Do you remember taking science classes in school and not only being totally bored, but also not understanding a word the teacher was telling you? Our next speaker, Roger Antonsen, experienced that as well during his PhD in Norway and decided to do something about it. He despised the fact that science, the way it was taught, was not connected to real life and therefore was not relatable.
Passionate about many things including juggling, mathematics and puzzles of all sorts, he finished his PhD in computer science, but ensured to expand his horizons during his studies by taking humanities courses in philosophy, art, latin, and culture. Currently, he is involved in science communication projects and as part of one of his projects, he developed juggling balls that had Arduino inside them. When the balls were juggled, they would lighten up and send data back to his computer. This was to demonstrate that math can be fun.
Through his talks, shows and projects, Roger says he “wants to do science communication in a different way, in order to inspire a new generation of thinkers and remove the common misconceptions about mathematics and computer science.” The larger the number of young people understanding science and technology and developing a passion for it, the better will the world around us become. The creativity of young people is endless; it just needs to be inspired.
Roger currently works as a senior lecturer at the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo, Norway, where he teaches logic, works on his first book, and runs the departmental makerspace.