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Beyond physics: urban transport Changing of gear Ben Cowie opened a cycling specialist shop and café – L ondon Bic yc l e Café – i n Ont ar i o, Canada, i n 2017 3 6 What sparked your interest in physics? I was initially interested in medical physics as an undergraduate, as our campus at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, had a nuclear reactor on site. I ended up studying isotope geochemistry of light stable elements, which isn’t too far from the medical-isotope field. What did your degrees focus on, and did you ever consider a permanent academic career? Following an undergraduate degree in geophysi c s and ear t h s c i ence s , I went on t o r ecei ve my PhD in geochemistry – which focused on oilsands isotope biogeochemistry and isotope hydrogeology – from the University of Calgary, in 2013. I did pur sue an academic career f or a few years, as a postdoctoral fellow, and later a research assistant, at Harvard University, in ear t h h i s t o r y and s c i enc e . My r e s ear ch r anged from applied questions regarding pollution and hydrogeology, to working with NASA on planetary exploration missions, to basic questions such as “How do we make higher-precision measurements on dif f icult rare isotopes?” How did you get interested in public transport and urban cycling? T h r o u g h o u t g r ad s c h o o l we a l l r o d e b i k e s an d took the bus because it was cheap, and we were all poor! By the time I had a little more money, t h o s e hab i t s had a l r e ad y s t u c k . I r e a lized it was mostly about my personal health and the pleasure that riding my bike to work every day brought me. Even in the winters on the Canadian Prair i e , r i d i ng a b i k e b r oug h t me happ i n e s s . T ha t ’ s why I still do it today. And I realized that I want to give people the tools to get around the cit y comfortably by bike, and to share my knowledge of urban cycling. Having lived in Hamilton, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Boston and B e r l i n , I ' v e s e e n f i r s t - han d h ow b i c y c l e s t r an sf o r m e a c h an d e v e r y c i t y whe r e p r o t e c t e d b i k e inf rastructure has been installed. I want to g ive people the tools to get around the city comfortably by bike, and to share my knowledge of urban cycling What were some of the challenges in moving from physics to setting up a specialist shop? So many things. I knew very little about things l i k e r e a l e s t a t e , mar k e t i n g an d f i nan c e , wh i c h are all essential for good business. But I had great coaches and we recruited amazing staff. I thought that if I could learn and discover new things in science, running a business couldn’t be that hard, could it? It turns out that a bit of happy ignorance and hard work goes a long way. What’s it like day-to-day, running the bike café? During our busy season it’s a little bit of everything. I’m pulling shots of espresso in the mornings, working on bikes and doing some sales in the afternoons, maybe squeezing in some time for marketing or social media in there somewhere. When you run a small business you’re all the jobs: chief of accounting, sales, service and sanitation. How has your physics background been helpful in this work, if at all? The answer is always maths, and writing. I’m p r e t t y s u r e we ha v e a mo r e s o p h i s t i c a t e d b u s iness model than businesses larger than us, and writing proposals to business financing e n t i t i e s i s way e a s i e r t han w r i t i n g g r an t s t o t h e National Science Foundation. Having a quantitative background helps make your business case much st ronger than those without. Any advice for today’s students? F o l l ow y o u r h e a r t . My b u s i n e s s i s mo r e ab o u t having an opportunity to live in the same city a s my p a r t n e r an d b e c l o s e t o my f am i l y, t han anything else. As much as I love what I do for work, it doesn’t feel as important as other things in my life. Science always feels more important than it probably is, and developing your life outside your job is essential, too. ● Ben Cowie can be contacted via e-mail at ben@londonbicyclecafe.com Physics World  Careers 2020 In association with brightrecruits
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Beyond physics: filmmaking From theorist to director David Roberts i s a c o - f ounder o f 110 t h S t r ee t F i lms, a wr i t e r and f i lmmaker. P r ev i ous l y he wor ked as a US d i p l omat What sparked your interest in physics? I never thought I’d become a physicist, but a seed was planted when I happened to pick up Stephen Hawking’s A B r i e f H i s t o r y o f T i me, to kill time on my long drive to college. During that maiden 17-hour ride from my home in Alabama to university in New York, I don’t think I really understood anything of Hawking’s book, but the weirdness of time slowing down, and the black-hole paradoxes stuck with me. Then, soon after I arrived on campus, an older grad student turned me onto the Feynman Lectures. Because of Richard Feynman, I suddenly cared how electrons worked, and even more, how maths could e x p l a i n i t . L o o k i n g b a c k , t h o u g h , a mo r e mundane impulse that led me towards a physics degree was the challenge of pursuing, from what I understood, the most difficult degree on campus. I wanted t o see i f I could hack i t . What did your physics degrees and following research focus on? My physics background includes BS and MEng degrees from Cornell University, US, and a DPhil f rom the Univer si t y of Ox ford, UK, as a Marshall Scholar. My DPhil was focused on the theoretical aspects of quantum f luids. My academic career continued at the École normale supérieure in France, Princeton University, US, and Los Alamos National Laborat o r y, be f o r e I j o i ne d t he US S t a t e Depar t ment . I continued working on quantum fluids after my d e g r e e , b u t wa s a l s o f o r t una t e t o wo r k w i t h s ome smar t f o l k s o n v a r i o u s i n t e r e s t i n g t o p i c s including genetics, geophysics and astrophysics. All of it was theoretical work with almost no immediate practical applications. I realize now how lucky I was to actually get paid to work on these cool puz z les. How did your interest in politics emerge, and did you ever consider a permanent academic career? I quickly fell for physics research as an undergraduate and fully expected to continue with G o o d m a n i Y o n my a c ad em i c c a r e e r , b u t I c o u l dn ’ t p a s s up t h e opportunity. It was a steep learning curve as I knew little about nuclear reactors and even less about risk communication, all the while operating in an alien culture. My physics background proved valuable not only for technical aspects of the job but also in establishing relationships with my Japanese counterparts. research as a permanent academic career. Being a physicist, I lived and worked in various countries from the UK and France to South Africa and Chile, and I had collaborator s f rom all around the world. As I discovered new places, I became more interested in how the world worked in geopolitical terms rather than at the atomic level. What was it like working as the US ambassador’s science adviser in Tokyo after the Fukushima crisis, and how did you get this r ole? In 2010–2011 I was at the US State Department wor k i ng on t he cont en t i ous t r ansbounda r y wa t e r i s s u e s i n t h e N i l e b a s i n , w i t h t h e i d e a that I would return to research in a year. Then the nuclear disaster happened at Fukushima, and I was asked on shor t no t i ce t o go t o Tok yo to be the ambassador’s science adviser for a year, to assist the embassy with the recover y. I r eali zed t hat would pr obably mark t he end o f You’re now the co-founder of 110th Street Films. How did that come about, and what does the company do? During my time as a diplomat, I began writing articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, etc, and one of my articles sparked interest in a documentary adaptation. Although it did not pan out, I began to shift my focus from writing and international relations to my first love – film. After a few years filled with some twists and turns, I co-founded the production company 110th Street Films, with Billy Shebar – someone who actually knows how to make great films – and we are working on various film projects with some of my heroes. How did I go from thinking about Bose–Einstein condensates to creating satirical Trump animations? I really don’t have a clue. How has your physics background been helpful in your work, if at all? Whenever I worry that I don’t know what I am doing, I say to myself “How hard can this be? It ’s not quantum f ield theory.” Actually, the human element of diplomacy and making a film is probably just as complex as the trickiest physics problems, but my physics background has given me confidence in approaching new problems, and that has been one the biggest assets in my career. Any advice for today’s students? Ta k e s ome r i s k s and d o n ’ t b e a f r a i d o f g e t t i n g of f the path. ● You can follow David Roberts on Twitter at @DRobertsNYC; 110thstreet.com In association with brightrecruits Physics World  Careers 2020 3 7

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Beyond physics: urban transport

Changing of gear Ben Cowie opened a cycling specialist shop and café – L ondon Bic yc l e Café – i n Ont ar i o, Canada, i n 2017

3 6

What sparked your interest in physics? I was initially interested in medical physics as an undergraduate, as our campus at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, had a nuclear reactor on site. I ended up studying isotope geochemistry of light stable elements, which isn’t too far from the medical-isotope field.

What did your degrees focus on, and did you ever consider a permanent academic career? Following an undergraduate degree in geophysi c s and ear t h s c i ence s , I went on t o r ecei ve my PhD in geochemistry – which focused on oilsands isotope biogeochemistry and isotope hydrogeology – from the University of Calgary, in 2013. I did pur sue an academic career f or a few years, as a postdoctoral fellow, and later a research assistant, at Harvard University, in ear t h h i s t o r y and s c i enc e . My r e s ear ch r anged from applied questions regarding pollution and hydrogeology, to working with NASA on planetary exploration missions, to basic questions such as “How do we make higher-precision measurements on dif f icult rare isotopes?”

How did you get interested in public transport and urban cycling? T h r o u g h o u t g r ad s c h o o l we a l l r o d e b i k e s an d took the bus because it was cheap, and we were all poor! By the time I had a little more money, t h o s e hab i t s had a l r e ad y s t u c k . I r e a lized it was mostly about my personal health and the pleasure that riding my bike to work every day brought me.

Even in the winters on the Canadian Prair i e , r i d i ng a b i k e b r oug h t me happ i n e s s . T ha t ’ s why I still do it today. And I realized that I want to give people the tools to get around the cit y comfortably by bike, and to share my knowledge of urban cycling. Having lived in Hamilton, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Boston and B e r l i n , I ' v e s e e n f i r s t - han d h ow b i c y c l e s t r an sf o r m e a c h an d e v e r y c i t y whe r e p r o t e c t e d b i k e inf rastructure has been installed.

I want to g ive people the tools to get around the city comfortably by bike, and to share my knowledge of urban cycling

What were some of the challenges in moving from physics to setting up a specialist shop? So many things. I knew very little about things l i k e r e a l e s t a t e , mar k e t i n g an d f i nan c e , wh i c h are all essential for good business. But I had great coaches and we recruited amazing staff. I thought that if I could learn and discover new things in science, running a business couldn’t be that hard, could it? It turns out that a bit of happy ignorance and hard work goes a long way.

What’s it like day-to-day, running the bike café? During our busy season it’s a little bit of everything. I’m pulling shots of espresso in the mornings, working on bikes and doing some sales in the afternoons, maybe squeezing in some time for marketing or social media in there somewhere. When you run a small business you’re all the jobs: chief of accounting, sales, service and sanitation.

How has your physics background been helpful in this work, if at all? The answer is always maths, and writing. I’m p r e t t y s u r e we ha v e a mo r e s o p h i s t i c a t e d b u s iness model than businesses larger than us, and writing proposals to business financing e n t i t i e s i s way e a s i e r t han w r i t i n g g r an t s t o t h e National Science Foundation. Having a quantitative background helps make your business case much st ronger than those without.

Any advice for today’s students? F o l l ow y o u r h e a r t . My b u s i n e s s i s mo r e ab o u t having an opportunity to live in the same city a s my p a r t n e r an d b e c l o s e t o my f am i l y, t han anything else. As much as I love what I do for work, it doesn’t feel as important as other things in my life. Science always feels more important than it probably is, and developing your life outside your job is essential, too. ● Ben Cowie can be contacted via e-mail at ben@londonbicyclecafe.com

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In association with brightrecruits

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