Genetics Interview #28: Dr. Elva O’Sullivan of Science With Me!

Science education is woefully lacking in many schools all over the world. Teachers who are passionate, talented, and creative in showing our kids that science is cool and very much necessary to thrive in our world are invaluable. Dr. Elva O’Sullivan is one such teacher. She’s the creator of Science With Me!, a website for children that I’ve profiled in the past. Learn more about Dr. O’Sullivan and think about how you can spared the gospel of science to everyone.

Hsien Lei: How did you become interested in science and, in particular, chemistry? What’s your earliest memory of being excited by science?

Elva O’Sullivan: When I was a teenager there was a school trip to Lilly and I was fascinated to see people working in science. I thought this was something I would enjoy and to be honest it was the first time I ever saw the application of what I was studying in school being translated into the workplace. Often young students (even if they are doing well in school) find it hard to imagine how their skills will ever be useful in the workplace. This was a big Ah-Ha! moment for me. ‘Those science subjects I study and enjoy are useful!’ Great! My interest in science was cemented. My interest in chemistry came later in college as I became more familiar with each area in science. I liked the logic of chemistry and there were a lot less Latin names to remember !

Hsien: What’s your earliest memory of being excited by science?

Elva: I was always interested in science. I know this because my parents and teachers said I never stopped asking questions. To be a good scientist you just need to love asking questions!! So 99% of kids start out as scientists and I was right there.

Seriously though I think it was a poem in primary school that got me going. I learned it was I was about 5 years old and and it went like this:

I wonder why the grass is green
And why the wind is never seen?
Who taught the birds to built a nest
And told the trees to take a rest?
And, when the moon is not quite round
Where can the missing bit be found?
Who lights the stars, when they blow out
And makes the lightening flash about?
Who paints the rainbow in the sky
And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?
Why is it now, do you suppose
That dad won’t tell me if he knows?

I spent hours on the swing as a child pondering these questions. I still think about such things. And of course science brings us the answers. So I can honestly say I was always interested and excited by science but of course I didn’t know it was called science back then.

Hsien: You have a PhD in chemistry and have extensive industry experience. What was the transition away from research like? How did you feel?

Elva: Well…. in addition to being inquisitive I also like to talk which meant in my early days at American Cyanamid I got promoted into management. Of course my colleagues always joked me that the more hazardous chemists were promoted into management for the safety of the company ( I think there might be some truth in this). So even early on in my career I was involved slightly more on the business side of research.

What I loved about my industrial experience though was working with the Project Managers, the Sales and Marketing teams and explaining research to people from different disciplines and often entirely non-scientific backgrounds. It was a thrill for me if I could get them excited about what we were doing and to support it (often financially).

Science With Me! is essentially an extension of this passion – explaining science to others and igniting their interest in it. So in fact leaving industry to start Science With Me! doesn’t seem that alien because I still use the same skill set and in fact I get to use these skills even more so that’s great!

Hsien: What advice would you have for other scientists who are trying to “escape” the ivory tower?

Elva: Hmm. Well I’m not sure many scientists who are actually in ivory towers want to escape – but, for those who want to connect their research back to humanity, perhaps they should think on Einstein’s quote: ‘You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.’ If we replace grandmother with child, then we have sciencewithme! A child will always ask why? The big why, in this case – is why are you doing what you do? If a scientist can answer that question (and the answer is not, ‘to keep my job’) – then chances are, they are happy and have already escaped. If the answer is jus for the money then think about what attracted you to science in the first place, go back to basics and see if you can build your career around your passion.

Hsien: The Science With Me! website looks great. Can you tell us how you went about setting it up and the some of the details of maintaining a site like that? How does /Science With Me!/ support itself financially?

Elva: The Science With me! concept started out as an after-school program but then I turned it into a website to give children everywhere (and their parents and teachers) access to the animations, movies, games, coloring pages, worksheets and stories I create (instead of just the 15 kids that signed up for my class). The main reason for this was I felt I could reach a much wider audience that way. There are many small headaches with running the site but it’s worth it.

The hardest thing is though that unlike in industry where I could call on the experts to help me (e.g. if my computer crashed then I could call IT support) everything comes back to me and Scott (my husband). In terms of financial support I pay for everything myself. It’s kind of crazy I know. Do you know any good sponsors, Hsien?

My belief is that if I put out a high quality product someday, somewhere, somebody will want to sponsor the site. After all Science With Me! has a noble mission: To get kids everywhere to LOVE science! It’s the world’s future in my humble opinion.

Hsien: Most of the people reading this interview love science and all of us wish to impart that love of science to our children. What sorts of tips would you give us for encouraging children to be curious and experimental?

Elva: Visit www.sciencewithme.com of course. We have everything there to give parents, grandparents, teachers and caregivers the tools to interact scientifically with the kids in their life. When my oldest son was 2 years old he used to ask me: ‘Play With Me! Play With Me! But for me, science is play – and soon my son asked me: ‘Science With Me! Science With Me!’ – for him – ’science’ is a verb – an action – something you do! Not a passive noun. So, on the site you’ll find lots of science activities to do with your kids. Enjoy! And if you love the site please tell your friends!

Thank you, Elva! Your children and their classmates are lucky to have such a dedicated scientist hanging out with them!

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Tags: science education, education, science, children, kids, teaching, genetics, genes, genome, dna, interview, scientiae-carnival