Coffee with the Polymath
An Interview of Dr. Crystal Dilworth
Molecular neuroscientist, rhythmic gymnast, science correspondent, actress, TEDx presenter, ballet dancer; Dr. Crystal Dilworth is all that and so much more.
Having received her PhD from Caltech by researching the molecular basis for nicotine dependence, she now uses her unique combination of skills to communicate the fun and importance of science to young people while advocating gender equality and diversity in STEM profiles. We got a chance to interview this marvelous person before her lecture at Pragyan ’19.
To get things started we asked Dr. Crystal, who also happens to be a coffee aficionado, if she had tried the local coffee yet.
“This morning I had black coffee and I really liked that a lot, actually. I noticed that the Indian coffee is richer and deeper, and it actually tastes like it was a berry at some point, whereas the US coffee is sort of roasted within an inch of its life. It’s very bitter and it doesn’t have that full bodied taste at all. So yeah, I really like the coffee here” she said, laughing.
Her casual and amiable nature set the mood for the rest of the interview. Since she is both a trained dancer and a scientist, we asked her how she treads the line between art and science.
“I don’t know if there is a line… Is there a line? A differentiating place between those two things? I think that they have to coexist with each other. So I don’t think of it as a specific dividing line that I have to cross each time to go between those two worlds. They have different vocabularies and different traditions and ways that they want their information. But, at the end of the day it’s a creative exercise to expose the truth on both sides. Art has a little bit more of imagination. You are not constrained by what is proven and what is true. So you’re able to imagine a future or a world or a way of existing that isn’t necessarily grounded in empirical reality. But science is necessary because it shows us what is consistent and what we can count on. It gives us a foundation to dream.”
We then talked about how her transition from ballet dancer to neuroscientist came about.
“I was always a dancer. Always always. I think I came out dancing and that was that. My parents had to work really hard to make me into a scientist and they eventually succeeded. But only because I found that I was really interested in people. I think physical arts and dance or theater are really all about what it means to be human and our interaction with other people. And so I just found a scientific way of expressing that same thing and in the end everybody was happy.”
On the 13th of February, 2013, Dr. Dilworth gave her now famous TEDxYouth talk, The Myth of the Scientist. We asked her how the scenario has changed over the past six years since she set out as a science communicator.
“When I gave my TEDx talk I was a little belligerent because grad school was not going that well. There weren’t a lot many people doing science communication back then. Social media was something that was just starting to be used. And since then in the last five to eight years, so many other scientists have started to use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and all of those different media. So you see the face of science diversifying immediately because it’s not just one person that does science right. And so the Internet has really enabled a diverse variety of people to bring science to the masses.”
The discussion then turned to what could be done to increase female representation in STEM, “the big question” as Dr. Dilworth put it.
“I think the work actually happens through mentorship and encouragement. I really believe that if you can’t see it, you can’t be it. So, it’s actually a controversial statement because female scientists are already at a disadvantage and are doing really great work to try and keep up with their male colleagues. Asking them to do an additional job of outreach or mentorship is very difficult. But, if we don’t take that extra step, then the numbers won’t start to grow. And that starts very young. Right from kindergarten or first grade, girls need to know that they can be scientists too.”
When asked about how India could go about bridging the gender gap in science, she reiterated that visibility is the first step,
“Acknowledging, celebrating and promoting female scientists goes a long way. And also paying female scientists equally, which is another glass ceiling. Yeah, it is the first step to other people seeing that as a path that they can take. It’s very difficult to be the first. It’s much easier to be the second and then the third and then the 24th”
In conclusion, her one message for Pragyan and aspiring students of this country was,
“My one message, would be to not follow the beaten path, the known path. I just got done telling you how hard it is to be the first, and now I’m going to say, do it anyway. Because, the way humanity moves forward and society changes, is by demonstrating that things can be done differently. So making your own decisions about what’s best for you and the best way that you can express the person that you are, and making sure that you do all of the things to support yourself is the key. I’m not saying go rogue, but make educated choices, good choices. Make sure that you’re creating something new for yourself and showing others what’s possible.”
After a quick photo, Dr. Dilworth rushed to her lecture where she spoke about her journey through science peppered with many anecdotes from her days in grad school and later on as a science communicator and champion for equality. Her closing words remain etched in my mind,
“Pursue what you desire, and if you really, really believe in yourself then the universe will conspire with you.”
This interview was taken in collaboration with Siddarth Arvind.
