Professor Simone Hochgreb

Professor of Experimental Combustion, Department of Engineering

Professor Simone Hochgreb

 

Were the sciences well taught at your school?
Not particularly, but I had very good maths teachers (mostly small Japanese women — I grew up in São Paulo, the largest Japanese colony in the world).

What was it about science that first interested you, or was it always clear that that was the way your brain worked?
I loved the certainty, the cleanliness, the lack of gray areas in maths and physics. Either the answer was right, or not right (later I was to find that science was more complicated than that).

Did you ever feel discouraged from studying science because you were female?
Not really, although I did once have to ask for special permission to take some advanced maths classes that were reserved for exams for an air-force school only for boys...

Have you been the only woman in certain classes/departments, and has that ever been difficult?
Almost always. Not generally difficult, but that meant that I became the representative for a class, which meant pressure not to fail or embarrass myself!

What is your current research focus, and what do you find most rewarding about your area of specialism?
My general area of research is fluid mechanics and energy. Fluid mechanics is beautiful, and energy is very useful. Trying to figure out what nature is telling us and finding ways to summarise it is probably the most interesting part of the job. Trying to be useful in creating various tools for looking and calculating things is also very rewarding.

How would you advise young women considering scientific careers?
Science and engineering are very creative professions, and there is never a dull moment (except sometimes taking data or waiting for a calculation to finish — you can have some tea and biscuits in that time).

Latest from The Homersphere

View all