Being a Scientist
Instructor: V. Ramamurthy (murthy)
University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
Email: murthy1@miami.edu
Class timing: Friday, 2 to 4 PM
Oct 5 to Dec 13
• Human beings’ curiosity about how things work has led to many fields of studies
including science. Science has been a major player in not only rationalizing what
goes on around and inside us, but also to the changes we experience. The mastery of
scientific phenomenon besides helping build a better future has also led to
detrimental outcomes. Contributions to a better future thus requires knowledge of
both the good and bad aspects of science from everyone and especially from the
youth with a greater role in it.
• This course is designed to bring knowledge:
• on what is science
• on what it takes to be a successful scientist
• why a career in science is worth pursuing
• how it could be intellectually and occasionally financially rewarding.
• Knowing what is science, what scientists do and how to be a scientist should
help a novice to make a career choice and decide on a path that would provide
a valuable and satisfying life. This course will analyze the life, achievements,
triumphs and tribulations of a few scientists and the development of concepts
that have helped us understand the Nature.
SYLLABUS
Being a Scientist- An Introduction
A Revolution in Modern Physics: Photon - Theory of light
The Chemical Revolution: Lavoisier, Davy & Faraday
Chemistry grows with physics - Atoms, Molecules and Macromolecules
Molecules in Nature
How does science works - Normal, Extraordinary and Pathological Science
(Polywater & Cold fusion)
Choosing a career
“You've got to find what you love. The only way
to do great work is to love what you do.”
Steve Jobs
CEO of Apple Computer
Possible choices
• Arts
• Humanities
• Engineering
• Medicine
• Science
• Sports
• Helps to formulate important and interesting questions and
then design a series of experiments to arrive at answers.
What is Science?
• Science is a means to understand ourselves and the
surroundings (Nature in general) through verifiable facts.
• Experiments based
• Evidence based
Science
Science is doing experiments
Basic
Research carried out to increase understanding of
fundamental principles. Many times, the end results have
no direct or immediate commercial benefits.
Applied
Research done for a specific commercial, or market driven
purpose. The practical question in this kind of research is –
‘Does this kind of research make profit?’
Basic vs Applied Science
Applied science = Technology = $
Struggle between basic and applied science
Making new knowledge is neither easy nor
profitable in the short term. Fundamental
research proves profitable in the long
run, ----. Priestly Medal Address, 2011
Ahmed H. Zewail
People with little understanding fail to
observe the mysterious threads that
bind the factory to the laboratory.
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Nobel Prize in Physiology 1906
Science, like an army, needs generals as well as soldiers. Thanks to the
work of soldiers the concept of a leader acquires vigor and clarity.
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Advice for a young investigator
1898, (English version, MIT Press, 1999)
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Nobel Prize in Physiology 1906
Can I be a Scientist?
Not smart enough to be a scientist – No problem?
Venki Ramakrishnan
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2009
“You don’t have to be that smart to
be a good scientist”
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Nobel Prize in Physiology 1906
“One does not need to be terrifically brainy
to be a good scientist. Application,
diligence, a sense of purpose, the power to
concentrate and not be cast down by
adversity are absolutely essential.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
ct3bDM6YBEw
Harold Varmus and John M. Bishop
How I Became a Scientist
Nobel Prize-1989
Head, Sloan Kattering Cancer Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9aSN6eB
2l4
Nobel Prize-1989
Professor, UC, SF
Harold Varmus, 1939 - John M. Bishop, 1936 -
Motivation to Do Science
Ø Intellectual curiosity, desire to know the truth
Ø Passion to leave behind something of permanent
value
Ø Ambition, desire for reputation
Ø Desire to see one’s name in print and be credited
throughout the scientific world
Ø To earn livelihood
Opportunities as a Scientist
Every person’s story is important, eternal,
divine; and so, every person, to the extent that
he lives and fulfills nature’s will, is wondrous
and deserving full attention.
in Demian Hermann Hesse
Nobel Prize in Literature, 1946
What it takes a Student to become a Scientist?
• Getting trained to be a scientist
• Becoming a scientist
• Being a scientist
• Living as a scientist
Four stages in the life of a scientist
Learning and Doing Science
• Science is about discovery---done with head and hand
• The process of doing science is deeply rewarding,
not only intellectually but also emotionally
• Doing science is different from reading about
science.
As a scientist, your chances of achieving anything
can be greatly diminished by joining an institution
that is under resourced financially and does not
value creativity.
Find the Right Place to Work/Learn
Young people must strive to have an open mind
and seek out places where they will be surrounded
by first-class intellectuals.
Migrate to a Place with Opportunities
Birds become migratory only to ensure that more
individuals of a species will survive, despite the risk of
being blown off course during their travels, than if
they stay to eke out a precarious living.
Migrate to a Place with Opportunity and Knowledge
Adi SankaraXuan Xang (Sanzang)
Find a Suitable Research Mentor
Ø A world-famous scientist in high demand
Ø An established scientist who is also an
administrator
Ø A reputed scientist focused mainly on science
Ø An upcoming young scientist
An Ideal Research Mentor
On Otto Warburg:
• High standards in research and in general conduct
• Genuine dedication to his chosen area of activity
• Long and regular working hours
• Unwilling to publish trivia for publishing’s sake
H. Krebs
Reminiscences and Reflections
Find a Suitable Research Mentor
Find a Suitable Research Mentor
Vladimir Prelog
1906-1998
The Nobel Prize
in Chemistry 1975
H. Gobind Khorana
1922-2011
The Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine 1968
“---- I left my luggage at the railway station, took my Ph. D. thesis and went looking for
Prof. Prelog. --- I requested that he might look at my Ph. D. thesis and I would come next
day to ask if he would accept me. Next day, Prof. Prelog with his encouraging smile said
‘yes’ and added he is glad to see people happy.---- During the year in Zurich, with no
subsidy, of course I had to be very careful with my living expenses; but looking back, I
believe that spending the year in Zurich was probably the wisest thing I ever did in my life.
Vladimir Prelog made me see beauty in chemistry, work and effort.”
“I wish to make a personal acknowledgement to one more scientist. Fortunately, I was
accepted by Professor V. Prelog of the ETH as a postdoctoral student. The association with
this great scientist and human being influenced immeasurably my thought and philosophy
towards science, work and effort.”
Nobel Prize lecture
Getting a break-Be persistent
Michael Faraday wrote to the President of The Royal Society
Sir Joseph Banks requesting for any position, however menial.
After several reminders Bank replied: “the letter required no
answer”.
“I am far from displeased with the proof you have given me of
your confidence, and which displays great zeal, power of
memory, and attention -----. I will then see you at any time you
wish.”
Sir Humphry Davy
Choosing a Research Project
Asking the right questions
ØImportant
ØInteresting
ØDoable
ØGeneral
ØDepth
ØUtility
Choosing a Research Project
The primary aim of research must not just be more
facts and yet more facts, but more facts of strategic
value.
Young scientists should aspire to become established
within a particular discipline. Find a project that
could be identified as your own.
The most important quality of the scholar is
originality, that is the ability to picture something
beyond what is taught.
“I have always liked working in some
scientific direction that nobody else is
working in”
Linus Pauling
Nobel Prize, 1954, 1962
“Some science you’re doing, something
that’s so far out and no one else cares, but
you are interested in it. And that’s, I
think, the best kind of science to do —.”
Venki Ramakrishnan
Nobel Prize, 2009
Choosing a Research Project
To be perfectly original one should think much
and read little, and this is impossible, for one
must have read before one has learnt to think.
Lord Byron
1788-1824
The beginner must read, but intently and not
too much.
Getting Started: Learning the Literature
We should proceed from the known facts to
the unknown.
Sir Humphry Davy
1778-1829
Importance of mastering prior knowledge
Once you get courage up and believe that you can do important problems,
then you can.
Building Confidence
It is psychologically most important to get results, even if they are not
original. Getting results, even by repeating another’s work, brings with it a
great accession of self-confidence.
“So, when I questioned Mrs. Marcetʼs book (Conversations on
Chemistry) by such little experiments as I could perform, and
found it true----, I felt I got hold of an anchor of chemical
knowledge---.”
M. Faraday
Michael Faraday
31
Jane Marcet
“the most wonderful and the most interesting
phenomenon of nature are almost all of them
produced by chemical powers”
Conversations on Chemistry, 1817
Ambition
Two emotions must be unusually strong in the great
scientific scholar: a devotion to truth and a passion
for reputation.
Ambition is not necessarily a deadly sin, but excess
of ambition can certainly be a disfigurement.
There is nothing ignoble about being ambitious to be
recognized.
Qualities Needed to Succeed
Ø Time management
ØAbility to Concentrate & Focus
Ø Creativity/Originality
Ø Imagination and Intuition
Ø Persistence and Determination
Ø Breadth and Depth
Ø Ability to Collaborate
Ø Humility and Honesty
Time is Precious
Your time is limited, so don’t
waste it. If today were the last
day of your life, would you
want to do what you are about
to do today?
Steve Jobs
Stanford Commencement address
2005
The key question to keep
asking while doing science is,
are you spending your time on
right things ? Because time is
all you have.
Randy Pausch
Computer scientist
Hard it is to train the mind, which goes where
it likes and does what it wants. As a fish
hooked and left on the sand thrashes about in
agony, the mind being trembles all over.
Mara's assault on the Buddha (the
Buddha is only symbolized by his
throne), 2nd century, Amaravati, India
Long ago my mind used to wander as it liked
and do what it wanted.
The Dhammapada
3rd century BC
As a well-trained horse needs no whip, a well
trained mind needs no prodding from the world
to be good.
Buddha faced the same dilemma
Problem of the restless mind
Creativity
“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns to look at
things in a different way”
Edward De Bono
Bower Birds
Subconscious mind: state of mind where one is not totally
aware of its activities.
Creativity comes subconsciously
If you are deeply immersed and committed to a topic, day after day,
your subconscious has nothing to do but work on your problem.
New ideas often seem to pop up when the mind is idling.
Power of imagination
“imagination is the ability to visualize any object with all its properties so that
one recognizes it with the same great certainty as by simple observation.”
Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff
First Nobel Prize, Chemistry, 1901
“I would like to give you students a recipe for making discoveries. Libraries . . . have
always had a mind-deadening effect on me. So, when I was studying Wislicenus’s
just-published paper on lactic acid in the Utrecht library, I interrupted my reading
half-way through to take a walk, and it was on this walk, under the influence of the
fresh air, that the thought of the asymmetric carbon atom first occurred to me.”
Intuition
The only real valuable thing is intuition.
Albert Einstein
All great men are gifted with intuition. They know
without reasoning or analysis, what they need to know.
Alexis Carrel
(Nobel Prize in Physiology, 1912)
Intuition is the supra-logic that cuts out all the routine
processes of thought and leaps straight from the
problem to the answer----
Luck, it is true, is necessary, but the
greater the number of experiments
carried out, the greater is the
probability of being lucky.
Persistence and Luck
In science as in lottery, luck favors he who wages the most.
Louis Pasteur
1822-1895
Let me tell you the secret that has
led to my goal. My only strength lies
in my tenacity.
Unlike in politics there is nothing wrong with changing
one’s mind when better evidence becomes available.
Learn to Retreat
People who can’t acknowledge to themselves that they
were wrong should probably avoid a life based on
research.
The hypothesis is the principal intellectual instrument
in research.
Learn From Mistakes
The most important of my discoveries have been
suggested to me by my failures.
Sir Humphrey Davy
The scientist who is excessively cautious is not likely to
make either errors or discoveries.
No great discoveries is ever made without a bold guess.
Sir Issac Newton
Occasionally, science can take on personal, almost vindictive
quality.
Science is a human endeavor, driven by hopes, dreams and
aspirations. They may be brilliant, even geniuses. But as human
beings they may also be seriously flawed.
Interpersonal Skills with Peers
S. Chandrasekhar
1910-1995
Nobel Prize, 1983
Sir Arthur Eddington
1882-1944
Michael Faraday
1791-1867
Sir Humphry Davy
1778-1829
Life of a Scientist
ØStress
ØRejections
ØIntense competition (priority)
ØPolitics
ØBalancing family and work
Life of a Scientist
“Science [is] a harsh mistress, and in a financial point
of view but poorly rewarding those who devote
themselves to her service”
Davy’s reply to Faraday
when he approached him for a job, 1812
A scientific life is in reality exciting, rather passionate
and – in terms of hours of work – a very demanding
and some times exhausting occupation.
Rejections
Do not get discouraged if manuscripts are rejected by journals.
Kreb’s cycle (H. Krebs -Nobel Prize in 1953):
Rejected without review by Nature in 1937 later published in Enzymologia.
Basis of modern 2D NMR (R. R. Ernst -Nobel Prize in 1991):
Twice rejected by J. Chem. Physics in 1965 published in Rev. Scientific
Instruments.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (K. B. Mullis -Nobel Prize in 1993):
Rejected by Nature and Science in 1987 published in Methods in Enzymology.
“But one Sunday afternoon Denise showed up as I was working
in the laboratory and simply exploded on me. Carrying Paul in
her arms, she screamed, You can’t go on like this! You
are only thinking of yourself and your work! You are
just ignoring the two of us!”
In Search of Memory, E. Kendal, 2006
2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Balanced Life
A scientific life is in-reality exciting, rather passionate and – in
terms of hours of work – a very demanding and sometimes
exhausting occupation.
Qualities Needed to Succeed
Ø Time management
ØAbility to Concentrate & Focus
Ø Creativity/Originality
Ø Imagination and Intuition
Ø Persistence and Determination
Ø Breadth and Depth
Ø Ability to Collaborate
Ø Humility and Honesty
Stress and frustration: One has to put up with stress.
Loneliness: Like anyone who ventures into the unknown,
scientists at times feel alone, uncertain, without a welltrodden
path to follow.
Why do so few scientists make significant
contributions and so many are forgotten?
Coping up with the system: Very few have the ability to
reform the system and become a first-class scientist.
(You and Your Research, Richard Hammings)
Osamu Shimomura Martin Chalfie Roger Y. Tsien
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008
"for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP"
Science, Feb, 2009
PNAS, 106, 1007, 2009
NY Times, 2008, 10, 17
"Both of them have always given me
credit," he says, including during the Nobel
ceremonies in Stockholm, which he attended
as the winners' guest. "I've always felt proud
in what I provided them. ... I can't imagine
the Nobel Committee ever seriously
considering me, because I simply dropped
out of science.” D. Prasher
The Fourth Man in the GFP Story
Prasher lost his research funding while he
was employed at Woods Hole Res. Lab,
MA. Eventually he took a job as courtesy
shuttle driver for $8.50-an-hour in
Huntsville, AL.
"They could've easily given the prize to
Douglas and the other two and left me out,"
M. Chalfie.
• Mentorship, networking, and the ability to secure funding can
be as important as talent and intelligence.
Lessons from Prasher’s Life
• Scientific opportunities often appear only at specific times and
places.
• Once someone drops out of science, it is hard to get back in.
• There may be exceptions, but they are not the norm.
• Work done in the wrong place or published in the wrong
journal may vanish without a trace.
Learn to Sell
You must learn to give formal and informal talks
and write clearly and concisely.
Science is about telling good, readable, memorable
stories.
Priority of discovery in science goes to the one who
publishes first.
It is not sufficient to do a good job, you have to make
it known.
Work, finish and publish. (Michael Faraday)
• Recognize: All great work is the fruit of patience and
perseverance, combined with tenacious concentration.
• Most great scientists have tremendous drive.
• Achieve total absorption. Recognize the marvelous power
of prolonged concentration.
• If a solution fails to appear, try resting for a while.
Relaxation in a peaceful environment brings calmness and
clarity of mind.
Tips for success
“Life without playing music is
inconceivable for me.” – Albert Einstein
Planck sang as well as played the
piano and organ
The symphony of science
https://www.nobelprize.org/symphony-of-science/
“I still play and get immense enjoyment
from the guitar” M. Chalfie
“Scientists need more than one leg to stand on
in order to move forwards. Getting involved in
something outside the specialist area where
you wish to make your mark not only expands
your horizons, but also enriches your scientific
work. For some people this is sport, while
others like to read or play a musical
instrument.”
Searching and Researching
Richard Ernst, 2021
“Gentlemen, we have run
out of money. It is time to
start thinking.”
Sir Ernest Rutherford, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, 1908
Importance of Funding
Ideas, unless backed by cash are liable to
evaporate into nothingness.
Prime Minister Robert Peel: What is the practical value of this
new device (electromagnetically driven transformer)?
Michael Faraday: I know not, but I wager that one day your
government will tax it.
Conversation recorded in 1831
Faraday and Electromagnetism
Michael Faraday, 1791–1867
The first industry to be built on the invention made in a laboratory
rather than in a workshop
Marie Curie (1867-1934)
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1911
"in recognition of her ---
discovery of the elements
radium and polonium, ---”
“We must not forget that when radium
was discovered no one knew that it
would prove useful in hospitals. The
work was one of pure science. And this is
a proof that scientific work must not be
considered from the point of view of the
direct usefulness of it. It must be done
for itself, for the beauty of science, and
then there is always the chance that a
scientific discovery may become like the
radium a benefit for humanity.”
Marie Curie,
Lecture at Vassar College, May 14, 1921
Basic vs Applied Science
• Science needs technology for financial support
• Technology needs science for generating new
products
• Value of technology is easy to see but not that of
science
• Cooperation among scientists and technologists is
necessary for economic and human prosperity.
Science and technology are synergistic
• Public and politicians outreach is a MUST.
The most sinister consequence of looking down on applied
science (technology) was a backlash that has diminished
pure science in favor of its practical applications ---- that
sought to fund research on the basis of retail trade: the socalled
consumer-contractor principle.
P. B. Medawar, 1915-1987
Nobel Prize in Physiology, 1960
More Pragmatic Approach
Advice to a Young Scientist, 1979
61
• Science and technology are synergistic.
• Science needs technology for financial support
• Technology needs science for generating new
products
• Value of technology is easy to see but not that of
science
• Money is central to the development of a dynamic scientific
culture.
Summary
• Cooperation among scientists and technologists is necessary
for economic and human prosperity.
• Public and politicians outreach is a MUST.
References
• Advice for a Young Investigator, Santiago Ramon-y-Cajal, Spanish version,
1898, (English version, MIT Press, 1999)
• Advice to a Young Scientist, P. B. Medawar, 1979
• The Beginner’s Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize, P. Doherty, 2006
• In Search of Memory, E. Kendal, 2006
• Reminiscences and Reflections, H. Krebs, 1981
• A Mathematician’s Apology, G. H. Hardy, 1940
• Avoid Boring People, James D. Watson, 2007
• Letters to a Young Scientist: Edward O. Wilson,