Solar energy pioneer Monica Oliphant on charting her own path in science

Research scientist talks about finding funding for her projects, raising two daughters on her own and doing what she loves

It was 1973 and Monica Oliphant, a recently widowed mother of two, was washing the dishes one night when she first heard about the potential for solar energy.

"[It was] at the time of the Arab oil crisis, and I heard on the radio someone saying, if we had solar energy, we wouldn't have to fight over oil. That was the 70s and I managed to get work in this area. That was tremendously exciting."