The Maturation of a Scientist: An Autobiography

I was shaped by World War II, years of near starvation as a war refugee, postwar chaos, life in several countries, and relative affluence in later life. The truth is that as I was growing up I wanted to be a writer. My aspirations came to an end when, in order to speed up my graduation from college, I took courses in microbiology. It was my second love at first sight-that of my wife preceded it. I view science as an opportunity to discover the designs in the mosaics of life. What initiates my search of discovery is an observation that makes no sense unless there exists a novel design. Once the design is revealed there is little interest in filling all the gaps. I was fortunate to understand that what lasts are not the scientific reports but rather the generations of scientists whose education I may have influenced.