Suzie Sheehy: The case for curiosity-driven research
Suzie Sheehy: En defensa de la investigación impulsada por la curiosidad
Dr. Suzie Sheehy uses accelerator physics to help reinvent technology for applications in medicine, energy and beyond. Full bio
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scientists were trying to solve a mystery.
estaban tratando de resolver un misterio.
a vacuum tube like this one
un tubo de vacío como este
What were they made of?
¿de qué estaban hechos?
physicist, J.J. Thompson,
J.J. Thompson
magnets and electricity, like this.
imanes y electricidad, así.
of negatively charged particles
de partículas cargadas negativamente
than the hydrogen atom,
que el átomo de hidrógeno,
the first subatomic particle,
partícula subatómica,
a completely impractical discovery.
un descubrimiento completamente inútil.
there were any applications of electrons.
una aplicación para los electrones.
he used to like to propose a toast:
solía proponer un brindis:
out of sheer curiosity,
por pura curiosidad,
understanding of the world.
más profundo del mundo.
did cause a revolution in science.
una revolución en la ciencia.
unexpected revolution in technology.
inesperada revolución en tecnología.
for curiosity-driven research,
impulsada por la curiosidad
de las que voy a hablar hoy
I'll talk about today
has actually changed our view of reality.
cambió nuestra visión de la realidad.
the electrons in the seat,
a los electrones en el asiento,
moderna se construyó por descubrimiento.
was actually built on this discovery.
fueron el inicio de la electrónica.
were the start of electronics.
if you remember, in your living room,
si recuerdan, en el living,
would our lives be
from here was the television?
de aquí fuese el televisor?
fue solo un comienzo,
when the electrons here
cuando los electrones de aquí
screech to a halt inside the metal,
dentro del metal,
which we call X-rays.
que llamamos rayos X.
of discovering the electron,
desde que se descubrió el electrón,
to make images inside the human body,
imágenes dentro del cuerpo humano,
being saved by surgeons,
cuyas vidas salvaban los cirujanos
and shrapnel inside their bodies.
de balas y metralla dentro de su cuerpo.
come up with that technology
haber inventado esa tecnología
better surgical probes.
construyeran mejores sondas quirúrgicas.
with no application in mind,
sin aplicación en mente,
of the electron and X-rays.
del electrón y los rayos X.
for our understanding of the universe
a nuestra comprensión del universo
very simple particle accelerator.
acelerador simple de partículas.
so I design particle accelerators,
así que diseño aceleradores de partículas
cómo se comportan los rayos.
curiosity-driven research
impulsada por la curiosidad
real-world applications.
en el mundo real.
of those two things
about what I do.
for me to list them all.
como para enumerar todos.
found something strange in his equations.
descubrió algo extraño en sus ecuaciones.
on mathematical insight,
en conocimiento matemático,
a second kind of matter,
when it comes in contact:
cuando entra en contacto:
every day in hospitals,
en los hospitales,
or PET scans, used for detecting disease.
o PET, usada para detectar enfermedades.
a una energía mayor,
up to a higher energy,
that this tube,
que este tubo,
ionizing radiation to kill human cells.
suficiente para matar células humanas.
adonde se deseen que se dirijan,
those X-rays where you want them to go,
are treated using radiotherapy.
con cáncer se tratan con radioterapia.
are actually standard equipment
son equipamiento estándar
o computadora,
both with you right now, right?
en este momento, ¿no?
by implanting single ions into silicon,
el implante de iones simples en silicio,
implantación de iones.
impulsada por la curiosidad
to explore inside the atom.
a explorar dentro del átomo.
to develop particle accelerators.
a desarrollar aceleradores de partículas.
let us split the atom.
nos permitían dividir el átomo.
and higher energies;
that let us delve into the nucleus
que nos permiten hurgar en el núcleo
just exploring inside the atom.
dentro del átomo.
how to control these particles.
with our world
for humans to see or touch
para que los humanos vean o toquen
and larger accelerators,
más y más grandes
about the nature of the universe.
la naturaleza del universo.
new particles started popping up.
empezaron a aparecer nuevas partículas.
ring-like machines
enormes con forma de anillo
in opposite directions,
en direcciones opuestas,
to less than the width of a hair
de Einstein E=mc2,
and convert it into new matter,
y convertirla en nueva materia,
from the very fabric of the universe.
del tejido del universo.
about 35,000 accelerators in the world,
de 35 000 aceleradores en el mundo,
incredible machines,
de estas increíbles máquinas,
of tiny particles,
de pequeñas partículas,
that are more complex
que son más complejos
how incredible it is
to invest your time and energy
su tiempo y energía
curiosity-driven research.
impulsadas por la curiosidad.
of seeing the invisible."
de ver lo invisible".
J.J. Thompson did just that,
J.J. Thompson hizo justo eso,
on the subatomic world.
in curiosity-driven research,
en investigación impulsada por curiosidad,
challenges that we face.
a los que nos enfrentamos.
the space and the means
y los medios a los científicos
curious and open-minded
curiosos y con la mente abierta
our discoveries will be.
serán los descubrimientos.
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