There is so much wonder and joy in science, about understanding how the world works and why the world is the way it is. It's not just for academics. It is a thing that's available to everyone.

You don't have to be musician to listen to music, and you don't have to be a filmmaker to go to the cinema, but somehow when we think of science, we think of it only as an academic discipline.

Statistically, 2012 was the safest year to travel on a plane, in the history of aviation. Not one major passenger plane crashed. It's pretty amazing. And when you see them being taken apart and you see the work that goes into keeping those things in the air, you think, "Wow!"

At the heart of science is experimentation. Science doesn't care what you think. What's important is experimenting and actually working stuff out.

I wasn't naturally a scientist, but I was always fascinated by how the world worked and why things were the way they were.

I've never felt scared of flight, ever. It's really weird. I don't know. They stick a gin and tonic in your hands and I just think, "Life is good!"

I'd missed science and what it was all about because I was too busy trying to think of other things, when I was at school. I was too busy trying to be James Dean.