The words “cool” and “job” generally aren’t the first thing to come into people’s minds when you mention science as a career. To explain what it is to be a scientist can be a difficult task, as what people perceive in their minds about how science is done is often very different than the reality. Furthermore, trying to explain why you should become a scientist to a child can be difficult in the face of other more glamorous or seemingly easier career choices. “Cool Jobs” at the WSF aimed to address these issues by presenting a range of different scientists who have “some of the coolest jobs out there” and present this in a way that was accessible to curious minds of all ages. The event was hosted by Majora Carter, a pioneer in the progressive environmental movement, especially in New York.
The first presentation was by Maurizio Seracini, who has been also named “The Da Vinci Detective”, due to his leading work on using forensic science to investigate major works of art by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, Caravaggio. Dr Seracini presented in detail how he studies and treats his “patients” (the works of art). By studying the degradation, we can learn how to preserve these masterpieces. As an example we see the “the Pregnant Lady” (by Raphael) under normal and ultraviolet fluorescent light. The differences are quite stark in the decay that is happening to this painting. Using a combination of techniques and light sources (a method called multispectral diagnostic imaging), including radiography, reflectography near infrared, and UV, Dr Seracini revealed some fascinating discoveries other than just portrait decay. What was remarkable was that in many cases under the visible surface of famous works of art, there were in some cases numerous hidden layers of alterations.
The prime example of this was in Leonardo da Vinci’s painting the “Adoration of the Magi” which hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence (Dr Seracini’s home city). On the surface the painting looks monochrome brown, however using a IR reflectogram, analysis reveals underneath, many detailed and complex hidden drawing by Leonardo. Most remarkable he concluded that the painting on the surface was not put there by Leonardo, but by another artist.
Dr Seracini has expanded his work to investigate buildings by similar approaches revealing hidden architecture, buried beneath recent renovation to buildings. His most recent achievement is the discovery of da Vinci’s most famous and lost piece of work (The Battle of Anghiari), buried in the walls of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. As Dr Seracini’s stated, “you have to interact with your culture and heritage and science can do that”. Further, his work allows us to see art like it has never been seen before.
Following this was Hazel Barton who’s work is the study of microorganisms in caves. Training in her lab involves leaning how to rock climb and ascend from great height with ropes and equipment. Not your usual grad school experience. Her particular interest is to understand how organisms can live in the absence of the sun. The organisms that live down in these cases (usually around 300 foot down) are known as extremophiles. In addition to climbing around deep caves in all areas of the world, this also involves scuba gear and working in crawl spaces as little as 5 inches. Add to this, trying to collect specimens and do science at the same time and this makes for some interesting field work. The implications of Dr Barton’s work are vast including the discovery of novel antibiotics, the understanding of how microorganisms could be used to remove carbon dioxide from the air and the break down of pesticides. Dr Barton’s work on extremophiles has also led to her work with NASA on keeping the Mars Lander microbe free.
The next presentation was by Tyrone Hayes who turned a childhood fascination with frogs into a career. Dr Hayes presented how complex the development of a frog is, where two different sets of genes are needed for tadpole and mature frog development. However, the frog is a great model for water quality as its development is severely affected by chemical pollutants in its habitat. One particular chemical Dr Hayes found to be a problem was the pesticide atrazine. This is no longer is use in Europe, but is still heavily used in the US. Atrazine (a herbicide) was found to inhibit the production of testosterone and induces estrogen, leading to feminization of males in amphibians. Dr Hayes showed that in frogs this resulted in gonadal malformations in males leading to the development of egg production in the testes. These findings and Dr Hayes concern for the public health from drinking or using this water has led him into the realm of public health.
The final presentation was by Dickson Despommier who spent may years researching parasitic worms, before changing direction in research to sustainable urban farms. In his current work (The Vertical Farm Project), the idea is to change abandoned building and tall buildings into integrating agriculture into large cities. These multi-story farming buildings would allow year-round fresh and locally grown food. The added benefits would be that large areas of the world used for intensive farming could be restored to their natural habitats and benefit the environment.
The message of this event is really that there is no set route to a scientific career and that as diverse the research that was presented, the way these people reached the jobs they enjoy was just as varied. In the end, it is doing any form of science that you are passionate about that is the “cool job”.