Jim Al-Khalili

Why do you think that is?

I mentioned in the introduction that you are Professor of Astrophysics 1909.

What's the 1909?

Yeah, astronomy as a discipline has been around for millennia.

Astrophysics, just a century.

Well, Hiranya Pieris, you were born in Sri Lanka, in Colombo, in the mid-70s, to parents who are both civil engineers, I understand.

And your mother in particular was your role model.

And you'd been about, I guess, seven years old when Carl Sagan's documentary series aired.

And that sparked your interest, I gather, in the cosmos itself, in the universe.

You're also keen on science fiction, I gather.

And I believe your parents also nurtured your love of astronomy that was just beginning at this point.

In your early teens, Hiranya, you joined the Young Astronomers Association.

By coincidence, Arthur C. Clarke lived locally in Sri Lanka.

And being not only a science fiction writer himself, but also a space enthusiast, he was a patron of that association.

Yes.

Around this time, you were becoming increasingly curious about the universe, but it wasn't always easy to get hold of the books that you wanted to read.

That book by Stephen Hawking, most adults would say, I only read the first two chapters, then I stopped.

You read it cover to cover.

Hirani, you went to an all-girls school in Colombo throughout your childhood.

Did you like it?