Maria Spiropulu

“I grew up, indeed, in West Macedonia. This is in Greece. And I was a terror of a child because I was taking apart everything, just like all engineers and physicists and inventors. I come from a family that they're more artists, designers, and military people rather than scientists. So that was a surprise to my parents, that I was very determined to follow a scientific path in any way, form, or shape, or an engineering path. Initially, I really wanted to be an astronaut, like if you are in West Macedonia, what else would you want to be? An astronaut.”

“My best memories are memories of physics questions — not even the answers. It's very bizarre.”