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Question 9 transcript:
"It's actually not for me to judge what the real relevance of my research is, so much as what does the field say. But I think it is fair to say that to marine mammal science I've brought an unusual perspective which is that of: while these ears are extraordinary, they are not perfect and we have to start thinking about them as we do about human ears. Is: how do they hear and if we get one ear, since these animals are so rare, sometimes we have one blue whale to look at, don't assume that animal is normal, especially if it is an older one. So, much of my contribution has been, I think, to bring to the field information in the perspective of how do we look at pathologies, at disease, at hearing loss, and what does human sound have to do with those. How much of it is natural to the animals and just part of the process of life and the risks of the cost of living. And how much of it is something that we are having an impact on. So it is kind of a different way of looking at the hearing, not as a model of how animals hear underwater, so much as it's an extraordinary ear but how does it get corrupted and changed and what can we do to prevent that, if possible."

1. How did you first become interested in science?
2. What is the focus of your research and why did you choose this field of study?
3. What have been some of the recent discoveries about how marine mammals hear?
4. How do you study the hearing of marine mammals?
5. What challenges have you faced in studying the hearing of marine mammals?
6. What has most surprised you about the hearing of marine mammals?
7. What skills are important in your area of research?
8. What are the opportunities in studying the hearing of marine mammals? Can people without PhDs participate in some way in this type of research?
9. What is the greatest impact/relevance of your research?
10. What continues to inspire you about your work?
11. What advice would you give a high school student who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in your field?