
Interview Question 8 with Dr. Thomas Rossby
8. What are the opportunities in the study of ocean currents? Can people with out PhDs participate in some way in this type of research?
Question 8 transcript:
"No question about it. There's no need for a PhD for much of the things we do. Yes, I have a PhD, but the PhD that I have is of little use in the context of what I do today. The engineers don't have PhDs , they have a very varied background. What is critical is that they have a genuine interest in their work and stay on top of their field so that they know what kinds of tools, semi-conductors, materials are available to help us realize the types of instruments we have in mind. So, dedication and interest is crucial, more than a high form of education, to much of what we do. That's on the instrument development side, but there's much more to that in the scientific endeavor. There's data analysis, or rather, I should say the data reduction first in preparation and then we have the data analysis. There we have had a number of good people, John Lillibridge in the past and Sandy Fontana in our group today. She's absolutely fantastic. Without her we - I'm not sure what we would do. She has a masters degree, she's extremely talented and has a higher, more formal training. The education that you get is of course very very important, but its not long after you've gotten whatever degree you might have gotten that that becomes relatively unimportant compared to the continued learning that you are prepared to go through and grow with the project that you have. So, it's an evolving process."
Interview Questions:
- How did you first become interested in science?
- What is the focus of your research and why did you choose this field of study?
- What have been some recent discoveries in the study of ocean currents?
- How do you use acoustics to study ocean currents?
- What challenges have you faced in studying ocean currents?
- What has most surprised you about studying ocean currents?
- What skills are important in your area of research?
- What are the opportunities in the study of ocean currents? Can people with out PhDs participate in some way in this type of research?
- What is the greatest impact/relevance of your research?
- What continues to inspire you about your work?
- What advice would you give a high school student who expressed an interst in pursuing a career in your field?
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