicians, business people, journalists and all sorts of other people make sense of new technologies like nanotechnology, synthetic biology and geoengineering – and how to develop them safely; and now I’m at the University of Michigan in the US, directing a research centre that focuses on the science of understanding and avoiding how substances harm people.
In other words, I’m a Jack of all trades who uses science to help people make informed decisions, but I’m most definitely a master of none!
The area of science I have done most real research in is aerosol science – which is all about understanding how fine particles suspended in air behave, and how they can be measured and controlled. I started my research career using electron microscopes to study incredibly small particles – just a few tens of atoms across. And as a result I have always had a soft spot for electron microscopy – even though I probably couldn’t “drive” today’s highly complex instruments. (When I was doing my PhD, it used to take people a couple of years to get comfortable running the microscopes we were using – they weren’t easy beasts to handle!).
These days I find myself talking about a huge range of science issues. Most recently, it’s been the creation of the first living organism based on a completely manmade genome – which is rather bizarre, as I dropped biology after my GCSE’s!
I also blog about science and emerging technologies – you can check out what I’m writing about (including I’m A Scientist) at 2020 Science -
My Typical Day:
Checking email, talking with interesting people, drinking lots of coffee, wasting time on Twitter, occasionally doing some real work.
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My day varies according to whether I am working from home, in the office or off traveling somewhere. At home, I’ll typically get up early, check my email and put a cup of tea on. Then when I have walked the dog I will begin working through the day’s business – which may include reading about the latest research (and science news), working on a talk I’ve been asked to give, writing a paper or book chapter, making sure everything’s running smoothly at the Risk Science Center that I direct, and working (usually via email) with other scientists on different research projects (my contribution is usually intellectual rather than practical these days I’m afraid). On top of that, I sometimes handle calls from journalists and others wanting to know about new developments in science and technology, and what the implications are. This can be tough, but it can also be fun – especially radio interviews.
When I’m traveling, it sometimes seems that I continue to do all of this (apart from walking the dog), on top of spending the day either in airports, on planes or in meetings. I actually quite like the traveling – which I do a lot of (apparently I’ve been on the road for 50 days this year already!). It gives me the chance to catch up with whatever I’m reading (usually nothing to do with science) and listen to music. But it is tiring. Then there are the meetings. Some are really enjoyable – like when I am working with other scientists and we are doing stuff that might well make a difference – I helped draft a report that went straight up to President Obama a couple of months ago, which was rather cool. Others are – quite frankly – tedious. Especially when I realize that I still have to do all that other stuff after the meeting’s finished.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Send each class in the Silicon Zone a copy of a fab book – “No Small Matter” by Felice Frankel and George Whitesides.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Overworked, underpaid, happy.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Me? Noooo. Fortunately I reckon my old teachers are all retired now, so you’ll have to take my word for it.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
The Portico Quartet at the moment… does that count?
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
A sharper mind, a better memory, and an aptitude with languages.
Tell us a joke.
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it was duct-taped to the squirrel. (Shamelessly plagiarized from a good friend!)
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