Science Stories

What are your hopes for the future of science? Why do you support AAAS?
Meet these AAAS members, and listen to them answer these questions and others. Then tell us your story. You will need RealPlayer to view these videos. If you need this software, you can download it at: http://www.real.com/

Katherine Socha, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Mathematics St. Mary's College of Maryland	Leonard Susskind, Ph.D. Professor of Physics Stanford University
S. James Gates, Jr., Ph.D. John S. Toll Professor of Physics University of Maryland	Fan Li Chou, Ph.D. AAAS Diplomacy Fellow Assistant Trade Director
Pamela Clark Graduate Student, Molecular Biology Howard University

Science Stories, Continued

Q: Why did you become a scientist?

Some budding scientists are inspired by their parents, their schools, or simply by the world of discovery that surrounds us all. Read these stories, which were submitted to AAAS, and share your own.

The lives of Marie Curie and George Washington Carver
I suppose the first time I thought about being a scientist was when I was about 10 years old. In my elementary school, we had a reading hour, or rather half-hour, each day. Students were encouraged to read whatever they wanted, and I read a children's series of biographies of famous people, including the lives of Marie Curie and George Washington Carver. Dr. Carver's life story impressed me greatly as he was an American and a person of color who became a scientist and educator. Although I am not African-American, I related to Dr. Carver, because, like him, I am a person of color from an underprivileged background who had an interest in science. Marie Curie was, of course, female like me and I was encouraged by her success so many years ago in an all-male scientific world. Many years later in undergraduate school, I began to meet Hispanics who shared my interest in science. But, for me it all began in the reading room of my elementary school library.
Irma Sanchez

To further my curiosity about science
I became interested in science when I understood its significance to our revolving world. Recently, I wrote three fundamental subjects of science (physics, chemistry, and biology) for the CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) examination, and I would like to further my work, love, and curiosity about science by becoming a scientist, and more so, a doctor. Can I become the above desire?
Tyrone Williams

To make a real difference in the world
Born to second generation German immigrants who disdained their farming background, I always remained intrigued by agricultural science. In 1990, I received my Ph.D. in plant physiology from the University of Georgia , and first joined AAAS. I wanted to make a real difference in the world by marrying good solid theoretical but proven technologies from American universities/scientists and facilitate their adoption by the poor to increase their livelihoods and quality of life. I joined an international agriculture research firm and moved my family to Bangladesh 22 years ago, and recently became an International Associate Adjunct Professor with Cornell University .
My association with AAAS and Cornell and other American universities can ensure that solid agricultural technologies can be adopted by the poor to increase their livelihoods and quality of life. An example is a virus-free transgenic papaya produced by Cornell University and now being introduced to Bangladesh for field trials. Increased yields due to virus resistance by up to 600% will make sweet papaya more possible for the homestead gardens and more affordable for the urban poor. Currently, a ripened papaya costs one half a daily wage earnings. Vitamin A deficiency or night blindness, still prevalent in Bangladesh , can be addressed through these kinds of food diversifications.
Craig A. Meisner
Agronomist, IFDC
International Associate Adjunct Professor, Cornell University

I hope to advance science in Brazil
Even before I knew the term "science" or "nature," I was already exploring the scientific and the natural world. I was a very quiet and introspective boy, always refusing a good soccer game (which most Brazilian boys love). What did I prefer over soccer? Let me tell you my story.

My parents, my younger brother, and I lived in a little place in the backyard of my grandfather's house on a dead end street in the city of São Paulo , Brazil , until I was 11. Our lives were very pleasant and simple. I would sit under a small azalea tree for hours, quietly observing ants carrying huge leaves. I would sweep their path and watch them frantically searching for the trail. I learned many years later that I had removed the pheromones the ants had left, and they could not find their way home until they reconnected their chemical trail. I did other experiments and wish I could have had books with more ideas. When I started school at seven, I learned the term "science," and I found it to be my favorite subject. My parents gave me a small microscope, and my experimentation turned more interesting. I discovered mold growing on jelly in the refrigerator—several fungal colonies with the most brilliant colors. I discovered how to transfer the colonies from one jelly to another using a toothpick. Then I started making microscopic slides of these molds. I moved on, and I started rearing butterflies and frogs to see their metamorphoses. Another time, I got some blue, red, and green transparent glass plates to block the white light from seeds growing in a cup on wet cotton. I discovered that the plants grew faster in the dark, but their stems were very thin and brittle. Also the seeds grew fastest with the blue light. Learning science by experimentation is amazing. But at that time, a scientific career in Brazil seemed something unreachable as science colleges were rare.

Between the ages of 6 and 7 years old, my growth slowed down and when I was about sixteen, a doctor finally discovered that my pituitary gland did not function. Fortunately, the Brazilian government paid for the treatment of three injections per week for three years. I went to a private technical high school in biosciences. I really loved the laboratory sections involving anatomy, biochemistry, and hematology. In 1980, I matriculated into the University of São Francisco to study biology. In my third year, I started working in the laboratory of Dr. Claudio L. Messias and soon after graduated with my bachelors in Biology. I continued to work in his lab for three years, traveling several times to the Chagas disease endemic regions in Brazil , applying the insect-pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae to Triatoma habitats and evaluating its effects on populations of this medically important insect vector.

I began applying for the MS degree program at age 28 but, due to my growth disorder, I looked 18 and the professors at Campinas State University thought I was too young to do graduate studies. My dreams of becoming a scientist were put on hold and I returned to São Paulo to work in my parent's printing company, continuing to attend scientific meetings, seminars, and classes. In this period, I also started my own laboratory to conduct research on the insect-pathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana. It was through my lab that I met my future mentor, Dr. Donald W. Roberts. I continued to work in São Paulo , including teaching biology at a public school. Not forgetting my dream, I applied to the Master of Science (MS) program in microbiology at the State of São Paulo University and started the program in 1998.

Soon after completing the MS degree in 2000, I joined the Department of Biology at Utah State University as a visiting scholar. After two years there, I applied to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (equivalent to the US National Science Foundation) for a fellowship and began studying at Utah State University for my long-dreamed-for PhD.

Soon after defending my dissertation, I plan to work as a post-doc fellow at São Paulo State University . Here I will continue my research on the environmental adaptation and cross protection mechanisms in the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae while I apply for faculty positions in Brazilian universities. As a professor, I hope to advance science in Brazil through my own research and by encouraging and supporting my students in the realization of their own scientific dreams.

Drauzio Eduardo Naretto Rangel
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Biology, Utah State University