Life as an academic

Dr. J. Temple Black, professor emeritus in the ISE Department, spoke to our seminar today about "life as an academic."  He was quite inspiring!  I'm disappointed that I won't be taking a class from him.  He loves teaching; he writes prolifically; he plays tennis regularly; and he loves Auburn.  His presentation was informative, appropriately humorous, touching and motivating.  I'm willing to bet that he teaches his courses in the same style.

He began his academic career teaching while a master's candidate and knew from that early experience that academia was where he wanted to be.  I had a similar experience when I was a master's candidate at Auburn.  Teaching Fortran and Cobol computer languages when I was 21 was one of the most fun jobs I've had.  And, teaching Lego Mindstorms last fall was  a close second!  He told us that one of the best things about working in academia is being your own boss.  That has become quite important to me over the years and I'm not sure I want to work in an environment where I'm not my own boss.  If I can figure out funding, I'm probably going to pursue (from New Orleans) my PhD.

I just heard that someone in England has answered the age old question, "What came first...the chicken or the egg?  They've found a protein that is necessary to create an egg that only comes from a chicken so they say that proves the chicken came first.  This is the sort of things people in academia work on...