Eugenia Kumacheva: ‘My poetry is in my research proposals’

When I was about 15-16 years old I organised a party for high school students and the focus was on chemistry. This was the idea of our chemistry teacher. I had to read a lot about the history of chemistry and prepare quizzes and demonstrations. This was quite different than what we learned in class and I realised that I wanted to know more. I found it amazing how very important discoveries were made by accident or from really crazy ideas. Now I am always coming up with these crazy ideas.

In high school I was seriously considering a career in literature or journalism. My poems were published and I was winning local competitions. Now my friends from high school ask me ‘Eugenia, where’s your poetry?’ And I say my poetry is in my research proposals, in my applications for funding.

After university I spent two and a half years working in industry. This was a very useful experience, but I realised that I really want to generate my own ideas, rather than go with the needs of the company. It gives me enormous pleasure to come up with the idea and subsequently, be able to prove that it works.