Question: Why did you choose to research terrorism instead of researching illnesses?

Ian Sillett answered on 16 Jun 2010:

I never made a conscious choice to not research illness, in fact I almost decided to become a doctor when I was young. All that happened is that when I was 15 years old I chose physics, maths and geography as my a-levels. The lack of chemistry forever barring me from the world of medicine. Scientists are not able to be specialist in every area, so you cannot just decide what to research on a daily basis. It depends on your qualifications and funding.

I chose physics for a degree. When I was looking for jobs all I could get was a job in defence, which I didn’t enjoy. So I moved to the Home Office and policing and counter terrorism instead.

There are plenty of people out there who research illnesses, and science needs people in all areas.