Science is meant to be a marketplace of ideas where the best ones carry the day, regardless of where they come from. Or at least that is how it is advertised. As I recall, the Cosmos TV series had a pub sequence extolling this virtue, the idea that anybody could sit down and contribute to the conversation. Lovely idea, right? And many have contributed, from all over the world. And there are stories like Srinivasa Ramanujan‘s; he was a remarkably prolific Indian mathematician with little formal training. Still, the actual pub in the scenario would have been harder to access for women and people of color and people whose work occupied all of their productive time. The abstract pub of science is likewise not precisely accessible to all even if it is theoretically open to them.
[Read more…] about Science Corner: The Idea of Marketplaces
alternative career
Science Reader Question: And You Are… ?
I’d love to know more about your career journey. Are you working in academia or do you have what is currently called an alt-ac (alternative to academia) career? How did you get there?
I touched on this briefly in my very first post 3 years ago, in a fairly obtuse way. I mentioned some more details while discussing the topic of private sector careers. But given how much I focus on esoteric science, and given how popular practical, career-oriented posts are on this blog, I think a more straightforward answer to this question wouldn’t go amiss. Plus, as they say in the comic book biz, every issue is somebody’s first!
[Read more…] about Science Reader Question: And You Are… ?
Candidate for What? — InterVarsity staff
Introduction
Thank-you to Dwight Schwartz, Ph.D., for sharing a glimpse of his academic/vocational journey through Candidate for What? A few questions for the reader as we wrap up the series with Part 5 (Click here for Part 1 on Pre-collegiate chemistry, here for Part 2 – 3 on Collegiate Chemistry, and here for Part 4 on his Postdoctoral Puzzle):
- How do you understand the purpose/value of academic studies?
- What do Emerging Scholars have to offer not only to the academic community, but also to other occupations, the people of God, and the wider society/culture — eventually spanning the globe through travels/connections/education?
- In addition to praying for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship‘s campus ministry, have you considered serving on, volunteering with, and/or advising InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staff (possibly with a Graduate & Faculty Ministries focus)? Note: Personally I have benefited from Dwight’s insights with regard to the process and pressures of graduate school when relating to graduate students not only on campus, but also at special events such as graduate student retreats and meetings (e.g., American Scientific Association). Thank-you Dwight!
- How do you share your journey in higher ed with others? In what manner does your faith relate to your vocation? Note: If you have interest in sharing your story with Emerging Scholars, please click here to read a description of writing for the blog and drop ESN an email. In addition, I am always open to advice regarding InterVarsity’s labors in relationship to Emerging Scholars and higher education (both in a general and a specific case study manner). So please don’t stop sharing the helpful insights 🙂 ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV, Associate Director of ESN, editor of ESN’s blog and Facebook Wall.
Part 5
Around the same time as my formal postdoctoral studies were coming to an end, a friend of mine on InterVarsity’s campus ministry staff asked a question that had crossed my mind a time or two before: “have I ever considered joining InterVarsity to work with graduate students at a university somewhere?â€Â With this verbal “ask,†I took up the consideration of this question with more seriousness and regularity, and, simultaneously, began to wonder what kind of life I might have if my idea of becoming a professor were not to be. Still, I didn’t give up on the idea of a career as a professor somewhere. [Read more…] about Candidate for What? — InterVarsity staff