Soft Science, Meet Hard Science

What do a Russian Revolutionary, a quiet assistant professor of geology at Ohio State, and a Nobel Laureate have to do with this geoarchaeologist's weekend?

In a strange twist of cosmic events, the stars aligned for one unbelievable evening on Saturday June 10th in New York City. Yes indeed this story goes back to the Russian Revolution, where Vladimir I. Lenin had a hand in my long time geology friend Matt's birth. Don't take my word for it, read for yourself.

Matt Williams was an aspiring paleontologist in the integrated science program at Northwestern University. Matt was at a crossroads near the end of his undergraduate career in 2002. He could either pursue graduate school in geology at the University of Cincinnati or head to The Ohio State University. Dr. Matthew R. Saltzman from OSU decided that he really wanted Matt in our program, and offered him sums of money, thus sealing Matt's decision... thus sealing our meeting in Larry Krissek's Sed/Strat course, thus sealing our friendship in Bill Ausich's Carbonate Sedimentology class. Last summer, Matt received word that he got the job as a NYC Teaching Fellow and off he went to begin his career as a 10th grade science teacher. This is how he, along with several of my other friends, made their way up to the big city.

It just so happened that when I planned this trip to the Big Apple several months ago, Matt's parents were planning to be in town as well and an extra ticket was secured for me to see Peter Orth at the Lincoln Center. At the time I agreed to take in this show on the Saturday evening of my trip, I had no idea that I would be eating out of the same vegetable tray as James Watson, discoverer of the DNA molecule, Nobel Laureate.
Yes, this man you see pictured here sat merely a few rows in front of me during the Peter Orth concert and then sipped wine and snacked aplenty with me at the after party. If only I had the chance to ask this skillfull, hard scientist just what he thought about those of us practicing what is often termed "soft science". Perhaps he would have given me advice to go after the big unknowns in order to make a difference in the world's understanding of the first Americans. Yes, I believe James Watson would want me to do that.