Piled high and Deep

There is value in naiveté. Daniel Gonzales didn't have a clue when he began college about the opportunities before him. And because he was naive he didn't have any reason to say “no” when these opportunities were presented to him. Not know, having zero expectations have served him well thorough to his post-doc where he has learned to embrace the unknown so he can continue to pursue a passion for exploration.   For more on Daniel's work - - https://gonzales.science Daniel on Twitter - https://twitter.com/dgonzales1990

t's the beginning of the 2021 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season, why not to talk to a hurricane expert. Phil Klotzbach, PhD is a part of a group of research scientists working to predict hurricanes. Currently, as of June 1, Phil's team from Colorado State University, yes Colorado, are predicting 17 named storms for 2021. Last year there were 30 named storms, the most since 2005 when there were 28. Phil and his team look at a wide range of data to try and predict seasonal hurricane activity primarily in the Atlantic Basin, this include the Gulf of Mexico. Phil's love of weather began as a kid growing up in New England and has carried to become a world renowned scientist on hurricanes and tropical storms. Phil on Twitter -- https://twitter.com/philklotzbach Colorado State University -Tropical Weather & Climate Research https://tropical.colostate.edu/index.html

From Texas to Alaska Brian Brettschneider has experienced some of the most extreme weather on earth. His love of weather really began as an extension of an early fascination with geography and then an introduction to The Weather Channel. Brian has worked in industry, academia, and governmental agencies and for the last 15 years has spent his time documenting the changes in sea ice, temperatures, and moose. Brian on Twitter https://twitter.com/Climatologist49 Brian's Climate Blog - http://us-climate.blogspot.com/

The journey of a PhD in Nursing is certainly unique due to the fact there is an element of direct work experience required before moving onto graduate education. Dr. Linda Franck did not plan to become as she started college and she certainly wasn't expecting to get a PhD. The career of a nurse is varied and Dr. Franck talks about the options available to the soon to be minted BSN co-host of the episode, my daughter. Dr. Franck is part of The Center for Health and Community at The University of California San Francisco and Co-Director of the ACTION Center, fellowship program supporting PhD candidates and postdocs looking to focus on reproductive health. https://actions.ucsf.edu You can also find ACTION on Twitter here https://twitter.com/actionsprogram

The leap from dancing, specifically belly dancing, to a PhD in Speech Communication is really not too far. Especially once you hear the story of how Sandra Halvorson, PhD took the journey. Sure; there was the family, the dance and exercise school, living in Minnesota then Florida. But in the end it all really kind of makes sense; because after all there are just some people that need an audience.

There's a common thread among many PhDs I have talked with over these 40 episodes; always looking for the next thing, even when the thing they are working on now is still in process. Maybe it's one of those key ingredients of making a PhD, the never-ending quest. Eladio Bobadilla came to America as a child and grew up in the agriculture industry of California's Central Valley. After stumbling to get his high school diploma he joined the Navy and, thanks to the extreme boredom of being deployed in Kuwait, discovered a love for history. This new found passion propelled him to college and to brought him to a position of asking questions about the world he grew-up in. http://eladio-bobadilla.com/ https://twitter.com/e_b_bobadilla

The original destination for Chris Cornthwaite's PhD journey was a tenure track college professor gig. The universe had other plans and now Chris finds himself on two paths; using the knowledge and skillset developed during his PhD to help define immigration policy and helping other PhDs and helping other graduates with advanced degrees define themselves in a complicated and sometimes daunting workplace. These two paths are very different from when he first went into seminary with the intent of becoming a minister. https://roostervane.com/ https://twitter.com/cjcornthwaite

The Bible we are most familiar with is the King James version, commissioned by the English, or Scottish depending on your POV, king in the early 1600s. It is generally considered the most important book of the western world. But did you know there are stories outside the Bible? These are known as Apocrypha and were popular and used by English priests as Christianity was spreading. Brandon Hawk discovered these stories in college and became fascinated with them. He grew up with a fairly conservative Christian family and, along with a love of fantasy and science fiction, found himself on a path to a PhD in Medieval Studies and an English professor. https://twitter.com/b_hawk/

More talk of proteins on this episode of Piled high and Deep-The Podcast. Charlie Eldrid, his PhD is coming later this month (I will update) is also doing some cutting edge science as he works to further develop the technology making identifying the structure of proteins more efficient. https://twitter.com/CharlieSpec?s=20 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charles_Eldrid

What would you do if you realized the undergraduate degree you were about to complete wasn't what you wanted to do? For Dr. Deanne Sammond it was a realization the music degree she was about to complete was not going to be the path she wanted to follow anymore. So instead she explored the world of biotech and found herself intrigued with proteins and found a path that would lay the foundation for the successes we are seeing in the fight again the Corona Virus.

Writing is always a consistent theme in the journey of any PhD. For Kali Wallace, while she always had a love of making up stories, her PhD required her to use the facts to tell stories about the movement of tectonic plates. Today Kali is doing what she loves, making up stories. The science stuff is important too, but Kali has found her place in the world by writing science fiction books and using her science knowledge to provide some reality while making her work compelling. http://www.kaliwallace.com

The PhD journey of Dr. Lisa Munro is more of a journey journey, not so much the destination if the destination was really known at the time the journey began and as the journey continued the destination wasn’t really ever known even today as the journey continues with the unknowing knowledge of the importance of living in the moment. She is going to hate that adjectively ridiculously long run-on sentence. www.lisamunro.net

Even before earning his PhD, Stephen Rosen had quite a journey. After college and masters degree he found himself working on the front lines of the Cold War, building nuclear bombs. His PhD came later and led him to become part of the legendary Hudson Institute and part of a group of BIG thinkers pondering the greater questions of mankind entering the nuclear age. His journey took a turn as he discovered an aptitude for helping people better define themselves and their career focus.

Efra Rivera Serrano began his PhD journey very simply, he went to college in order to escape the poverty of rural Puerto Rico.  He fell in love with biology after his college classes built upon his favorite subjects in high school. The goal moved to PhD when he discovered a living could be had by being curious and asking questions. Efra then discovered a love for writing and science communications. Now he is taking all this and giving to his community of unique scientist and opportunity to share their stories.  Efra's Unique Scientist project https://uniquescientists.com Efra on Twitter - https://twitter.com/nakedcapsid

You could say the the PhD journey for Dr. Sam Benz began as a kid. His father was a professor at a seminary in Iowa, studying The Old Testament and Greek, and Sam found himself at archeological dig sites, living overseas, and being exposed to the greater world around him. Mix that with a love of building things, math, and a general curiosity of the world, the foundation was built for Sam to learn how to ask the questions that would lead to his PhD. Sam has continued to ask questions as he explores the world of quantum physics and is part of a group of scientist looking to prepare humanity for the next great leap. Link to NIST article on measurement system McDonald-Nobel Laureate vs Grad Stud-PToday 8-01

You might think a PhD built upon earthquakes and other natural disasters would be all science and stuff; not the case with Dr. Sara McBride. This journey begins with finding a love of writing and of far away places, putting those skills to work serving communities facing threats from Mother Nature and then traveling around the world chasing the disasters and helping communities recover.  For Sara the beginning of the PhD comes when her adopted hometown is the center of an  immense disaster. It is here she comes to grips with the realization;  as good as she is as a communicator she needed to do more to ensure her writing was hitting its mark.  Visit Sara on Twitter - https://twitter.com/DisastrousComms

A big driver for success in this world is finding something you enjoy doing, and it doesn't matter why. For Emma Southon, PhD in Ancient History it was embracing the horribleness of Ancient Rome that opened her eyes to how awesome history is.  From there she moved on to look at how early Christianity rose up and plotted and schemed to convert the masses from worshipping ancestors and multiple gods to just one god.  Emma does this with a smile on her face a non-stop laugh at the wackiness of it all.   Here are links to Emma's website, twitter feed, and podcast.  https://www.emmasouthon.com  Twitter - @nuclearteeth History is Sexy Podcast

Tenacity is a trait common among PhDs. The drive to find answers, solve problems, develop solutions, or improve upon what is already established and or commonplace. For Cathy Dundon the PhD journey begins with an early introduction into the wonders of cells and DNA. Her curiosity leads to a PhD and then to working to solve problems as industry looks to alternatives to hydrocarbon based packaging and fuels. The journey now is focused on helping other scientists realize their dreams of making the world a better place.

Samer Hijazi can point to a Japanese cartoon for being the inspiration for his pursuit of a PhD in Electrical Engineering. The cartoon was about a robot that understood what he was being told, but didn’t speak, but serves the greater good. This is the starting line for a love of technology and inspired a desire to build robots. Eventually the path leads to improvements to wireless communication networks and finally to a career focused on improving the ability for computers to better understand what people are really talking about.  

The adventures of Gabrielle Palmer are rooted in her childhood. An early love of art carried her through college studies, taking her to Ecuador and Spain, and inspiring her to lead the restoration of an 18th Century Spanish Church sitting in Downtown Sante Fe, New Mexico. Along the way she met a king, led the efforts to save the. historic trail of the Spanish, and continues to explore the wonders of art.

Peter McGraw's PhD journey, both to the dissertation and after has taken him around the world. Pretty exciting for a guy with an interest for quantitative psychology and an  understanding of why people make the decisions they do,.  Then there's the whole interest in what makes something funny. but don't laugh, it was all part of the plan.   Peter's website https://www.petermcgraw.org     Twitter - @PeterMcGraw

Robin O’Keefe knew at a young age what he wanted to do with his life, the problem was his older self didn’t listen at first. But it all turned out for the best and Robin is doing exactly what he was meant to do, a paleontologist that teaches a lot of general biology classes, including human anatomy. WHAT?! There have also been some adventures, like the time he was in the African desert at the beginning of the Gulf War. Hunting for dinosaur bones is exciting.

The ability to push through obstacles is a defining quality in Donna Halper’s PhD journey.  She had a goal of being on the radio and a bunch of college boys in the 60s were not going to keep her from her dream. When Donna realized the radio industry was changing she decided a new path was to be followed and she could use her radio past to build her future. The ultimate goal would require some work though, a dissertation, something that would be a challenge for Donna almost 35 years removed from her undergrad. http://www.donnahalper.com    Twitter link @DevorahLeah

The PhD journey for Dr. Rochelle Dalla has been focused on women who have found themselves on the margins of society; first Native American teenage mothers and then sex workers in the middle of America and then India. These are women that find themselves in constant states of crisis and for Rochelle she has found a passion for telling their stories. But this wasn’t the plan, but there wasn’t a plan for Rochelle and this journey’s is justification for not having a plan, because it can open you to great possibilities.

Sometimes the journey to a PhD has nothing to do with the PhD at all, it has to do with the ultimate goal. For Paige Backlund Jarquin her journey to her PhD started with a realization she wanted to work to improve the public health system. Now the statement of the goal wasn’t immediate, it took some time and a relocation to Washington, D.C. It was working in the trenches of public health when she had her, for lack of a better term, epiphany, and knew in order to reach the goal she would have to get her PhD.

David Conti’s path to his PhD started when he discovered he quite liked the way genetics helped him answer some of the questions he had about the world around him. It started with butterflies and then moved onto to identifying disease characteristics in our own genome. (I think I got this right.) Now his work finds him being more of a computer programer and statistician as he works to help identify how genetics impacts disease.

The 1950s were an exciting time for Joe Romig. Playing football and a passion for astronomy took him to the University of Colorado, in Boulder. He found great success at both. After his undergrad he went to England to study at Oxford, then returned home as part of the efforts to study the solar system. His never-ending curiosity led him to a career investigating explosions and fires, while also teaching at his alma mater.

Asking good questions are at the heart of all PhD journeys. For Andy Sayler it was a bit different. The questions he was asking didn’t have answers to be derived by laboratory experiments or field investigations. The questions he was working to answer had more to do with the discussion on how to keep digital information secure at the same time the users of the information can be productive with it. https://www.andysayler.com 

Thinking about the role of technology and data in the world is just one of the big questions Shawn DuBravac, PhD is asking these days. Specifically he is focused on digitization. It is more than just the shifting from an analog world to a world build on  ones and zeros, Shawn is working on identifying the ways society is being changed by the transformation into a digital world and how all people can benefit from technological innovations. http://digitaldestiny.com https://twitter.com/shawndubravac

Telling the stories of people was the driving force behind Padraic Kenney’s desire to get his doctorate. He didn't know what he was going to do after that, he just knew he liked to tell stories. So he told a story about the rise of the Communist Revolution in two Polish cities.  The thing is he did this work while another revolution unfolded around him. He has held onto the theme of revolution throughout his work and his new book tells the stories of people imprisoned because they want to change their world. Linked to the book :https://global.oup.com/academic/product/dance-in-chains-9780199375745?q=kenney&lang=en&cc=us Linked to Padraic’s website: http://pages.iu.edu/~pjkenney/

One might think that an undergrad degree in Leisure Studies wouldn’t lead to much more than a couch. That is certainly not the case for Justin Harmon. Sure the years right after graduation were a bit on the lackadaisical side of life, he was working, but he was more focused on the living. It wasn’t until the end of his masters that he found his calling and a way to turn a love of music into a study of culture.

Teaching and filmmaking drive Sheila Schroeder. One is not more important than the other; for Sheila it is an almost symbiotic relationship. Her passion for filmmaking was fortified in graduate school where she she thought she was just going to be a teacher. Then she realized it would take a PhD to reach her final goal. https://portfolio.du.edu/sschroed/page/75

Brian Zaharatos has is certainly a man of many interests. He has managed to take one of those to the finish line with a Doctorate in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. There is a second point of interest also compelling and keeps him thinking and more than likely he will someday, not to far away, have a second PhD. In  the meantime he’ll keep stuffing young minds with the wonders of applied math. Here is a link to Brian's Blog  https://bzaharatos.wordpress.com

Today’s journey begins with a father who is a HS biology teacher sharing his love of the natural world with his children. Throw in some art, an adventure with the Peace Corp in Central America and you end in a museum.  Sounds a little like Indiana Jones. Here’s the link to the lab website  http://spot.colorado.edu/~mccainc/index.htm 

Never discount the power of a grandmother and her ability to instill a love of literature into a young boy. That's just one of many themes in the journey of Adam Bradley. Other themes include strong mentors, a love of Rap and Hip-Hop music and finding a way to combine all of this into a wonderful stew that is working to further the discussion of race and inequality in America. Link to Adam Bradley's website : http://www.adamfbradley.com 

There can’t be many PhD journeys that last 35 years from day one of college to final ceremony, but for Joe Loughry it just made sense. He  knew from an early age he wanted to get his PhD, but to get there he needed to put in some time in the real world of computer programming and cyber security.

What do fruit flies and the video game Mass Effect have in common? you might not think very much, but today on the podcast those are major themes. You see fruit flies have been the focus of study for Eric Spana, PhD, in between games of Mass Effect and any number of other video games he loves to play. Then he decided to mash up his love of science and video games and talks about at science fiction conventions. Its a great gig. Academic by day, video game junkie at  night.

There’s nothing quite like a shiny new PhD. The burdens of the academic journey have slid off the shoulders of Chris Haynes, and now he needs to figure out what comes next. The journey was anything but a straight line. He grew up in a family of academics, so it is in his genes. His academic focus started with music, then it was onto medieval literature, and ended with comic books. Not exactly a traditional English Lit kinda guy and its probably not your traditional dissertation. But for Chris, the end of the this journey is just the beginning of another journey allowing him to engage in old conversations, while being the creator of brand new ones.

Dr. Shawn Sapp is the lead scientist in a forensic engineering firm, that means he investigates the causes and origins of accidents. But it’s not really where he expected to end up after finishing his doctorate. To be honest, given his experiences during his PhD it makes sense he would end up here, because his journey can be perhaps be defined with one word; change.

Dr Erin Macdonald’s love of science came from watching Star Trek, specifically Captain Kathryn Janeway. She went to Scotland for her PhD where she put together the building blocks investigators would later use to identify gravitational waves. But you know dreams change. She been working in the aerospace industry of late, but now she wants to spread the word about science and one of the places she does that is comic book and science fiction conventions. Here’s the link to Erin’s website http://www.erinpmacdonald.com follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/drerinmac 

For Steve Lamos the path to his doctorate was actually more about staying in school to play in a band. It wasn’t until he had established himself as a tenured professor that the dreams of his childhood were realized, being a touring musician. Now he has to balance adult responsibilities  with those dreams starting to come true. Here’s the link to Steve’s band http://www.americanfootballmusic.com 

For Wendy Vaulton the road to her PhD was longer than most. After her course work was completed at Brandeis University she had to get a job so she could live. Then she got in involved in other really nifty policy stuff and the dissertation took a back seat, or maybe it went in the...... Continue Reading →

Zach Reed wasn’t the best student in HS or early on in college, it also didn’t help that he had to fight cancer. But it was a food science class that helped defined his PhD journey. It was also advantageous that Zach likes to cook and enjoyed his chemistry classes. These were the perfect ingredients for a PhD in Food Science.

Today's guest on the podcast is an environmental toxicologist who had a bit of a circuitous route to his PhD. We talk about balancing  family, research, classroom, and lab time in route to a PhD in Zoology.

It's the premier episode of Piled high and Deep - The Podcast. My first guest is Elizabeth Dunn, PhD. She talks about her journey from Colorado, to France, China, Poland, and Georgia and how a study in food turns into a new passion project, refugees.

What's this new thing all about?