Question: what made you become a scientist?

Kristian Harder answered on 12 Nov 2013:

Well, above all, not my parents. 🙂 Being from a simple working class family, my parents were actually quite shocked when they heard I wanted to go to university, because they didn’t think they could afford it. Luckily, university in Germany is free, and at least back then the government was covering the living expenses for students from low income families.
Ok, but I am off topic. The reason I *wanted* to go to university was really something that grew gradually over years. When I was 10 or 11, I had somehow gotten a textbook on the theory of relativity into my hands, and that was quite intriguing. But it was only through two of my physics teachers in school that I really began to see physics as something I’d like to spend my life doing. One of them was very into the mathematics, getting very excited (and making me quite excited) about the simplicity of the rules that determine everything we see in the universe. The other one went way beyond the curriculum and spend a lot of time telling us about the limits of knowledge – particle physics, astrophysics and so on. That was definitely very inspiring. It was one of those teachers who talked me into doing a science project in particle physics during high school (with equipment I borrowed from the DESY research institute – so they also played a big role in actually getting me on track towards becoming a scientist!), these guys even gave me my own key for the science class rooms and equipment storage rooms in my school, and they told off my mother for even considering not letting me go to university. 🙂
I guess that’s the main message here. Teachers can make a *big* difference in your life. You should treat them right, so they don’t lose their motivation to do something extra for you. 😉