As a graduate student, Cather Simpson is excited to present her work -- but then her adviser lies about it.

When Cather Simpson graduated from high-school in the USA, she was certain she was going to become a neurosurgeon. She was very, very wrong. In her first year at uni, she got discovered scientific research and got completely hooked. She is now a Professor of Physics and Chemical Sciences at the University of Auckland, where she runs a super-fun laser lab called the Photon Factory. The Photon Factory uses exotic pulsed lasers to enable all New Zealand scientists accomplish their goals, from improving products for industry to helping school students with science fair projects. Working with the Photon Factory’s 25+ extraordinary physicists, chemists and engineers, Cather gets to study everything from how molecules convert light into more useful forms of energy to how to sort sperm by sex for the dairy industry. When she’s not enjoying the pleasure and satisfaction from using lasers to solve the knotty problems presented by Mother Nature, she’s doing puzzles with her partner Tom and being “Schrodinger’s Mom” – simultaneously the world’s best and worst mother – to two lovely teenage boys.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on January 26, 2018, in an episode titled "Good and Evil: Stories about the science of gray areas." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/1/22/good-and-evil-stories-about-the-science-of-gray-areas

Cather Simpson: The Bright Light of Fame

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