January 14 Interview

Alice Ortmann , Graduate Student, University of British Columbia

Conducted by Alison Sipe, Graduate Student,
University of Delaware College of Marine Studies

Age: 24
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
Favorite musical group: Garth Brooks
Favorite movie: Philadelphia Story
Hobbies: Scuba Diving

General job description:  Conduct laboratory research, publish research
papers, attend scientific meetings/conferences. . . . Alice has completed all
of her graduate classwork, so she no longer must attend lectures; however, she
attends science seminars regularly.

How did you choose your current occupation? She has always liked science
because she enjoys asking questions and finding the answers. Alice
attended Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, where she studied
biology and animal behavior.  She opted for a co-op degree, which
includes traditional classroom academic study as well as four semesters in
applied work environments. The co-op degree allows the students to meet
people and gain work skills. Her four work semesters provided her with
diverse experiences but with a common science thread. Alice spent four
months working in a Department of Fisheries lab, where she identified fish
larvae by dissecting the stomachs of salmon fish. Her second co-op job
was as Assistant Curator at the Royal British Columbia Museum. As
curator, she catalogued freshwater copepods (crustaceans) and gastropod
shells. Alice spent her third work semester doing field research in
forestry. She hiked numerous mountains in the forest and investigated the
regeneration (new growth) of young trees. Her fourth and final co-op
semester segued into her current position as a graduate student. Alice
spent several months in Dr. Curtis Suttle’s marine research laboratory
doing scientific research and learning laboratory techniques.

Best aspect of job: Meeting people, going out to sea on research cruises,
doing stuff that no one else has ever done.

Worst aspect of job: Sitting in the darkroom at two o’clock in the
morning counting marine viruses on the microscope. There are many weird
hours, and sometimes labwork needs to be done when it is not convenient for
the researcher.

How many days/year to you spend at sea?  In the last twelve months, Alice
has spent five weeks at sea.  She has done research expeditions on the
west coast of Vancouver Island (Endeavor Ridge), the Strait of Georgia
(between Vancouver Island and the mainland), and this current cruise in the
Sea of Cortés.

What’s next? Alice strives to be a professor that displays overheads
during lectures but whips them off of the projector too quickly, not
allowing ample time for students to take notes. . . . Just kidding!  No,
Alice really would like to be a professor who does scientific research.
She feels education is important and would like to incorporate teaching
into her career, possibly through volunteering. Alice feels that it is
critical to get people jazzed about science at an early age.