Scientist's assistant

I wrote this almost two years ago and am just adding it now.

I have landed a great volunteer position assisting a local scientist with some geology experiments. I don't have any particular qualifications for the job other than time and willingness. I suppose being related to this scientist helped land me the position. My job as his assistant involves many things.

First I find suitable locations for performing experiments. This means I get to find appropriate outdoor places we can go on warm, sunny days (though rainy or cold days will work in a pinch). I get to spend time outside, feeling the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. The hours are flexible and can be changed to suit my schedule.

My second duty is to find suitable specimens for his scientific study. As it is geology, this means I look for rocks. He is currently working with many different types of rocks, mostly igneous as these are the easiest specimens to obtain in the locations in which we work. While he is performing his experiments, I am nearby, looking for more rocks.

The experiment he performs looks quite simple, but there is a lot to it. Rocks are propelled into the river- some larger rocks, some smaller rocks, flat rocks and round rocks, brown rocks and grey rocks and pink rocks. For scientific data to be considered reliable, experiments have to be repeated many, many times. Each rock can only be used once as retrieving the rock for a second go-around is generally not possible. Thus I need to find many, many rocks for experiments. This isn't too hard. We simply go to places with a lot of rocks.

One of my jobs as the assistant is to keep the scientist with whom I work safe. He gets so engrossed in the experiments he does that potential dangers are not always spotted. It is my job to keep a sharp lookout for dangers so that the scientist can concentrate on his work. Life experience, physical strength, attention to detail, and knowledge of the outdoors are all essential qualifications for my work.

Albert Einstein has been described like this: "He was also the stereotypical "absent-minded professor"; he was often forgetful of everyday items, such as keys, and would focus so intently on solving physics problems that he would often become oblivious to his surroundings. " The scientist for whom I work is quite similar in his personality. Thus I become responsible for some parts of daily life that he might otherwise take charge of himself. For example I have to remind him to eat and make sure that he wears sunscreen when he is involved in his experiments. I help him wash any mud off his hands when he is done and take him to the bathroom when he needs to go. I buckle him in his car seat when we need to drive anywhere.

Many of the places we go are rapidly-flowing rivers. I see a lot of scientists who have trouble finding assistants because there is some danger involved in the work. “Stay away from the river!” the assistants will say. It is not terribly dangerous, but many of the assistants do not seem to trust the scientists in the work that they do. The rivers and the experiments do look dangerous from a distance, but once we get up close, it does not feel dangerous.

I am greatly enjoying my volunteer work in the field of geology. Of course I love the outdoors and the opportunity to be in the sunshine and enjoy varied natural places. I do not know what the findings of this research may be (nor am I fully aware of even what the hypothesis is or question(s) this research seeks to answer) however I am certain that the process of experimentation is at least as important as the findings and that the work I am doing as assistant to a great scientist will be of great importance in the future.

Yes, to my two-year-old son, throwing rocks in the river makes for a very important scientific experiment! I am only glad to be able to help him in his work.