This possibility bothered me as I thought it was not advisable to remain in one academic environment, and the long dark winters in Edinburgh could be rather dismal.

I have an idealistic view of science as a liberalising and progressive force for humanity.

I think it was this curiosity about the natural world which awoke my early interest in science.

It has been a privilege to pursue knowledge for its own sake and to see how it might help mankind in more practical ways.

At age 11 in 1960, I moved to an academic state secondary school, Harrow County Grammar School for Boys.

I am still a keen mountain walker and an enthusiastic glider pilot.

Ever since Sir Isaac Newton's times, scientists have worked in the same sort of way: They show a great respect for experiment and observation, They don't cherry pick data, They take a skeptical approach to what they do. And then scientists work together to get a consensus as to what should be believed And that generates very reliable knowledge and that reliable knowledge drives innovation