During the winter my attention was attracted to the changes in the stars and planets in the sky.

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

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

My parents were neither wealthy nor academic, but we lived comfortably and they were always extremely supportive of my academic efforts and aspirations, both at school and university.

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

I was by far the youngest of the family, and at times it was like being an only child.

Scientific understanding is often beautiful, a profoundly aesthetic experience which gives pleasure not unlike the reading of a great poem.