PopSci's Brilliant 10

What's your earliest memory of scientific interest or achievement?: Getting a
microscope from my parents at age 6 or 7.


Favorite place to go: Crete


What are you like when you're totally immersed in your work?:
Like a master chess player. I like to get as close to the goal as possible
and explore all the interesting aspects along the way.


Make an out-on-a-limb prediction for your field: When I'm elderly, I expect
robots to be around to help me, and better drugs and disease control.


What's the thing you love most about science?:
Working with students and interacting with people from diverse intellectual
backgrounds. Discovery and the challenge of solving a tough problem,
especially when it can really affect the quality of our lives. I find the
whole process energizing.


What do you do in your spare time?: Travel, read, listen to music.


As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?: At first I considered a
career in the life sciences or medicine, but CS won out.