Interview with:Don Schaffner [dschaffner]
SCIENCE
 | What do you investigate? What is at the heart of your research? We study food poisoning bacteria. |
| Do you have a link to a site where we can see something about you, or the center where you work? http://foodsci.rutgers.edu/schaffner/index.html |
| What is your educational background? What work experience did you have before this? BS, MS, PhD. I've never had a real job. |
| Did you keep your nose to the grindstone in school? Nope. |
| What kind of technology are you using for your research right now? Traditional tools, petri plates, dilution bottles, pipettes, etc. And computers, mostly Macs. |
| What types of experiments do you conduct? How are the conclusions documented? We study bacterial growth, death and transfer. We publish papers. |
| If you conclude your investigation successfully, what practical application would it have in everyday life? It would make food safer and prevent food poisoning. |
| What is a "eureka" moment? What is it like to experience one? When suddenly something makes science. It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. |
| What do you find to be the most difficult aspects of your research? Dealing with the University bureaucracy. |
| What have you published? Lots. http://foodsci.rutgers.edu/schaffner/publications.html |
| Should there be more public financing for scientific investigation? More is better. We are amply funded now. |
| What is your personal position on the use of animals in scientific investigation? We don't use them. |
| Can you briefly explain the difference between common logic and the scientific method? Not much difference in my opinion. |
| What is science and what is pseudoscience? Who decides which is which? Hard question. I'm going to skip it. |
| What is the role of creativity in the scientific method? Science is all about creativity. |
| What it is the most intriguing scientific question that you would like to see resolved? I don't know. |
| What scientific explanation is there for spirituality? Are religion and science incompatible? Some religions are incompatible. |
| Is there some area of knowledge that is morally unacceptable to you? Skipping this one too. |
| Is there another way science could be studied in schools? Science should be taught by experimentation, not lecture. |
| What is the best way to disseminate science in the mass media? Scientists need to talk to reporters. |
| Why do two or more scientists often come up simultaneously with the same discovery? I don't know. |
| What is the meaning of life? Is there a scientific answer to this question? 42. |
| Investigating is to live on the frontier of knowledge. Can you explain that sentiment? No. |
| What would be your dream to work on for your next research project? I don't understand the question. |
| If you could give just one piece of advice to beginning researchers, what would it be? Don't give up. Keep trying. |
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407 visits Whohub
Don Schaffner
New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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99701 interviews created
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