Of all the scientists in all of time ..........

[Viv]

Leonardo da Vinci.

He'd be my choice as well.

[swamp thing]

Charles Darwin

[Treeden]

Are we allowed to take a 'rain check' on this?

If so, I will wait until I can sit down and have a chat with the scientist who designs the world's first fusion reactor that is mass-produced and adopted for commercial use on a world-wide scale. The scientist who rids the world of dependency on fossil fuels.

I'd like to ask him or her, how they solved the problems of containment and energy input/output inefficiency?

[Nillchill]

this is an interesting thread, especially with the reasons people are giving for their choices.

I can understand some people not able to commit to a single name, I had the same trouble, but the "Sagan", just stood out as the single name that has inspired me the most.

[perrin6]

'sfunny I was going to mention an ancient Greek too - Aristotle. The freshness of a mind not influenced by any modern sci-knowledge - his willingness to observe plainly and honestly the natural world. I would have loved to have been with him in his (I think) 2 year solitary exploration of wildlife. Plus I like the climate there !

[perrin6]

James Hutton

Ooh yes - I would have loved to have explored rock strata all over the country before we knew about the various ages. I love geology - each layer is a page from prehistory - and what a big 'book' it is too !

[ollypenrice]

What about Copernicus. Imagine just whispering in his ear, 'Elipses, elipses...'

Or Tycho? 'Nasty cold you've got, there. Want to borrow my hanky??'

Olly

[perrin6]

What about Copernicus. Imagine just whispering in his ear, 'Elipses, elipses...'

Or Tycho? 'Nasty cold you've got, there. Want to borrow my hanky??'

Olly

Hurr hurr ! Or 'fancy another sword fight Tycho ?'

[AWR]

Are we allowed to take a 'rain check' on this?

If so, I will wait until I can sit down and have a chat with the scientist who designs the world's first fusion reactor that is mass-produced and adopted for commercial use on a world-wide scale. The scientist who rids the world of dependency on fossil fuels.

I'd like to ask him or her, how they solved the problems of containment and energy input/output inefficiency?

Went to a talk by Dr Kate Lancaster a few months back. She's with the team researching using humungous lasers to achieve efficient fusion.

Andrew

[ollypenrice]

Hurr hurr ! Or 'fancy another sword fight Tycho ?'

Nose thank you.

T. Brahe.

[Graeme]

Issac Newton or Stephen Hawking or Brian Cox.

My boy says Shigeru Miyamoto or Notch!

[Bryan196]

It would have to be Neil deGrasse Tyson. Would love to have a conversation with him and witness the sheer enthusiasm that man has for science. Second choice would be Feyman.

[Titania]

As my name on here is a moon of Uranus discovered by William Hershel I would go for my real namesake ,Caroline (Hershel )his sister .She was an astronomer in her own right and at just 4'3'' a force to be reckoned with.She was the first woman to receive a salary for services to science ,discovered many comets,M110,the companion of the Andromeda Galaxy all from the delightful garden of 19 New King St ,Bath.

[Chris Stacey]

Tesla. An intriguing fella.....probably quite difficult to engage with though.

[philby]

Copernicus I think.

[earth titan]

Galileo. The balls to tell it like it was.....

[rfdesigner]

Feynmann.

possibly Faraday or Tesla would be my second choice.

[Treeden]

Went to a talk by Dr Kate Lancaster a few months back. She's with the team researching using humungous lasers to achieve efficient fusion.

Andrew

That sounded interesting, so I had a quick look around but came across this...

Why I left research

It seems that Dr Lancaster has moved on to other things. I don't know her of course, but after reading her blog posts I can't help but wish her the best for the future.

[JamesM]

Tesla for me!

James

[michael8554]

I'd like to beam a copy of Sky & Telescope back to Edwin Hubble, so that he could appreciate the Universe that his research unveiled.

[hassanyasir]

Sir Elbert Einstein would be my first choice. He was a great scientist.

[AWR]

It seems that Dr Lancaster has moved on to other things. I don't know her of course, but after reading her blog posts I can't help but wish her the best for the future.

Me too. She gave a great talk and the science sounded interesting. At least it wasn't my class of Physicists who changed her mind!

Andrew

[daneel]

Arthur Eddington who pioneered many of the ideas in modern astrophysics (explanation of Cepheid variables, the idea that stars are held up by light pressure, test of light-bending in the gravitational field of the Sun...). He also popularized the science of astronomy which is why many of us are on this forum today.

Avicenna who grounded science on observation and experiment and founded so many sciences, in particular medicine (testing medicine, quarantine, hygiene, benefits of exercise), Physics (motion in a frictionless vacuum never ceases, finite speed of light) and also Astronomy (stars are self-luminous, observation of a transit of Venus), Geology (mountains are upheavals of the Earth's crust). And he was Persian too.

[sanmatt]

No one would want to meet me then? haha

Joseph Priestly. - One of England's most famous electrical natural philosophers. Best known for his discovery of Oxygen, although that accolade would have cheesed him off big time, since he supported the rival chemical system based on weightless fluid " phlogiston".

Did you know he was the founder of the fizzy pop industry? He sold his sparkling water secret to the very enterprising Mr Schweppes.

One of my passions is the history of science, and the Enlightenment. Electricity and magnetism in particular - although I have a particular fondness for history of science communication - such as cabinets of curiosity and the first public museums etc).

[Marine Bio]

Past: Charles Darwin - I'd love to question him before he published his book 'On the Origin of Species' and learn more about his internal struggle of his ideas vs his religion. Fascinating.

Present: Richard Dawkins. He actually visited my department last summer but I was away with work. Gutted.