Nothing beats examining the insides of something to see how it works.

I have three or four vacuum cleaners at home and I’ve “opened up” all of them except the one that belongs to my wife. She banned me from touching it because she said it’s her favorite workhorse.

Kids today have lots of opportunities and options but also distractions and pressure. I don’t see why children should be crushed with the burden of meeting expectations in their early years. There is a whole world out there beyond assessment books and worksheets.

It is all-important to find a “universal” to make sense of the “particular.” If you study aeronautical engineering with the view of wanting to design your own aircraft, you will find that all the different subjects make sense. If you study a business course, you need to have view of starting your own business. Pursuing your goal thoroughly is good education.

I’m happy with every idea that works out and serves a useful end. They all excite me; whether it’s an idea embodied in computer software, one that explains a gap in our understanding or simply a device that fills a need. I cannot recall my first invention but every new one holds excitement for me.

The fire tornado had a visible and immediate impact on my family, friends and other people.

Watching people standing a meter away from a huge flaming vortex, feeling the heat and experiencing a sense of wonder and terror, thrills me!

My wife and daughter have used the term “mad scientist” to describe me. Recently, they’ve even started using “pyromaniac.” To some people, the label persists. Certainly, there are crazy ones. But I think in general, most scientists are not mad but responsible.

Those who want to do something new have at times done what many perceive as “crazy” or have “tread where angels fear to tread.” A good scientist, engineer or inventor must go against the grain to try things which many at first glance may perceive as totally illogical or silly.

We should not be conservative. We should be rebels coming up with new solutions or ideas. In some sense, the crazier the idea, the more likely for it to be original and something new! But let it also be said that being an innovator requires lots of discipline in grinding out an elegant solution. It is a lot of work to translate an idea into reality.

When I work late into the night, my son, daughter or wife will call me and say, “Dad, you better get home now or the bogeyman will get you!”

In the context of innovations, inventing and research, I live by this mantra: “Don’t be afraid to be different or to swim against the tide, when you have to.”