The name 'world's hottest scientist' feared would ruin her career
She's happy taking on sharks and snakes, but the global attention took some getting used to.
Scientist Rosie Moore says the “world’s hottest scientist” tag doesn’t bother her despite initially worrying the unsolicited moniker would “ruin” her career.
The intrepid geoscientist mainly works with dangerous reptiles, poisonous toads and marine predators. She also moonlights as an Instagram influencer with 197,000 dedicated followers.
Moore, 26, from Florida in the US, likes to post daring images of her wrestling alligators and diving with predatory sharks.
Her profile “really blew up” when she appeared in a viral Instagram video of an alligator being pulled out of a python’s stomach. That was when the internet collectively labelled her ‘the world’s hottest scientist’, as she found herself at the centre of an “insane” number of articles, she said.
The geoscientist – who specialises in human-environmental interactions and spatial technology – said she “cried” when she first heard the tag. But now, she has come to appreciate it, she says.
“I didn’t want people to have that perception of me, especially as I had a lot of serious researchers following me.
“I thought it’d ruin my career.
“When the first ‘world’s hottest’ headline came out, I cried,” she said.
While she lamented that it might’ve been a “a clicky tabloid thing” when the moniker first stuck, ultimately it “completely changed my career and the course of everything.”
After several young girls wrote to her to tell her that they admire her work, she said she “learned to just lean into” it.
It helps “make science hot” and therefore “appeal to young girls”, she added. “It’s also given me this platform to advocate for animals that people don’t like, like sharks.”
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Her content attracts millions of views with plenty of followers sharing her positive sentiment.
“As a father of a 7yo beautiful and intelligent girl, I shared your page with her and she is in love with you,” one follower commented.
“We need more people like you showing that women can be attractive and recognised for their work,” another wrote recently.
“I absolutely love your perspective on this, science itself IS hot and supporting conservation is beautiful!” A third agreed.
Jam Press
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