Q

The vote has now ended.

Pay attention, as Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind up radio and occasional TV science presenter, argues that Q has a license to thrill.

When I was first asked what I thought of James Bond with ref to Q - his technology guru - my memory flashed back to my childhood, and The Eagle comic. There was a character called Dan Dare, who was at that time my hero.

Reflecting on that wonderful James Bond period, especially with Sean Connery, I was singularly impressed by the gizmos and gadgets he depended on to carry out his undercover assignments. I was also impressed by the fact that the girls went wild for him!

When I reflect now on the activities that went on during the Cold War period, I wonder how many devices were stolen from Q's cabinet. In those days a miniature camera was big news. Now every school child has a mobile phone, which may double up as a global positioning system, a camera, and a computer.

Bond owned an Aston Martin sports car, which in those days was the most prestigious and the fastest, but what was unique was that Q had interfered with it! It now had some extraordinary features. On Bond's command it could produce clouds of smoke and slicks of oil. It could also eject unwelcome passengers, and conveniently stowed behind the headlights were machine guns, which could be used to take out the enemy. Q had also supplied Bond with a completely amphibious submersible vehicle, which could be used for secret missions.

If you could look at Q' complete portfolio, which I am sure you can do by looking on the Internet, you will see that it was obvious that Q read The Eagle comic when he was a lad.

I am proud to nominate Q as the most inspirational and prestigious scientist and inventor of our times. In the same way The Eagle inspired me to become an inventor, Q was an inspiration to future scientists of that generation. And let us not forget that The Eagle as a comic was FUN, and the James Bond movies with Q were also FUN and took the boredom out of what could be a boring subject, namely science.

Trevor Baylis.