As part of the SEED feature Women in Science & Engineering, Barbara gave the following answers to questions about how she came to work in the world of science.

Question: What led to your choosing science/engineering as a profession? Did a particular event direct your choice? Did someone significant influence you? What factors most influenced your choice?

Answer: From a very early age I knew I would study at the university and more so, that I would do a PhD in science. This is because of my father who is a professor in chemistry and who imprinted on me that learning and accumulating knowledge were very important. He had very high expectations of me (which was not always easy to live with) and PhD was the minimum I could turn up with. I grew up in communist Poland, where most people had an uncertain and economically difficult situation. The best investment parents could give their children was a good education, so studying was held in high esteem. This applied also to girls. Single income families could not easily survive. Consequently studying science was not at all exceptional for women. In fact half of the physics students in my university were women. Most of the mathematics and chemistry students were women. Only in engineering schools women were in minority.

Q: What is the most interesting part of your job?

A: Solving technical problems touching many areas of physics. Trying to understand the physical mechanisms behind a given problem. Trying to design experiments or simulations to prove the point.

Q: What does your everyday job consist of?

A: Being a manager of a small group, a big part of my working time is devoted to talking to engineers and intern students, mostly about technical problems, but also about organisational issues. Then come meetings devoted to particular projects my group is involved in. I also find some time to do technical work myself. Being a manager of a technical group it is important to have hands on experience with technical problems.

Q: What advice would you share with young female scientists today?

A: I would advise them to postpone having children until they have established themselves professionally. Having children when older does have its advantages. One is more mature for this challenging and difficult task, raising children. I have seen many young professional women trying to build up their careers and raising children, not having enough time nor for one or for the other. I would say enjoy life, travel, work hard and not listen to people saying: you will be too old to find a husband, have children, change your life style etc. etc. In many cultures today girls upbringing prepares them to make sacrifices later in life in the name of all kinds of "higher values", "destinies" etc. A healthy dose of egocentrism is necessary for personal development, so young women should not hesitate to take their life in their own hands.