Q. The experiments were streamed live on YouTube on September 13, 2012. How did you design the broadcast?
Live stream of Space Lab
Astronaut Sunita Williams introducing the bacteria experiment
The idea behind the live stream was that it would be world’s largest, coolest scientific classroom. So we got Bill Nye, the American science educator, to be our host, and we constructed a 45-minute science lesson, as it were. The first half tried to explain to the viewers why science on the Space Station is so interesting and important, and to explain the science behind the winning experiments. And then we connected with the International Space Station, and you saw the NASA astronaut Sunita Williams with the experiments, describing the results.
Related Link: YouTube Space Lab: From 250 Miles Above the Earth
Q. How are you feeling now that Space Lab has ended successfully? I really hope the impact of Space Lab is going to extend beyond the two winners, beyond the six regional finalists, beyond the 2,000 who entered, to the thousands, the millions that heard about it and came to our Space Lab channel. If even the briefest encounter may result in someone being slightly more likely to study science, or be inspired, or go one step further in the classroom, that for me is what this is all about.
I pitched this project to Google in 2008. And then it took a lot of work to get all the pieces together. But this was a personal passion of mine, and it was a pleasure to work on this, to make it happen. So now I feel elated, but I also feel a little sad, to be honest, that it’s over. And I’ve got to figure out what to do next!
Q. Tell me about your childhood. What were your interests growing up?
I was blessed to have very supportive parents, and I also had an amazing physics teacher, a guy called Peter Sammut. He would teach us about Newton’s laws of motion, but then he’d go on to explain how those laws of motion could explain the opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey. And then he would say, "You think this is true now, but actually you’re going to learn about Special Relativity one day, and you’ll learn that Newton’s laws break down when you’re getting close to the speed of light." He always went the extra mile to give us a taste for what’s beyond the classroom, and I think that really helped whet my appetite. Q. You went on to study physics at university. What were your plans then? I studied physics at Oxford, and I think when I started I was expecting to become a professional scientist. But then as, I guess, with most people that age, my interests broadened. I realized that I had interests beyond science. I found myself drawn towards public service. So I spent much of my 20s working for the British government as a speechwriter and a policy adviser. While in government I wrote the UK government’s global HIV/AIDS strategy, and also helped negotiate the commitments agreed to by the G8 at Gleneagles. And then at the age of 28 I was lucky enough to earn a Fulbright scholarship to go to America to study at Stanford. So I went there and did my MBA, and then not long after I graduated applied for a job with Google. I knew that the company was innovative, but I’d never imagined that they would give me a chance to make my project happen. I never quite dreamt that Google would give me an opportunity to do something like Space Lab.
Q. What appeals to you about space? Why do you have this passion for it?
I was a very curious child, and I spent a lot of time just thinking about life and death and the nature of existence - lighthearted stuff like that! I spent a lot of time at that age reading about philosophy and theology, and just trying to understand some very basic questions. I guess I was a very anxious young boy, looking for answers to very, very big questions.
A real turning point was when I was about 15 and my father bought me a copy of Stephen Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time. I remember trying to read it, and obviously not understanding most of it. But even just the first 10 or 15 pages that I was able to read were so fascinating that it really just sparked my interest in science. Something snapped in me, saying "This is where the answers are. If I study this, I’ll get to the answers." I think that’s probably where my fascination with space came from.
I’ve got a broader perspective now, but I am still absolutely fascinated by the questions and the potential answers out there, that will come from studying the continuously expanding universe. That’s why it’s just so exciting that we’re doing something like Space Lab, because I’m not going to be the person to figure out the answers to, is there life beyond Earth, for example, but some of the people who entered Space Lab, they’re on a path to answer those questions. I want to stay in touch with these kids and see what happens to them in 5, 10, 20 years! Q. What’s your goal, what’s your dream in life? I want to continue doing the work that I’ve started with Space Lab. I just haven’t quite figured out what the next project is going to look like. But this for me isn’t going to end with Space Lab. I hope not, at least. There’s still a lot more work to be done to inspire the next generation and find the answers to these big questions.
(Photo courtesy of YouTube)
