Renewable or non-renewable: ​what would you choose?

Inspiring Scientists is a series of resources to help develop students’ understanding and awareness of science and the diversity of scientists. The video profiles were commissioned by the Royal Society and carried out as an oral history project by National Life Stories at the British Library.

The resources showcase the life stories of British scientists with minority ethnic heritage and cover issues such as being a minority in science, influences in their childhoods and the fun and importance of science both to themselves and to the wider community. The activities that accompany the profiles relate to the area of research that the scientist is involved in.

Jassel Majevadia is currently completing a PhD which will contribute to the safety of nuclear energy. Working on her Mac in coffee shops at Imperial College, she is able to apply her knowledge of mathematics and physics to perform new calculations and improve understanding of the way in which tiny bits of materials interact with each other under different conditions. Born in London to parents whose own parents had emigrated from Indian communities in Kenya in the 1960s, she feels that she has succeeded by combining a keen interest in Indian culture and religion, with a determination to develop as an individual in places away from home (so far, Scotland and the US, where she studied for a year). Outside of work in science she loves listening to and playing jazz music, and also lifts weights at the gym. This is Jassel’s story.