Suzie Sheehy: The case for curiosity-driven research
Suzie Sheehy: Ein Plädoyer für Neugier getriebene Forschung
Dr. Suzie Sheehy uses accelerator physics to help reinvent technology for applications in medicine, energy and beyond. Full bio
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Wissenschaftler ein Rätsel zu lösen.
scientists were trying to solve a mystery.
a vacuum tube like this one
What were they made of?
physicist, J.J. Thompson,
Physiker des 19. Jahrhunderts,
magnets and electricity, like this.
Experimente wie diese durch.
of negatively charged particles
aus negativ geladenen Teilchen,
than the hydrogen atom,
als ein Wasserstoffatom,
the first subatomic particle,
subatomare Teilchen entdeckt,
a completely impractical discovery.
eine komplett unnütze Entdeckung.
there were any applications of electrons.
keine Anwendungen für Elektronen sah.
he used to like to propose a toast:
gerne folgenden Trinkspruch aus:
out of sheer curiosity,
Forschung aus reiner Neugier zu betreiben,
understanding of the world.
Verständis der Welt zu gelangen.
did cause a revolution in science.
wissenschaftliche Revolution aus.
unexpected revolution in technology.
technologischen Fortschritt.
for curiosity-driven research,
für Forschung, die auf Neugier basiert,
I'll talk about today
ich heute rede, überhaupt möglich.
has actually changed our view of reality.
unsere Sicht auf die Welt verändert.
die Elektronen in Ihrem Körper,
the electrons in the seat,
in Ihrem Sitz drücken,
einmal wirklich den Sitz.
immer ganz leicht darüber.
was actually built on this discovery.
Gesellschaft auf dieser Entdeckung.
were the start of electronics.
der Beginn aller Elektronik.
if you remember, in your living room,
sogar eine im Wohnzimmer,
would our lives be
from here was the television?
dieser Entdeckung geblieben wären.
die Bildröhre nur der Beginn,
when the electrons here
anderes, wenn Elektronen hier
screech to a halt inside the metal,
plötzlich im Metall abbremsen,
which we call X-rays.
sogenannte Röntgenstrahlen.
of discovering the electron,
Entdeckung des Elektrons
to make images inside the human body,
in das Körperinnere verwendet,
being saved by surgeons,
von Soldaten zu retten,
and shrapnel inside their bodies.
Schrapnell-Splitter im Körper auffinden.
come up with that technology
niemals gefunden,
better surgical probes.
Instrumenten geforscht hätten.
with no application in mind,
Neugier und ohne Nutzen im Sinn,
of the electron and X-rays.
Elektrons und der Röntgenstrahlen.
for our understanding of the universe
zum Verständis unseres Universums geöffnet
very simple particle accelerator.
einfache Teilchenbeschleuniger.
so I design particle accelerators,
und entwickle Teilchenbeschleuniger,
Verhalten von Strahlen.
curiosity-driven research
real-world applications.
Anwendungen vereint.
of those two things
dieser beiden Aspekte,
about what I do.
Arbeit wirklich begeistert.
for me to list them all.
um sie alle aufzulisten.
found something strange in his equations.
Ungewöhnliches in seinen Gleichungen.
on mathematical insight,
Verständnis basierend, sagte er voraus,
a second kind of matter,
von Materie existieren müsste,
when it comes in contact:
gegenseitig auslöschen:
every day in hospitals,
täglich in Krankenhäusern
Emissions-Tomographie, oder PET-Scans.
or PET scans, used for detecting disease.
up to a higher energy,
dieser Elektronen erhöhen,
that this tube,
im Vergleich zu dieser Röhre,
entstehenden Röntgenstrahlen
ionizing radiation to kill human cells.
um menschliche Zellen zu zerstören.
those X-rays where you want them to go,
Röntgenstrahlen lenken können,
Medikamente oder Operation
are treated using radiotherapy.
mit Strahlentherapie behandelt.
are actually standard equipment
tatsächlich Standardausstattung
oder einen Computer --
both with you right now, right?
Sie vermutlich beides dabei, oder?
by implanting single ions into silicon,
den Einbau einzelner Ionen in Silikon.
Teilchenbeschleuniger.
Forschung aus Neugier
to explore inside the atom.
dass Innere des Atoms zu erforschen.
to develop particle accelerators.
wie man Teilchenbeschleiniger baut.
let us split the atom.
uns, das Atom zu spalten.
and higher energies;
that let us delve into the nucleus
die uns Zugang zum Atomkern ermöglichten,
neue Elemente zu erschaffen.
just exploring inside the atom.
wir nicht mehr nur das Atominnere.
how to control these particles.
diese Partikel zu kontrollieren.
with our world
unserer Welt zu interagieren
for humans to see or touch
wir Menschen sie weder sehen, anfassen
and larger accelerators,
größere Beschleuniger,
about the nature of the universe.
Beschaffenheit des Universums.
new particles started popping up.
fanden wir immer neue Teilchen.
ring-like machines
ringförmigen Maschinen,
in opposite directions,
Teilchenstrahlen nehmen,
to less than the width of a hair
and convert it into new matter,
in neue Materie umgewandelt werden,
from the very fabric of the universe.
der unser Universum bildet, entreißen.
about 35,000 accelerators in the world,
Teilchenbeschleuniger weltweit,
incredible machines,
of tiny particles,
Milliarden winziger Teilchen,
that are more complex
die weitaus komplexer sind
how incredible it is
wie fantastisch es ist,
to invest your time and energy
ermutigen, ihre Zeit und Energie
curiosity-driven research.
die aus Neugier forschen.
of seeing the invisible."
das Unsichtbare zu sehen."
J.J. Thompson did just that,
vor über 100 Jahren getan,
on the subatomic world.
der subatomaren Welt lüftete.
in curiosity-driven research,
die von Neugier getrieben ist,
challenges that we face.
the space and the means
den Freiraum und die Mittel geben,
curious and open-minded
und offen bleiben können,
unserer Forschung,
our discoveries will be.
umso mehr die Welt verändern.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Suzie Sheehy - PhysicistDr. Suzie Sheehy uses accelerator physics to help reinvent technology for applications in medicine, energy and beyond.
Why you should listen
Dr. Suzie Sheehy designs particle accelerators. She's fascinated by using accelerator physics to help us reinvent technology for applications in areas such as medicine and energy. Her research projects have ranged from the design of new cancer treatment accelerators to building a scaled-down experiment that models particle beams -- answering fundamental questions about the physics of beams that are beyond reach of computer simulations.
Sheehy is currently a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, where she also teaches graduate-level accelerator physics. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne in her native Australia (BSc Hons 2006) and DPhil at the University of Oxford in the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science (2010). She has held fellowships from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (Brunel fellow 2010-2013) as well as her current Royal Society Fellowship.
Alongside her research, Sheehy is a prolific public speaker, presenter and science communicator, for which she has received a number of awards including the British Science Association Lord Kelvin Award, Institute of Physics HEPP Group Science in Society Award and the University of Oxford Vice Chancellors Civic Award. She is an expert TV presenter for Impossible Engineering on Discovery Channel and has cowritten and delivered live headline shows for tens of thousands of students at the Big Bang Fair alongside well known BBC TV presenters. She regularly presents public and schools lectures around the UK and further afield at major science festivals and venues like the Royal Institution.
Suzie Sheehy | Speaker | TED.com