The “light-bulb” flash
in your eyes!
John
Wilson, University of New South Wales, Australia
It
is the Sherlock Holmes approach
that I try to encourage in all of my students. For me, science
is not about studying what is known, but seeking out and trying
to understand the unknown.
As a university lecturer in biological science, seeing the
‘light bulb’ flash in students’ eyes when they discover
something for themselves, no matter how fundamental,
is perhaps the most rewarding experience.
Having had past lives in other occupations, from military
service to electrical engineering, from sheep shearing to
administrative positions, I finally arrived at science about
20 years ago. Unlike many professions, science
certainly is not black and white. There are
many shades of grey.
Here’s a brief run-down on what I did on April 12th, the day
in science:
* Up at 5am, down to my favourite beach in Wollongong for
an early morning surf, hearty
breakfast, then off to the University of New South Wales by
motorcycle.
* Replied to a thousand and one emails.
Why do science students have so many
questions???
* Put the finishing touches on the 2nd year microbiology
exam paper, and began preparing my lecture on bacterial cell
death.
* Early meeting with a UNSW research group to investigate
potential biomedical applications of
bacterial by-products.
* Taught a 3 hour microbiology laboratory class, had a quick
lunch then delivered a small group tutorial for an hour.
*Round out the afternoon by grading. Finished
the day with the end product of microbial activity.
Cheers!
For those of
you who may not be microbe-savvy, the end-product of microbial
activity is ethanol: used in alcoholic beverages!
Written by John Wilson – Edited by Kavitha Arunagirinathan |
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