I knew from a very young age that I wanted to pursue a career in science. As I was attending high school I was enthralled by the Jacques Cousteau series that was shown on television and decided that I wanted to pursue marine biology as a career. Consequently, I decided to attend the University of Tampa and pursue a double major in Marine Science and Biology. I quickly, discovered, however, that there were many other students with the "Jacque Cousteau syndrome" and that there were far more students pursuing careers in marine biology then there were positions available. At that time, the University of Tampa had a unique program that enabled students to complete a triple major in marine science, biology, and chemistry. I decided that, while this was an ambitious program, if I wanted to strengthen my ability to pursue a career in marine biology that I had to make myself unique. It took a little longer and I had much fewer electives that other students, but I was able to complete the triple major. While a triple major is very difficult, I do believe that if students would like to pursue a career in a competitive field such as marine biology that they should consider a double major. Once I completed my degree finding employment was still a challenge so I decided to teach high school science for a year at a small private school. This was truly the most educational experience of my life. There is an old saying that it is the teacher that learns the most and I can attest that it is very true. At that point I decided to enroll in graduate school with the desire to apply my expertise in chemistry to solving biological problems. I met a scientist whose research was very similar to my objectives and he said that I needed to broaden (!) my background and learn some geology. Thus I experienced a major change in latitude and enrolled in his program in the Earth Sciences department of the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Newfoundland, Canada. There I pursued both a masters and Ph.D. in which I applied geochemical techniques to studies of marine geology and chemical oceanography. Now I find that I have finally come full circle for I am now, in my career as a professor, applying geochemical techniques to better understand biological processes.

In my current job as a professor in the Geological Sciences department at Michigan State University my activities are largely divided into teaching and research. I teach a variety of classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels that include Environmental Geology, The Dynamic Earth, Oceanography, Isotope Geochemistry and Analytical Geochemistry. Teaching is extremely important to me because I believe that educating students on environmental problems and solutions to those problems is the most effective way I have for addressing the difficulties we all face as the Earth becomes increasingly stressed by human activities. About half of my time is spent in scientific research which includes writing proposals to support research projects, working in the laboratory, and working in the field. Many students enter the environmental sciences because of a desire to spend time on field research but I would estimate that less than 10% of my time is actually spent in the field. Although much of field work is fun and challenging, after my first research cruise in which I spent 8 hours a day staring at a chart recorder while the boat rocked in 20 foot seas my enthusiasm for field research waned a bit. I am also involved in training graduate students to become future scientists and very much enjoy the enthusiasm that they bring to their work. I currently have research projects studying the bioaccumulation of toxins in Great Lakes fish, and the release of nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas) from agricultural soils and from the Pacific Ocean off of Hawaii.

I think what I enjoy most about my job is that I am my own boss. I am free to teach what I think is most important in my classes and can chose what subjects I would like to pursue in my research. I also greatly enjoy solving problems. Many of the analyses we do are very difficult and involve instrumentation that is often made or modified by ourselves. When I was younger, I found that I had little interest in mechanical things but in my job now I find that I enjoy the challenge of trouble-shooting an instrument or developing a technique that no one has done before. I apply this same interest in studying nature because there is nothing I find more interesting that finding a mystery in nature that no one has solved before and try to puzzle it out. The best example I can offer of this is the spontaneous precipitation of calcium carbonate called "whitings" that occur in many waters around the world but are most prevalent off of the Bahamas Banks. I remember swimming in these waters in which the visibility is normally 100 feet or so and in the course of a few minutes so much calcium carbonate had precipitated that I could not see my hand when it was 6 inches from my face. Chemists had been studying this phenomena for years but could not predict them based on chemical principles. I was able to participate in a study of whitings organized by Lisa Robbins of the University of South Florida and we've been able to provide a great deal of evidence indicating that there is a biological control to whitings. They seem to be triggered by blooms of microscopic plants in the water. It is a wonderful thing to be able to participate in trying to solve a truly fascinating mystery.

Perhaps what I like least about the job is the long hours required to do my job well. Many students have the perception that professors have it fairly easy with 3 months a year off in the summer and a sabbatical every 7 years when we don't have to teach. This is very far from the truth. Research involves an incredible time commitment and when we do have time off of teaching we are usually very busy in the laboratory. It is common for me to work 50-60 hours each week and as many as 80 when I am involved in a major project. But I have spoken to many people in business, computers or law and that have told me that this is not necessarily uncommon. What is uncommon is to have the freedom to pursue my own research interests and be my own boss that makes the long hours well worth the effort.

In general, I think that interest and demand for people applying chemical techniques to solve environmental problems is increasing, although not as much as in other areas. There certainly is considerable interest by students, the government and business in protecting the environment and identifying environmental problems. However, the solutions are often very expensive and more often than not the solutions depend upon governments enacting legislation or putting forth funds in a time when government spending is stringent. Nonetheless, there are good career opportunities within the government at both the state and federal levels, for example in the EPA or DEQ, and in the private sector, primarily within environmental consulting firms. Positions as a professor are limited but always open to students with strong academic backgrounds and the determination to succeed.

A strong background in the sciences, math and english is essential for a career as an environmental scientist. Many students underestimate the importance of english courses but I spend a great deal of time writing scientific papers and my students that are now in environmental consulting tell me that writing reports is a large portion of their jobs. Don't shy away from the hard science courses such as math, chemistry and physics. A great many biologists have made their careers through applications of chemistry to understand biological problems or the use of mathematics to understand animal behavior. But I also think that the best thing that you can do is to follow your heart. I was told that careers in biology were limited and that I might be better off pursuing a different direction. Nonetheless, I decided that it was what I wanted to do, though recognized that I had better make myself unique and give myself the best training possible so that I might stand out from the crowd. Perhaps the greatest advice I think that anyone can follow is to understand that the Earth and the Universe are enormously complex and vast. There are countless mysteries waiting to be solved and they are waiting for you to take advantage of them. To me, there is no greater activity than the pursuit of mysteries.