There’s a moment in every scientist’s life when science stops being just a profession and becomes something bigger, a force that inspires, connects, and opens doors in young minds that didn’t even know those doors existed. I’m often called a SuperScientist, and the title never fails to make me smile. But it didn’t originate with me. It comes from a groundbreaking concept developed by Dr Justin Yarrow, the founder of the SuperScientists initiative. This project reimagines real scientists as superhero characters to make science exciting and relatable for children.

Dr Yarrow, a scientist and science communicator, created SuperScientists through his organisation CodeMakers with a simple yet powerful idea: if children already love superheroes, why not depict scientists as heroes too? By turning real researchers into comic-style characters featured in trading cards, activity books, comics, and more, SuperScientists brings the work of actual scientists into the imaginations of young learners. One of those characters and one that has become deeply personal to me is Nitro!

Nitro is a superhero inspired by my own career as an ocean scientist. The character channels the wonder of the deep sea, the relentless curiosity of scientific exploration, and the idea that understanding our oceans can be as thrilling as any comic book adventure. When children see Nitro, they don’t just see a drawing; they see a mirror of possibility.

The Gift of Inspiration

Over time, something extraordinary has happened.

I’ve received invitations from schools, community programmes, and science clubs where the children already know Nitro. They arrive not just curious about the ocean, but excited about the story and the science behind the character. They bring drawings, elaborate, colourful, imaginative pieces featuring Nitro tackling currents, deep-sea creatures, and ocean mysteries. They write cards with questions about ocean science, about what it takes to become a scientist, and about how they, too, can contribute to protecting our blue planet. These gifts are more than illustrations and letters. They are expressions of hope and identity, young minds seeing themselves in science because they saw someone like me, through Nitro, represented as a hero.

Why Representation Matters

Dr Yarrow’s mission with SuperScientists goes beyond entertainment; it’s about representation. Too often, the image of a scientist is stuck in outdated stereotypes. SuperScientists flips that narrative by showing scientists as diverse, imaginative, and deeply human people that children can connect with. And when a child draws Nitro with a broad, confident smile, or tells me they want to study the ocean “just like Nitro,” I see firsthand how this representation transforms curiosity into genuine possibility.

A Shared Journey

Being called a SuperScientist is humbling, because the real superpower lies in the connections we make between science and imagination, between role models and dreamers, and between today’s research and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Nitro was born from this vision. Thanks to the creative spark of Dr Justin Yarrow and the SuperScientists project, Nitro now lives in classrooms, backpacks, and hearts across many communities. And every time a child hands me a drawing or asks a thoughtful question about the ocean, I’m reminded how science, like a good story, can be both magical and deeply real.

This isn’t just my journey.
It’s ours.

It’s the journey of every young person who now believes that science is for them too.