Scientist's Survival Guide by Dr Gerhard J. Haas

 "...I highly recommend A Scientist's Survival Guide for high schoolers, science undergraduates, graduate students, and working scientists of all fields..."

"A most honest account...  a fascinating glimpse into the life of a scientist..."

Dr Gerhard Haas’s life in science has spanned six decades--as biochemist, enzymologist and microbiologist, working with some of science's foremost researchers and some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical, brewing and food concerns.

In this memoir and ‘survival guide’ he tells of odds overcome, goals achieved as well as failures and missteps along the way. He gives detailed advice on how to plan and conduct research projects and how to apply for patents. He discusses ethical issues and how to leave an unsatisfactory job. Throughout, his devotion to scientific endeavor and his interest in the people he has met along the way, some of whom are the leading chemists of the 20th century, make fascinating reading. Illustrated.

As a true scientist, his main concern is to pass on and share his knowledge and experience with others, especially young people about to embark on a scientific career.

He grew up in a medical family in Germany but left when Hitler came to power. His time at the University of Cambridge, England was inspiring and challenging. His first scientific research position was in Cuba working with the pioneers of the oral contraceptive. Application to the US was successful in 1943 and he joined Hoffman la Roche as a senior chemist working with vitamins. He returned to academia for a PhD and then moved into the brewing industry. Later he joined General Foods as a microbiologist and enzymologist and achieved 28 patents at this time. Having applied for his first patent at the incredibly early age of 14, he devotes a chapter to patents and on applying for them. In his consultancy years he has worked on plant projects with the New York Botanical Gardens and with Farleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey.

He is currently Research Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey.

Reviews:

Professor Sir Ghillean Prance FRS, VMH : This is a most honest account of the ups and down of a long and successful career in science. This book will be of use both to young scientists wanting to embark on a scientific career and also to encourage retired scientists to continue with their work as did Dr. Haas. It is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a scientist with many good hints about how to conduct scientific research.
 

Gregory R. Siragusa, Ph.D., Senior Principal Scientist, Danisco USA: In one chapter, Haas describes “the Cradle of Biotechnology”, his name for the beer brewing industry, and along the way is a journey leaving lessons behind every step of the trip. You will even read of the intricacies of this common beverage, beer, which is really a complex microcosm of biochemistry and microbiology!

…What he learned in his profession as a scientist over several decades in the 1940's to the 2000's is still as important now as it was then. Here it is condensed into a highly readable and informative narrative tale. The specific things he highlights, such as practical lab calculations, sound mundane, but are of central importance even today with the resource of the Internet.

I highly recommend A Scientist's Survival Guide for high schoolers, science undergraduates, graduate students, and working scientists of all fields. I especially recommend it for anyone in the early days of a career in biotechnology. Haas' style is straightforward and to-the-point making this an easy guide to absorb and pass on to colleagues. Here is a chance to learn from successes and trials common to professional scientists. It is an inspiring story to say the least and a useful and practical guide at its best.