If you weren’t pursuing your current career, what would you be doing?

“Being a physics professor has been my dream since I was in grade 10. So if I was no longer in my current career, I would probably have a brief existential crisis before going on to run city bike tours. I love exploring new places by bike, and sharing that experience with people from around the world would be amazing.”

Mark Ilton, assistant professor of physics
Research area: the dynamics of energy release in elastomers and impulsive biological systems

“If I was not a computer science professor, I would probably be writing science fiction or possibly working as a T-shirt graphic designer.”

Lucas Bang, assistant professor of computer science
Research area: software verification and formal methods for security

“I would likely be a builder of some sort: either an architect, contractor, engineer or carpenter. I love making and creating things. The reason I build things in software is that bits are easier to work with than bolts.”

George Montañez, assistant professor of computer science
Research areas: computer science, algorithmic search and mathematics

“I’d be coaching Division 1 college basketball. ”

Alfred Flores, assistant professor of Asian American studies, Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies
Research area: race, settler colonialism and U.S. militarization on the island of Guahan (Guam)

“I would have probably spent several years playing softball before transitioning into a career in coaching or sports journalism.”

Alyssa Newman, Hixon-Riggs Early Career Fellow
Research area: the intersections between race and reproductive technologies