Photo by Kerry Landers courtesy Nel Venzon, Jr.
Montgomery Fellow Dr. Sidney Altman with Graduate Student Nel Venzon, Jr.
Hard work and diligent service to both scientific integrity and liberal arts education are important foundations of a successful career to Nobel Laureate Dr. Sidney Altman. On November 2, students and faculty from the Arts and Sciences, Dartmouth Medical School, and Dartmouth College had the opportunity to sit down for a roundtable lunch with Dr. Altman who has been speaking at Dartmouth as a Montgomery Fellow.
From plush seats at the Montgomery House, students had a chance to ask questions informally of the prestigious scientist. Usually, these questions are asked through lecterns in impersonal lecture halls, but because of the unique commitment of the Montgomery Fellows program, students got a chance to sit down over lunch and talk to Dr. Altman in a more intimate setting. Students used this opportunity to not only ask pertinent questions about specific research regarding RNA sequencing, but also to ask about the more casual topic of the scientific lifestyle.
“The ability to work hard, perseverance, patience, and curiosity” are three characteristics vitally important for scientists to have, said Dr. Altman. Stressing hard work, he added, “None of the successful scientists I know do anything but work hard. If you are lazy, you are out of the picture.” In all professions there are periods of idleness where there doesn't seem to be any research, or material, moving forward. “You must discipline yourself to work through those,” he added.
Hard work can be seen as the frame around the picture of Dr. Altman's career. The Nobel Prize winning chemist, who while running a lab at Yale engaged in award winning research, was also Dean of the College for two separate terms. “When I finished” being Dean, “ I was utterly exhausted - mentally and physically.” He elaborated on work days that began early in the morning in his lab before going to the Dean's office where he would have to see to the administration of a myriad of duties pertinent to the effective operations and planning needed for a world class institution. Issues of faculty appointments, curriculum, and student life had to be balanced along with his research.
Of his time as Dean, “I learned a great deal about undergraduate education. I am proud of the particular achievements of what we did. It wasn't trivial; we did things that made a difference in how students are educated. We cared a lot more about our undergraduates” than most comparable institutions, he said. Dr. Altman was proud of his tenure, which included working on improving undergraduate writing and science skills through upper class and graduate tutors directly engaged with students. These steps helped improve the lives of students directly.
Such a rigorous schedule and fast paced career is indeed daunting to consider, but there was reason to hope that work wasn't the only thing on a successful scientists mind. “All of the mature scientists I know have personal lives. I don't know any senior scientist that doesn't have a personal life,” he said relieving some of those fears. Dr. Altman's career has been prestigious in terms of groundbreaking research, but even more amazing considering what he has done outside of the lab for his home institution as Dean of Yale and still having a life outside of his work.
Dr. Sidney Altman won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989 for his research discovering catalytic RNA. He is currently the Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University. Dr. Altman was brought to Dartmouth College through the Montgomery Fellows Program. Established in 1977 through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Montgomery 25' to “provide for the advancement of the academic realm of the college”, the Montgomery Fellows sponsor major international figures in both the academic and nonacademic communities.
~Ian Isherwood
