Derrick Williams

Born in:
Washington, US

Languages:
German, French, Italian, Spanish

Degrees/Journalistic experience:
Dipl. rear Nat (Biology), Free University of Berlin, AA (English) Simon’s Rock of Bard College (Massachusetts), Co-Editor European Biotechnology News (since 2006), Communications Manager European Biotechnology Network (since 2008), DW Science Correspondent

With DW since:
1999

Favorite quote:
"If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough."

My personal hero:
I can’t choose between Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein

What do I strive to be as a journalist?
Science stories are among the hardest to tell, especially in TV and radio, because viewers and listeners often do not have the technical background to grasp why an advance or event is pioneering or even relevant. They’re relying on me to interpret the data and boil it down to a few key answers: “What does this mean for me, for my family, for humanity as a whole?” Nothing is more satisfying than having someone grin, nod and say – “I get it!”

7 questions that I would really like to be answered:
1. Is time travel possible?
2. Are there aliens out there?
3. Where will humankind be in 10,000 years?
4. Will we one day be able to prevent ageing?
5. Where are we before we’re born?
6. What happens when we die?
7. Why do we dream?