Intro; Contents; Preface; Career and Life Guidance; Process and Organization; Acknowledgments; How to Read This Book; I -- The Entrepreneurs; 1 -- Love of the Unknown; Shuttling between Countries; An Early Specialization; A Lifelong Influence; Juggling Grad School and Family; An Unexpected Direction; From Scientist to Manager; About the Subject; 2 -- A Lab of My Own; High School Biotech; Social Scientist to Biologist; Leaving Academia; About the Subject; 3 -- A Mathematical Modeler; An Early Interest in Math; Looking for a Field and a Topic; About the Subject; 4 -- A Long-Standing Interest

Starting OutAn Industrial Experience; Envisioning a Company; Building a Company; Exploring New Opportunities; About the Subject; 5 -- Start-up or Large Venture; Immigrants and Parachutes; Engineering Molecules; Creating a Start-up; About the Subject; 6 -- A Company with Values; Science Fairs and New Math; Engineering a Start-up; Learning Research and Business; About the Subject; 7 -- A Bigger Picture; Early Learning in Science and Humanities; Creating Life; Fascinating Field but Tedious Experiments; A Better Fit; About the Subject; 8 -- Personal Connections and Serendipity

A Telescope in the BasementGraduate School; A Difficult Decision; A Chance Encounter; Volunteering; About the Subject; 9 -- Tangible Products; An Entrepreneurial Spirit; Classics and Chemistry; Graduate School for Two; Product Design; Returning Home to Cleveland; About the Subject; 10 -- From Health Care to Robotics; Finding Mentors; Creating Companies; About the Subject; 11 -- Adapting and Creating; Physicists as Heroes; A Lifelong Mentor; Starting a Company; About the Author; 12 -- My Dream Job; Family Values; A Rigorous High School; A Support Network; A Terrible First Job; A Dream Second Job

Becoming an EnablerAbout the Subject; 13 -- From Outsider to Collaborator; A Roving Childhood; Muddling into College; Staying at LLNL for Graduate School; Military Research; Becoming a Biologist; The Human Genome; About the Subject; 14 -- Troubleshooter and Leader; From Forestry to Engineering; Leading a Team; Mentors and Leaders; An Independent Troubleshooter; About the Subject; 15 -- Learning Business by Finding a Market; A Large University Experiment; An Equipment Supplier; Impressing Initial Customers; Raising Capital; Running a Business; Downsizing to Stay Afloat; A New Organization

A Legal Dispute with a CustomerMarket Diversification; About the Author; II -- The Academics; 16 -- The Right Environment; An Interest in Nature; Moving toward Biology; A Favorite Protein; Balancing Academics and Family; About the Subject; 17 -- The Advantage of Not Fitting in; An Immigrant in New York City; Role Models; Passionate about Physics; Becoming a Theorist; A Difficult Choice; About the Subject; 18 -- The Long Way Round; Choosing a Direction; A Computer Scientist; A Different World; Deferring the Academic Dream; Returning to Academia; About the Subject; 19 -- A Flash of Inspiration

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Scientists offer personal accounts of the challenges, struggles, successes, U-turns, and satisfactions encountered in their careers in industry, academia, and government.

Also available in print.

Mode of access: World Wide Web

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