Life in Science: Stories, Opinions and Advice for a New Generation of Scientists

Description

This book is a collection of stories, reflections and advice written by proficient scientists. They address the question of what doing science means to them, and describe attitudes and working practices that have proved effective and rewarding. The book is aimed in particular at young people who are attracted by science or already undertaking undergraduate studies, and who are considering making science their long-term profession. It will also be helpful and revealing to early-career scientists who are searching for their own best route to success. The book serves as a platform for experienced scientists to describe their original inclination, how that subjective disposition found its expression in their way of doing science, whether their expectations were met, and what achievements they can claim. But it is not restricted to success: contributors also share details of the limitations and failures they have encountered. Last but not least they describe how they see science now, how they think it will be in the near future, and what advice they would give to the their much younger colleagues. Readers will appreciate the diversity of the individual paths shaped by different education, motivation, ambition, inclination, intuition, feeling, belief and eligibility. At the same time the stories confirm that science relies on a translation of this subjective level into an objective level, one that is shared and accepted by the international scientific community, and whose results are produced with a commonly accepted and fully rational scientific method of investigation. Preface Contents Editors and Contributors My Life Under the Star of Biology 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the New Generation of Scientists References What Really Matters is not just Knowing “What”, “Where” and “When” but also Knowing “How” 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the New Generation of Scientists References Science is an Extraordinary Opportunity for Personal Growth 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the New Generation of Scientists References A Greased Pizza Paper Changed My Life 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the New Generation of Scientists References Gene-Rations 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the New Generation of Scientists A Scientist Dreams, Ambitions and Realities 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the New Generation of Scientists References Uncommon Science and Common Sense: Shall the Twain Ever Meet? 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 3.1 Uncommon Science and Common Sense 3.2 Science in the Future 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References Finding My Purpose in Life: Science as a Path for Self-discovery 1 Motivations: How I Have Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References A Biologist by Chance and Necessity 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 3.1 What’s Ahead in Science and Technology in the Life Sciences? 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References An Unexpected Journey: From Experimentalist to the Human Developmental Biology Resource 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the New Generation of Scientists References A Scientific Path to Global Citizenship 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists Chemistry or Biology: That Is the Question 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References Living is Searching 1 PROLOGUE IN VENERATION OF XENOPHANES: Why Questions Are More Important Than Answers 2 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2.1 What Science is About: To Make Mistakes and then Correct Them, Without Much Ado 3 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3.1 You Are Completely Free, How You Want to Address This 3.2 Scottish Interlude—How Different Parts of a Plant Talk to Each Other 3.3 How to Sense Direction—Everybody by Himself or all Together? 3.4 Progress by Accident: A Tale About Grey Geese and Maize 4 Science Today and Tomorrow 4.1 Fighting in the West, Journey to the East 4.2 Learn About Yourself, by Understanding the Other 4.3 A Fancy Microscope Allows to Ask a Fancy Question 4.4 If You Are in a Conflict—Listen to Your Guts 4.5 If You Get a Chance, Grip It—Think Afterwards! 4.6 Journey to the West, It Is Good to Go Out, It Is Good to Come Home 4.7 Sometimes, Nature Does not Want to Reveal Its Secrets 4.8 The Path to Independence Leads Through a Valley of Uncertainty 4.9 Never Give Up, at the End Things Will Join 4.10 Whether a Place Will Be a Good Place Depends on What You Make Out of It… 5 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists 5.1 Try to Stay Rooted 5.2 Search Mentors that Do Not Instrumentalise You 5.3 Follow Your Gut Feeling 5.4 Ambition is Fine, But It Should Not Be Personal 5.5 Do It Your Way 5.6 Have Fun 5.7 Trust and Be Trustworthy 5.8 Be a Citizen of the World 5.9 Cultivate the Art of not Knowing. References More is Better Than One: The Strength of Interdisciplinarity 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists Wondering Why: Limitless Curiosity 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References From Molecular Biology to Science Diplomacy: A Long and Winding Road 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References The Funny Story of an Unpredictable Molecular Biologist 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists Finding My Path, Trusting My Voice 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists A Kaleidoscope of Colours and an Unexpected Journey 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References Biased Random Walks on the Scientific Landscape 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Concluding Remarks and Some Advice Finding My Way Through the Nuclear Landscape 1 MOTIVATIONS: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists The Curious Job of Trying to Look at Things as They Are 1 Motivations: How I Developed an Interest in Science 2 Work Done: My Personal Scientific Approach 3 Science Today and Tomorrow 4 Advice to the Next Generation of Scientists References