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Always, since I was a kid, I have loved swimming at the beach. So I hated arriving at the beach on a sunny morning when the seas were calm - perfect for swimming - only to find that jellyfish were teeming everywhere in the water. I dreaded swimming face-first into one. Or getting stung by them. Sometimes they were there, sometimes not. Why? In college, I did an independent study on the causes of swarming by jellyfish. Later, after I had decided that I wanted to study marine biology, I had to choose a topic to study. Initially, I thought of studying what seemed to everyone else to be important issues: phytoplankton nutrient use, zooplankton growth, distributions etc. But then I decided that I needed to do something that would interest me particularly - not just what seemed important to other scientists. At that time, medusae weren't often studied nor were they considered too important. Fortunately, that's changed. What would you recommend for students wanting to pursue a similar career? Invest in yourself. Not necessarily financially. Find out what really interests you, what you can imagine yourself being fascinated in over the long term. What does it for you and challenges you? We're lucky in this country; we can pursue what interests us. Then do what it requires to follow your imagination. Sometimes it will be more education; sometimes it will be just doing exactly what interests you even if it seems alien to those around you - including your family and friends. What do you like best about your profession? Everything. I work outside in the environment; I work on challenging quantitative problems; I get to work with good people who are fun and value nature the way I do. I even get to teach students that want to find out about the most important world - the natural world. There is much more to know than I can ever learn; brilliant people - much more so than I can ever hope to be - have done work which I admire and hope to come close to emulating. These set goals that are almost impossible to reach. Almost. But not completely - I may be just able to reach them if I work well and am lucky. This is a great profession - I couldn't have wanted anything more - its already more than I ever imagined. What web sites and references would you recommend for viewers interested in your work that was featured in The Shape of Life series? None. Go outside. Forget virtual reality -- it's a poor substitute for real nature. Get away from the computer screen and get some nature next to your skin. As some scientists have said, "Study nature not books." |
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