Watersheds: The Making of a Research Scientist (Paperback or Softback)

Research scientists are the people who find out everything we know about our world; physics, chemistry and biology. From the largest, such as the expansion of the universe, to the smallest, like the identity of sub-atomic particles, and to the most profound; is there extraterrestrial life?

Michael Guppy is a retired biochemist and in the first five chapters, describes his life as a series of serendipitous accidents which culminated in him becoming a research scientist. These 'accidents' took the form of watershed events and watershed people. As his life progressed, its erratic path was littered with dead-ends, misconceived detours and periods of aimless and stagnant indecision. But just as watersheds determine the paths of raindrops, the author's watersheds, independent of, and at times despite him, continued to unerringly guide and steer his life towards the final outcome; a productive and successful scientist.

In the last two chapters the author candidly and modestly describes in detail, the multi-faceted, onerous, difficult and ultimately rewarding aspects that comprise the lot of the research scientist. The dedication, the years involved, and the rigorous standards supporting the discoveries come to life, and provide the reader with a rare insight into this demanding world.

Michael Guppy (1950- ) did his undergraduate degree at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, a PhD at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and then, over 20 years, rose to the level of Associate Professor in Biochemistry at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia. His research interests over those 20 years included metabolic depression in animals like desert frogs, lungfish and diving seals, and the metabolism of cancer cells. These interests took him to exotic places like the Amazon River and Antarctica. He retired in 2004, to a 20 hectare property in Australia where he writes and studies the bird community on the property.