Dr Christopher Fulton sometimes spends six to eight hours a day underwater, assessing how plants and animals in the ocean respond to environmental shifts such as climate change.

There aren’t many science careers that let you research pretty much whatever you want, wherever you want. Welcome to the life of a science communicator. It’s a tough job, but Dr Will Grant just has to do it.

For Dr Pierre Portal, the tools of his trade are “a pen, paper and a whiteboard” combined with “a lot of staring out the window.”

“I create artificial stars with lasers.”

Dr Maja Adamska is flipping through a textbook, and stops to show a photo of what looks like a lumpy blob.

“Before you go travelling next time, make sure you come to me for some tips.”

Professor Gordon Lister is a tectonicist and structural geologist. In other words, a rock-whisperer.

Tony Irwin is your go-to guy for nuclear reactors and the nuclear fuel cycle.

A passion for turning physics experiments into practical technology that benefits the poorest people in the world has earned Professor Chennupati Jagadish a prestigious fellowship of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in the United States.