Scotland's Chief Scientific Adviser Sheila Rowan on being 'unreasonable'

Of all the advancements and discoveries in science, the cure for the common cold still eludes the sharpest minds.

This is all too apparent to Scotland’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sheila Rowan MBE, who despite suffering from a sniffle has rushed from an event for new Physics PhD students from across Scotland at Dynamic Earth to speak to Holyrood, before returning to Glasgow for an important meeting. It is clear she takes her role as an ambassador for science very seriously.

“I think many scientists these days actually see that as part of their role,” she says.

There is now an expectation that all scientists should be able to explain their work “and transfer the knowledge out”, she adds.

“It has been a big change. Most scientists now see it as an intrinsic part of their job, going out and advocating for what they do.”

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In appointing Professor Rowan as CSA this summer, the Scottish Government found a scientist who personifies the kind of world-leading pioneering research which gives the country a global reputation.

As director of the University of Glasgow’s Institute for Gravitational Research, Rowan played an important role in what has been called one of the most important scientific discoveries of the century – gravitational waves.

The work has received many accolades, including the 2016 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for the international team.

Rowan tells Holyrood her enthusiasm for the topic started as a child. In a toss-up of career choice between journalism and science, the nine-year-old Rowan found the allure of the mysteries of cosmology and astronomy pipped her love of writing.

“I think it’s a very fundamental thing, since people first looked up at the stars,” she says. 

“It’s a natural thing to speculate about the heavens, and as a child, I found that just exceedingly interesting. I really did, even as quite a small child. The simple questions. When you look up, how far does it go? How far would I get, if I set off in a space ship? Where is the edge? And where did it all come from? The big questions, they really capture people’s imagination, and it is natural curiosity to ask.”

At this point, many children would decide they wanted to be an astronaut, suggests Holyrood. 

“I don’t really know why, but I never really felt the urge to be an astronaut, no. It was more the physics side, trying to understand what science could tell us. 

“And I still think it’s amazing that we sit here on the surface of the earth and from just pointing telescopes up we can deduce things that are happening on other planets, other stars, in other parts of the universe. I still think that’s amazing.”

But while the feeling of wonder from looking up at the stars can be universally appreciated, the much-celebrated discovery of gravitational waves is perhaps less understood. 

The concept of gravity, Rowan explains, is often regarded as a “force” which holds us onto the earth. In fact it is a curvature in space.

“If you think of the universe as a flat, empty space, then you come along and put, say, a star on that flat rubber sheet, its mass causes that sheet to curve. If we came along and put a second object on our universe, say, a planet, it would feel an attraction to that star, and that curvature in space, in our ‘rubber universe’, caused by the star is what we think of as gravity. 

“Now imagine that star moves. It wobbles. It starts to cause the space round it to change, and that curvature in space to change. The curvature is gravity. So, those ripples being sent out in the curvature of space are gravitational waves. What they do is they squash and stretch everything they pass through. 

“You and I are being squashed and stretched all the time by gravitational waves coming in. The whole universe is vibrating slightly.”

Now these more conceptual theories have become real, because Rowan and others have been able to measure them. 

And while it still can sound a bit abstract, Rowan says the work has real and practical implications. The technology and techniques of data analysis used in the research has already spun off into other areas such as medicine. Rowan says a company in Scotland which makes retinal scanning equipment has already taken advantage of the work. 

“To help them improve the quality control of their instruments, they take our data analysis techniques and apply them to looking at their scans to look for artificial defects – things that are not real,” she says.

Stem cell research, too, has also benefitted. 

“One of our ex-students in my group is now at the University of the West of Scotland using some of the techniques from our field to work with biologists to control stem cells to turn into bone cells, to help people who have had orthopaedic injuries, soldiers with blast injuries.”

But in terms of the discovery itself, Rowan says it is too early to say what applications it will have. 

“An example is Einstein’s relativity theories. At the time, they were very abstract, very mathematical. Most of the effects, pretty much all of the effects they describe, you don’t see in everyday life, so what could possibly be the application? There weren’t any, I think, when Einstein developed them, but the global positioning system would not work without both special relativity and general relativity, and their effects being taken into account. That’s a multi-billion-dollar industry that was not apparent at the time, so who knows where things will take us in the future.”

Rowan quotes George Bernard Shaw’s famous line from Man and Superman in which he says: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

“I like to think he meant unreasonable man or woman,” she adds.

“So these kinds of experiments, that really push the edge of what we can do, that’s how progress gets done.”

There is a real sense of Rowan’s work being at the frontier of human understanding, something she describes as an “exploration”. Despite being pipped for the Nobel Prize in Physics this year, the work has been recognised by numerous prizes. 

The question then becomes: why would someone on the frontier of inner and outer space be attracted to a role with the Scottish Government?

“I think it’s a very important role. It’s an important role for Scotland,” says Rowan.

“Science is such an important thing for our country, in terms of its contribution to the economy and its contribution to society that having someone in post to both be an interface with the science community and government is very important for Scotland.”

She describes the dual responsibility of advising politicians and making them aware of how and why science is done as a “virtuous circle”, something she learned as a member of various advisory committees over a number of years.

“You need people who are willing to be in that role, and help with the translational phase, that translational position,” she adds.

But doesn’t it require willingness from both sides? When it comes down to it, no matter how many attempts are made to pursue evidence-led policymaking, politicians, by their nature, will play politics. 

“There’s a spectrum of things that can and have to be taken into account when policy is developed. Values, social and cultural licence - these are all valid things to think about when making policy. But of course, what I believe is alongside that, it’s exceedingly important that one of the things feeding into it is the scientific evidence,” says Rowan.

She doesn’t anticipate having a specific focus. “It’s not so much that I personally need to be an expert on individual areas of science. No one who holds this post could be. Muffy [Calder, previous CSA] was in computing science, Anne Glover was obviously from the biological side. 

“It’s more that I think my role is to help make sure that across the policy spectrum, where there are relevant areas that need scientific advice, there is a mechanism and a way for that advice to get into the system.”

Including, she hopes, areas outwith those traditionally thought of as ‘science’ related like environmental policy. “Sometimes people put science in a box and then put it to one side,” she says. “There are things people think are science, but actually, scientific advice is something that can contribute to policy much more broadly across a whole range of areas.”

One obvious area where the Scottish Government is seeking scientific evidence, however, is one of those more obvious examples – the extraction of unconventional oil and gas while the moratorium of fracking is in place.

“When I was appointed, the Government had, and is still in the process of commissioning external advice in that area, and I think it’s a healthy thing that, you know, evidence is being taken,” says Rowan.

There was a period of more than 18 months, however, before her appointment, when the role of CSA lay vacant, despite the Scottish Government advertising for the job. Rowan says she doesn’t know the details. 

“There was at least one hiring round during that time. The reasons why there didn’t end up being someone in the post? I don’t know the details. It could be complicated, to do with personal circumstances or whatever. I’m not privy to what happened.”

In the few months since her appointment, however, Rowan has been busy, visiting scientists across the country, many during joint visits with the Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Shirley-Anne Somerville.

She remembers one visit to the University of Abertay’s computing department, well known for its work in the video games industry. 

“We had a four-player computer game with Shirley-Anne Somerville and I against two of the gaming students. You’ll be glad to know we were soundly thrashed. It was good fun, but there was no attempt to let me or the minister win,” she remembers. 

Her whistle-stop tour has been an opportunity for Rowan to see different aspects of Scottish science. 

“Scotland certainly has broad strengths. I come from a physics background but of course, we have fantastic strengths in the medical side in Scotland, in the life sciences, in agriculture, marine areas. They’re just some of the areas. We have a rich scientific spectrum here.”

This summer, however, there have been some high-profile concerns that Scotland’s well established reputation for science could be threatened by the impact of withdrawing from the EU. With the UK Government apparently favouring a ‘hard Brexit’ which would sever ties with the EU including the freedom of movement, academics have warned it could prove disastrous for research in the UK.

Rowan shares the concern. “Probably the most difficult thing for people at the moment is the uncertainty about what’s going to happen,” she suggests. 

“I think people do realise and are quite clear on how beneficial international working is to us, collaboration. 

“Of course, science is international, it is no respecter of national boundaries. Many of the big developments right across the board require international collaboration to really be at the forefront of what needs done.”

However, membership of the EU has brought specific benefits, particularly freedom of movement which has allowed universities to attract European scientists, she says. Horizon 2020 funding has encouraged international collaborations, but has Rowan heard the rumours that UK teams are being left off funding applications already?

“I’ve heard anecdotes about that. My own work is very international. After I leave here, I’m about to have a call with European colleagues about the future. We have to find a way to continue to collaborate. That has to happen, it’s just a question of how we’re going to get there and what form that’s going to take.”

Rowan has already visited Brussels to promote Scottish science, but her role will also see her promote it at home too. Work with science centres and festivals in public engagement is also important to her. “Science is not only an academic pursuit, it permeates everything we do. We take it for granted, many of the ways science influences our life. Everything from healthcare to sports technology, science is right through it.”

This is particularly important in schools. “If you want the healthy science base, to have scientists contributing to the economy and society, those scientists need to come from somewhere. We need to make sure that at a school level, we’re getting people in and getting them through. 

“I think Curriculum for Excellence, with its emphasis on looking at things in a slightly different way, and connecting up across different areas, is helpful in that way. There is certainly more to do.”

One area government has concentrated on is the promotion of science, technology, engineering and maths to girls. Fewer take up the subjects, while those that do find it harder to succeed. Does Rowan see herself as a role model, an ambassador for women in science?

“It’s inevitable in the role, and I’m perfectly happy with that,” she says.

“I think it’s a very nice thing that I’m the third in a series of [women] CSAs who have come from different branches of science in Scotland, all in this position. I think it’s a very nice message to have sent out there.”
But while Rowan found enthusiasm for science at an early age and was encouraged and supported, many young women find it difficult.

“It’s a difficult problem to solve. It requires different solutions, probably at different stages,” she says. “I was really quite young and at that point, probably what mattered was my family were very supportive. My parents, you know, thought it was great. There was no hint of disapproval there that I wanted to be a scientist. But when you look at the pipeline of how women move through their careers, there are different obstacles at different stages.”

The Equality Challenge Unit’s Athena SWAN Charter, established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine, has been “enormously helpful” in focusing the attention of institutions, according to Rowan.

Institutions which sign up to Athena SWAN commit to adopting ten principles within their policies, practices, action plans and culture to address inequality of pay and employment and tackle discrimination. Awards can be gold, silver or bronze, and at least 11 Scottish universities have had work recognised by the scheme. 

“Institutions, first of all, have to look at the statistics in terms of how they’re doing, and then put in place plans and programmes,” explains Rowan. “Just the very act of thinking about how you’re doing in terms of participation, that starts a train of thought that can change culture.” 

The argument is not just about gender equity, according to Rowan. “In my opinion, it feeds back into the discussion we were having about international mix,” she says. 

“Diversity in science is incredibly important. Having that international mix is important for science but also culturally. Making sure everyone is not the same, you really benefit to get that diverse mix of people and perspectives.”

While there is an understandable focus on making sure other young girls do not see their enthusiasm for science dashed, Rowan’s own enthusiasm for her work shows no signs of being dimmed. 

Asked if there is still a hunger for answers which saw her gazing at the stars aged nine, she says: “There absolutely is. I mean, I’m seconded to this post three days a week but for the other two days a week, I remain a researcher. That’s important to me, and I think it’s important for the post that whoever is in post retains that connection with the working scientific community.

“Sometimes when you’re tired it wears off, but then you go to a talk from someone where they are enthusiastic, and my colleagues and I will come out and say, ‘that is so cool’. You don’t really lose that.”

But with 25 years’ worth of knowledge and research behind her, what does she see when she looks at the stars now?

“What is amazing is still, when we look up, we know the galaxies are not just rushing apart from one another, they’re rushing apart faster and faster. And we see dark energy is causing that. But nobody knows what dark energy is. We simply don’t understand. There are still fantastic, big mysteries to solve out there in the universe.”