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School children deserve more credit when it comes to grasping concepts in science. More

Creating a broad model for academia More

“My favorite is Spiderman. He had great powers (web-slinging—how original!) and his suit was definitely the coolest among his peers. Also, because of his full-coverage mask, he was the only one of his generation who you could believe was unrecognizable as a layperson. By contrast, why couldn't anyone recognize that Clark Kent was in fact Superman?”

“I relate to Pigpen from 'Peanuts,' as I am unafraid and unashamed to pick up dirt from anywhere to isolate a new mycobacteriophage.”

“I can tell you which cartoon superhero I relate to the least, and it is Superman. He is simply too perfect, both physically and intellectually, for a mere mortal like myself to resonate with. Success comes too easily for him, to the point that it feels like cheating. I root instead for underdogs, those endowed with little and seemingly doomed to failure on their very first step. On rare occasions, more often in fiction than in real life, they overcome the insurmountable to achieve the impossible. When that happens, witnessing it forms goose bumps all over my body.”

“I aspire to be like Buckaroo Banzai—I need to work on my guitar playing. But I relate most to The Tick, who once said: 'Destiny is a funny thing. Once I thought I was destined to become emperor of Greenland, sole monarch over its 52,000 inhabitants. Then I thought I was destined to build a Polynesian longship in my garage. I was wrong then, but I've got it now.' That's how I feel about starting up at Janelia.”