Just as the word “science” (scientia) means originally just knowledge and until the eighteenth century covered even theology (which was called the “mother of all sciences”), so natural philosophy (philosophia naturalis), which was also called physica or physiologia, covered the entire domain of the created world, ... Wikipedia

1. The way he has an “aha!” moment whenever he discovers something, no matter what the rest of the world thinks of it.
2. The way his hands manipulate things at the bench – his manual dexterity being the most enviable.
3. The way he insists that the study of science is really the study of natural philosophy – the philosophy of existence.
4. The way he finds satisfaction in bringing together disparate things and explaining new things to me.
5. The way he discusses new concepts with his fellow scientists with such passion.
6. The way he works to make a difference for the good of the world, not motivated by money.
7. The way he says man cannot negotiate reality: the laws of nature rule in science.
8. The way he can read labels on consumer packages and understand what is or what is not important.
9. The way he sees science all around him from baking and cooking in the kitchen to simply looking at tidal pools on a hike.
10. The way he says, “I don’t know. Let’s find out!” with the same sense of adventure as a small child.
11. Bonus: The way he looks hot in a pressed white lab coat!

Photograph © David Dodds