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Scientist profile
“Admitting to being a
physicist isn’t really the
best chat-up line”
Alison McLure tells Marlene Rau I ma g
e courtesy of the
Br i
ti sh
about her adventurous life as a
Image courtesy of Alexander Hafemann/iStockphoto
Alison on a yacht
Sc
ho
ols
off South Georgia
physicist – from being a TV
E xp
lorin
g
presenter and forecasting the
Society ’s exp
weather in the Antarctic to taking
ed
itio
gap-year students on an expedition
n
to
So
uth
G
to an island in the South Atlantic.
eor
gia
A lison McLure was born in
Thurso, at the northernmost tip
of Scotland, and grew up in Glasgow
Alison was especially impressed by
the experiments her father conduct-
ed with the class (he was her teacher
in science, particularly if finding a
solution to them will make a differ-
ence. When she was young, Alison
with physics as an integral part of then). She was also taken by chem- learned about the applicability of sci-
everyday life: her parents – both istry, with its flash-bang-smoke ence first-hand: she used to sail a lot,
enthusiastic physics teachers – experiments, but her ties with and physics helped her to under-
would constantly talk about physics physics were stronger, so she went stand how the sails and the weather
and ask their three children ques- on to study physics at Aberdeen worked. This understanding of the
tions such as “Why do we all lean University, as did her brother. intricacies of the weather also led
one way when the car is going To Alison, real-life problems have Alison to her first job as a meteorolo-
around a roundabout?”. In school, always been the most appealing ones gist with the Met Officew1. At that
www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 11 : Spring 2009 81
time, the Met Office liked to train its recognise me at all. That’s when I to be first up in the morning to get
own people, so you didn’t need a realised I wanted to give up.” the forecast sorted out, so eventually I
degree in meteorology. Alison joined Those were exciting times: besides moved out of that room and into a
straight after graduating, hoping to ending up on screen, Alison was container outside… pretty chilly, but
do something practical, rather than offered the chance of a six-month sec- at least it was quiet. Tourist ships
conducting research. Ironically, she ondment to the British Antarctic occasionally came to the base, which
was posted to a research lab to start Surveyw2. She was lucky enough to gave us a welcome change of conver-
with: “Luckily, the research was to do pass the interview and after a sation, although we had to laugh
with measuring the weather in month’s preparation, spent five fan- when one tourist stepped off the ship
extreme a yacht off South I got to
Alison onenvironments, soGeorgia put tastic months working at Rothera and asked what height we were at. I
experimental automatic weather sta- Research Station on the Antarctic suppose they couldn’t get their head
tions on top of mountains and on Peninsula. Forecasting the weather in round the snow and ice at sea level.”
ocean buoys.” such an extreme environment was After ten years of the weather,
As if this was too boring, Alison incredibly challenging, but Alison still Alison decided it was time for a
was selected to become a TV presen- managed to make time to climb, ski change – in fact, quite a number of
ter for the weather on ‘Reporting and watch the amazing wildlife. changes over the years. First, she
Scotland’. She had been forecasting “Rothera is next to the sea on the worked as joint manager of a marina
the weather at Aberdeen and London Antarctic Peninsula, so it is not on the in the west of Scotland: “The marina
Weather Centres and a couple of ice cap, which is all ice and snow and had just been taken over by a new
Royal Air Force stations, so she was a no wildlife. I went during the owner, and they were looking for new
reasonably experienced forecaster by Antarctic summer, our winter, so I staff. Although I had no experience in
that time. Besides, she had done a fair had three summers in a row. The base working for a business, I persuaded
bit of local radio, so she had experi- was pretty basic, but everything you them that I would learn quickly. Also,
ence as a presenter: “My short spell needed was there. They had profes- the yachties loved the fact that I
on TV was with BBC Scotland to sional cooks, a library and a bar, and would give them personal forecasts
cover between one presenter leaving social evenings were arranged. and knew a fair bit about boats. The
and the famous Heather the Weather During the day, all of us had our own job involved all sorts of things, from
arriving in 1994. My boss didn’t really jobs to do, and I was impressed by fixing and launching boats, and main-
give me a lot of choice. I was very everyone’s professionalism. There taining the infrastructure of the mari-
nervous and wasn’t really cut out to were around 50 people on the base at na, to doing the books and accounting
be a glamour girl – I scraped off the the time – it’s busy in their summer forecasts and making strategic deci-
makeup as soon as I finished my and minimal staff in winter. I was the sions on the direction of the business.”
piece. Once I was recognised cycling only woman there for most of the Three years later, Alison became a
home in a deluge. They probably time, and living with so many men policy officer with the Scottish
thought that I had got the forecast had its moments. Government w3 in the Environment
wrong, but I just like cycling in the “My room was right next to the bar, and Rural Affairs Department, a posi-
rain! It didn’t make the news, but I so through the wall I could hear the tion she held for another three years.
didn’t expect or want anyone to shenanigans late into the night. I had “I was meant to find out as much as I
Impressions of South Georgia
Image courtesy of Alexander Hafermann/iStockphoto Image courtesy of Richard Lindle/iStockphoto Image courtesy of Alexander Hafermann/iStockphoto
82 Science in School Issue 11 : Spring 2009 www.scienceinschool.org
Scientist profile
Image courtesy of João Freitas/iStockphoto
could about beef and sheep in Scotland doesn’t leave time for bore- Perhaps it is up to us to make our-
Scotland, so that I could advise the dom. “One day I might be talking to a selves more visible to the public. I cer-
minister on any developments or member of the Scottish Parliament, tainly receive great feedback when I
potential issues. It also involved liais- and the next I could be making solar give talks about my time working in
ing with landowners, crofters and cookers with a class of students,” the Antarctic and the science that goes
farmers to find out their concerns.” enthuses Alison. Her job involves on there. When people see the pic-
Having now developed a taste for organising events for members of the tures and meet a real person, science
change, Alison moved jobs again, and Institute of Physics in Scotland and becomes more tangible to them. If
spent another three years with the promoting physics to anyone who everyone had some grounding in sci-
Scottish Leadership Foundationw4 will listen. “It would be great if I ence and how science works, perhaps
before taking on her current job with could show people what a great and that would help them to understand
the Institute of Physicsw5, where she fascinating time you can have if you some of the issues which we face as a
has been since 2005. It was the mix- take physics, at any level,” Alison society.”
ture of experiences that Alison had says. Alison doesn’t stop at hopes and
gained over the years, within and out- The main challenge that scientists words – she also takes action. In 2007,
side science, which earned her this face, according to Alison, is one of she was Chief Scientist on a British
latest job – and she advises everyone image: “People either think you are Schools Exploring Society (BSES)w6
to keep an open mind when applying too clever by half, or that you must be expedition to the small island of
for a position: “It is amazing how like a cartoon scientist. Admitting to South Georgia in the South Atlantic.
many transferrable skills you have as being a physicist isn’t really the best “We surveyed penguin colonies, mon-
a scientist,” she says. chat-up line, unfortunately. I think itored glaciers, did plant surveys and
However, working as the National people struggle to understand what meteorological readings, as well as
Officer for the Institute of Physics in scientists do in their day-to-day job. general exploring and climbing
www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 11 : Spring 2009 83
tude to science: “I enjoy the uncer-
tainty of the journey – whatever piece
The importance of educating students about career possibilities for of research you do, it turns up more
science graduates is rather underestimated in science education. questions than answers.” And this is
Yet, providing students with an overview of possible career choic- the thrill, really.
es, other than working in a laboratory, will positively adjust their
conceptions about science. Web references
This narrative gives a rich, illustrative and realistic description of the w1 – The website of the Met Office
life of a scientist, in which not only appealing career possibilities can be found here:
www.metoffice.gov.uk
are explained, but also a variety of the transferable skills that scien-
tists develop during their studies and careers are described. w2 – The website of the British
Furthermore, this interview explicitly portrays several research dis- Antarctic Survey can be found here:
positions, such as being curious, or enjoying the uncertainty when www.bas.ac.uk
doing research. Although these dispositions are highly valued by w3 – To find out more about the
scientists, they too often stay hidden to students. This interview can Scottish Government, see:
positively influence students’ aspirations to engage in further study www.scotland.gov.uk
REVIEW
of science subjects. I would encourage all science teachers to pres- w4 – For more information about the
ent to their students this article and many other good examples of Scottish Leadership Foundation,
what scientists actually do. These kinds of authentic accounts will see: www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/
positively change students’ conceptions of science. leadership/scotdip/slf
Roeland van der Rijst, Netherlands w5 – To find out more about the
Institute of Physics in Scotland, see:
www.iopscotland.org
w6 – You can find out more about the
Image courtesy of the British Schools Exploring Society’s expedition to South Georgia
mountains. BSES wanted to set up a low a similar programme and run British Schools Exploring Society
and the possibilities for participa-
project for gap-year students along similar experiments. I had applied to
tion here: www.bses.org.uk
with HMS Endurancew7, the UK Royal BSES to go on a Greenland expedi-
Navy’s ice patrol ship, and they tion, but when they noticed that I had You can also read all about the
agreed to support the project for five been to the Antarctic before, they BSES expedition to South Georgia
years, so that we could gather some asked if I would go on this project in their blog:
meaningful data, rather than a snap- instead.” Alison would like to go back http://antarctica.physics.org
shot of one year, which has limited there in 2012, at the end of the five- w7 – To learn more about HMS
value. There were 18 young explorers year programme, to find out if the Endurance, the UK Royal Navy’s ice
between 18 and 22 years old, and six experiments she set up with the patrol ship, see: www.royalnavy.
leaders. Each year, there will be differ- youngsters have yielded useful results. mod.uk/server/show/nav.1843
ent young explorers and mostly new Alison likes a life of change and a
leaders, but the expeditions will fol- challenge – and this is also her atti-
Young explorers on
South Georgia with
Alison on the right
84 Science in School Issue 11 : Spring 2009 www.scienceinschool.org
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