Jeff's View on Science and Scientists

Jeffs Views provide witty, insightful, and thought-provoking looks into the life of a modern scientist. From starting off to letting go, Gottfried (Jeff) Schatz leads us through the trials and triumphs of scientific life. With his tongue firmly in his cheek, and his humour always intact, the Austrian essayist leads us through the confusing and seemingly insurmountable hill that is the career path of European scientists. In addition to giving useful insights into how to get funding, give seminars, and still find time to make that leading edge scientific discovery, Jeff explores the philosophical dimensions of recent biological breakthroughs such as the sequencing of the human genome, the evolution of sensory receptors, and cellular suicide. Gottfried Schatz is one of the worlds leading scientists in the field of bioenergetics and mitochondria biology. Born in a small Austrian village, he started his scientific career at the University of Graz, and ended it as President of the Swiss Science and Technology Council. With stints as a violinist in Austrian opera houses, professorships in the USA and Switzerland, and numerous prestigious awards along the way, Jeff is a true European, whose unique, and often controversial, viewpoints are appreciated by scientists and politicians alike. These essays look at science from a very personal angle often critical, sometimes sad, but always with excitement, wonder, and admiration. It is hoped that they will make you look at science with a slightly different view. Witty, insightful, and thought-provoking looks into life of a modern scientist Provides useful insights on how to get funding, give seminars, and still find time to make thatscientific discovery *Explores recent breakthroughs in science: genome sequencing, sensory receptor evolution, and cellular suicide Zusammenfassung Leads us through the trials and triumphs of scientific life. Offering useful insights into how to get funding, give seminars, and still find time to make that scientific discovery, this book explores the philosophical dimensions of biological breakthroughs: the genome sequencing, the evolution of sensory receptors, and cellular suicide....

Autorentext
Gottfried Schatz, geb. 1936 in Strem, einem kleinen österreichischen Dorf an der ungarischen Grenze, studierte Chemie an der Universität Graz und arbeitete dann als Assistent von Hans Tuppy an der Universität Wien, wo er zusammen mit anderen die DNS der Mitochondrien entdeckte. Von 1964-66 forschte er am Public Health Research Institute der Stadt New York als Postdoktorand des Wiener Emigranten Efraim Racker über die ATP-Bildung in Mitochondrien. Nach einem kurzen Zwischenaufenthalt in Wien emigrierte er 1968 mit seiner Familie in die USA, wo er als Professor für Biochemie an der Cornell University in Ithaca (Staat New York) tätig war. 1974 berief ihn die Universität Basel an das neu gegründete Biozentrum, das er zeitweise leitete. Für seine Entdeckungen über die Bildung von Mitochondrien erhielt er zahlreiche Auszeichnungen und zwei Ehrendoktorate. Nach seiner Emeritierung im Jahre 2000 präsidierte er vier Jahre lang den Schweizerischen Wissenschafts- und Technologierat. In jungen Jahren spielte er auch als Geiger im Grazer Philharmonischen Orchester, an der Grazer Oper und an der Wiener Volksoper. Seine dänische Frau Merete und er haben drei Kinder.

Inhalt
Letter to a young scientist; How not to give a seminar; Me and my genome; My other genomes; The tragic matter; My secret university; Mighty manganese; My two blues; Postdocs; The art of stepping back; Networks, fretworks; Euro-Blues; The severed chains; Five easy steps to get rid of your lab; The risks of playing safe; Chauvinism in science; Letting go