Barnaby Leifeng Hurst

Looking at soil yeast ecosystems allows us to understand the conditions that affect yeast, why some propagate & in what environment they perform well. Adaptations like alcohol production are especially notable because energy-expensive processes in yeast are poorly understood, and can be better understood by examining yeast in their natural environments.

Conducting research is dominated by small, slow processes. Benchwork & fieldwork are both calm, long-term acts dominated by being careful. To do research is to change the way you think & act for hours, many days of the week, over & over. You become as much a part of science as the yeast & the pipets.

Looking through the areas of dirt to find a good sample, I was crawling down a slope near the riverbank. As I prepared to carve out dirt from the ground, I saw a snake dart away. I waved to it, and the wind against my fingers felt so cool in the midday sun. It is impossible to ignore how entangled the nature is to the research when you start to recognize the roots of trees by type as you dig into the ground, and the snakes by the way they make you feel.

I was always interested in science, I always wanted to know many things, to feel a lot of parts of the world. When I was little I found out that almost all forms of power generation were steam turbines creating magnetic fields, that animals were different than us, and that things lived in the ocean water, too salty for me to drink.

I want to become a science teacher. I want to make people as comforted by science as I am. I didn't have access to research in the way I do now, and in turn, I think it would be nice to try to make these kinds of experiences & bench work more accessible.