Find Your Path: Unconventional Lessons from 36 Leading Scientists and Engineers

Description

Scientists offer personal accounts of the challenges, struggles, successes, U-turns, and satisfactions encountered in their careers in industry, academia, and government. This insightful book offers essential life and career lessons for newly minted STEM graduates and those seeking a career change. Thirty-six leading scientists and engineers (including two Nobel Prize winners) describe the challenges, struggles, successes, satisfactions, and U-turns encountered as they established their careers. Readers learn that there are professional possibilities beyond academia, as contributors describe the paths that took them into private industry and government as well as to college and university campuses. They discuss their varying preferences for solitary research or collaborative teamwork; their attempts to achieve work-life balance; and unplanned changes in direction that resulted in a more satisfying career. Women describe confronting overt sexism and institutional gender bias; scientists of color describe the experience of being outsiders in their field. One scientist moves from startup to startup, enjoying a career of serial challenges; another spends decades at one university; another has worked in academia, industry, and government. Some followed in the footsteps of parents; others were the first in their family to go to college. Many have changed fields, switched subjects, or left established organizations for something new. Taken together, these essays make it clear that there is not one path to a profession in science, but many. Contributors Stephon Alexander, Norman Augustine, Wanda Austin, Kimberly Budil, Wendy Cieslak, Jay Davis, Tamara Doering, Stephen D. Fantone, Kathleen Fisher, David Galas, Kathy Gisser, Sandra Glucksmann, Daniel Goodman, Renee Horton, Richard Lethin, Christopher Loose, John Mather, Richard Miles, Paul Nielsen, Michael O'Hanlon, Deirdre Olynick, Jennifer Park, Ellen Pawlikowski, Ethan Perlstein, Richard Post, William Press, Beth Reid, Jennifer Roberts, Jessica Seeliger, David Spergel, Ellen Stofan, Daniel Theobald, Shirley Tilghman, Jami Valentine, Z. Jane Wang, Rainer Weiss FIND_YOUR_PATH_Unconventional_Lessons_from_36_Leading_Scientists_and_Engineers ACKNOWLEDGMENTS HOW_TO_READ_THIS_BOOK I_THE_ENTREPRENEURS (1-15) 1 LOVE OF THE UNKNOWN 2 A LAB OF MY OWN 3 A MATHEMATICAL MODELER 4 A LONG-STANDING INTEREST 5 START-UP OR LARGE VENTURE 6 A COMPANY WITH VALUES 7 A BIGGER PICTURE 8 PERSONAL CONNECTIONS AND SERENDIPITY 9 Tangible Products 10 FROM HEALTH CARE TO ROBOTICS 11 ADAPTING AND CREATING 12 MY DREAM JOB 13 FROM OUTSIDER TO COLLABORATOR 14 TROUBLESHOOTER AND LEADER 15 LEARNING BUSINESS BY FINDING A MARKET II_THE_ACADEMICS (16-25) 16 THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT 17 THE ADVANTAGE OF NOT FITTING IN 18 THE LONG WAY ROUND 19 A FLASH OF INSPIRATION 20 A CHANGE OF DIRECTION 21 AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE 22 SOLVING PUZZLES 23 COMMUNICATING AND COMPUTING 24 ALWAYS EXPERIMENTING 25 A MENTOR AND A DREAM III_THE_PUBLIC_SERVANTS (20-35) 26 IMPROVING THE SITUATION 27 RECLAIMING MY DREAM 28 CHOOSING A BALANCED LIFE 29 FLEXIBILITY AND CHANGE 30 RISKS- LEAPS- AND A SUPPORT NETWORK 31 PIONEERING GENDER EQUALITY 32 DISAPPOINTMENTS AND SUCCESSES 33 BREAKING BARRIERS AND LEADING TEAMS 34 ENGINEERING A LEADER 35 VISION AND TEAMWORK IV_SUMMARY 36_QUIET_SCIENCE_AND_NUCLEAR_THREATS LIFE_AND_CAREER_LESSONS_LEARNING_FROM_LIVES_VIEWS_AND_STORIES