Rolex is known the world over for crafting high-quality, innovative time-pieces. But did you know they also award funds to people with innovative ideas in science and technology? On this episode of ID The Future, Texan engineer, writer, and self-taught scientist Forrest M. Mims recounts his experience of winning a Rolex Award for Enterprise in 1993 for his innovative proposal to track the ozone layer through a worldwide ground-based network that utilized his own homemade ozone instruments. Mims discusses the work that led to the honor, the memorable trip to Switzerland to collect the award, and how the Rolex Award propelled his career in science.

By the early 1990s, Mims had built a reputation as one of America's foremost citizen scientists. He had found success as an inventor, an author of popular electronics books for Radio Shack, and as a magazine columnist. He had made national headlines after being courted and then unceremoniously nixed as a columnist for America's oldest magazine, Scientific American. In 1990, Mims began using his own instruments to take measurements of water vapor, ozone levels, and haze in the atmosphere. By this time, scientists and activists were growing more concerned about the effects of climate change, and the ozone layer was the subject of much interest and scrutiny.

After collecting years of data, Mims realized his homemade instruments were virtually as accurate and reliable as NASA's own expensive satellites. What if the ozone layer could be more effectively monitored by a global ground-based network for a fraction of the cost? Mims pitched his proposal to Rolex, and they were dutifully impressed, selecting him as a Rolex Award winner in 1993. The honor would jump-start Mims's career in science and fund what would become the MicroTOPS 2 ozone instrument, which has been used around the world since 1995 at fixed sites, aboard ships, and on scientific expeditions.

On this episode, Mims recounts his experience of winning and collecting the Rolex Award. He shares a few memorable stories along the way and gives us a glimpse of the prized gold Rolex watch he still wears on special occasions. And for those aspiring scientists and inventors out there who have creative ideas of their own, Mims has some special words of encouragement. Because as Mims has been saying (and proving) for decades: to be a scientist, you just have to do science!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction to Forrest Mims
02:14 Rolex Award for Enterprise
03:19 Scientific American Controversy
05:27 Using Darwin's Own Words with Critics
07:22 Mt. Pinatubo Volcanic Eruption
08:23 Homemade Instruments vs. NASA Instruments
09:44 Applying for a Rolex Award
11:00 Rolex Film Crew Captures Science in Action
12:59 Traveling to Switzerland
13:37 Meeting Sir Edmund Hillary
15:41 The Rolex Award Honors
16:49 Doing Science at 30,000 Feet
20:03 How Award Boosted Forrest's Career
22:28 How You Can Win a Rolex Award
23:05 Forrest's Advice to Young Scientists
25:28 Even NASA Can Be Proven Wrong
26:01 Where to Find Maverick Scientist

#science #ozone ‪@RolexAwards‬ ‪@ROLEX‬

============================
Are you interested in the origins of life and the universe? Get this free book and explore the debate between Darwinian evolution and intelligent design. If you're intrigued by the origins of life, this is a must-read. It might change the way you view our world.

As a special gift from the director of the CSC, Dr. Stephen Meyer, you can download his 32-page mini-book Scientific Evidence for a Creator for FREE: https://evolutionnews.org/_/sefac

The Discovery Science News Channel is the official Youtube channel of Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture. The CSC is the institutional hub for scientists, educators, and inquiring minds who think that nature supplies compelling evidence of intelligent design. The CSC supports research, sponsors educational programs, defends free speech, and produce articles, books, and multimedia content. For more information visit:
https://www.discovery.org/id/
https://evolutionnews.org/
https://intelligentdesign.org/

Follow us:
X:   / discoverycsc  
Facebook:   / discoverycsc  
Instagram:   / discoverycsc  
TikTok:   / discoverycsc  

Visit other Youtube channels connected to the Center for Science & Culture
Discovery Institute:    / discoveryinstitute  
Dr. Stephen C. Meyer:    / drstephenmeyer