Jeff's View : on Science and Scientists

Jeff’s Views provide witty, insightful, and thought-provoking looks into the life of a modern scientist. From starting off to letting go, Gottfried (“Jeff”) Schatz leads us through the trials and triumphs of scientific life. With his tongue firmly in his cheek, and his humour always intact, the Austrian essayist leads us through the confusing and seemingly insurmountable hill that is the career path of European scientists. In addition to giving useful insights into how to get funding, give seminars, and still find time to make that leading edge scientific discovery, Jeff explores the philosophical dimensions of recent biological breakthroughs such as the sequencing of the human genome, the evolution of sensory receptors, and cellular suicide. Gottfried Schatz is one of the world’s leading scientists in the field of bioenergetics and mitochondria biology. Born in a small Austrian village, he started his scientific career at the University of Graz, and ended it as President of the Swiss Science and Technology Council. With stints as a violinist in Austrian opera houses, professorships in the USA and Switzerland, and numerous prestigious awards along the way, Jeff is a true European, whose unique, and often controversial, viewpoints are appreciated by scientists and politicians alike. These essays look at science from a very personal angle – often critical, sometimes sad, but always with excitement, wonder, and admiration. It is hoped that they will make you look at science with a slightly different view.