Art and Science: many connections
I love art and craftsmanship, and I love science. I’ve got to be honest that my life as a biochemistry professor and a leather craftsman don’t often overlap. Most of the time they nicely reinforce each...
View ArticleWe all make mistakes
As I finished my latest round of belts today, I was pleased because I only messed up one of them. One of the nice things about custom hand made things is that they are all different. But sometimes...
View ArticleHow do we learn? How should we teach?
Standardized tests; accountability; the rising costs of education; distance learning; MOOCs; competencies; workforce training; STEM; global competitiveness. These are some of the buzzwords that are...
View ArticlePlanning
When I was a graduate student in Madison, WI, my favorite time of the day was my morning walk along the lake into the lab. It took about 30 min, and even though I was very busy with my research and was...
View ArticleShaking it up
I have heard about people who keep their possessions to the absolute minimum by annually carrying everything they own into their front yard and then bringing back inside only those items that are most...
View ArticleHappy Pi Day!
I love math, though I always wish I were better at it. The first time that I really saw its beauty was studying Euclid’s elements my first year at St. John’s College. This wasn’t enough to keep me from...
View ArticleWork-Life Balance
When I was in graduate school, I was married with 2 young children, and it was sometimes hard to balance my studies and family life. My Dad once visited us in Madison and told me: “Son, you are...
View ArticleThe First Line of Every Resume
The best scientists and other professional problem solvers embrace the phrase: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”Wikipedia: Elbert Hubbard in a 1915 obituary he penned and published for dwarf...
View ArticleMy New Year’s Resolution
I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. They usually fail, and I always wonder why wait for January 1 to try to do something important. But since my last post was in May, I’ve been letting...
View ArticleWhere do I start?
On January 20, 2009, I joined a large crowd of students, faculty, and staff at the Reitz Union at the University of Florida. We were there to watch the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama....
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