If we want a thriving future scientific community, we first need to understand why people choose — or don’t choose — careers in STEM.

This week on Whimsical Wavelengths, we turn the telescope around and look not at stars, but at the people who choose to study them. What shapes a scientist’s identity? Why do some students pursue STEM — and astronomy in particular — while others drift away? And how do mentorship, representation, and community determine who sees themselves as “belonging” in science?

To explore these questions, I’m joined by Dr. Zachary Richards: a researcher whose path moved from physics into science education, now a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History and a faculty member at York College, City University of New York. His recent work examines how scientists form professional identity, ho ...