Mark L. Maiello:Adopt a PhysicistMark L. Maiello:

Adopt a Physicist

By: Patricia IzbickiBy: Patricia Izbicki

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Students• Have you ever thought about

attending graduate school?

• How did you choose your school?

I am happy to tell you that I did go to grad school. I attended NYU for both my masters and my PhD in Environmental Health Science...It was a great experience...NYU is a fabulous university and sometimes I miss being there...

I don't know if I am the best person to answer question 2 about choosing a college because I did not base my choice on very firm ideas about what I wanted to major in...Instead, I decided based on location (I did not want to leave the New York City area. I was very much the home-body when I was young) and I did not want to put my parents into debt...So I chose a good local college but not one that was too expensive.

I do think it is a good idea to visit these places before deciding. They can be so different! Even Manhattan College where I went was very different from NYU and they are in the same city...It helps if you know what you want to major in...Then you can compare departments, professors, the facilities (labs) in addition to dorms, the cafeteria, the athletic facilities, and the neighborhood.  Incidentally, the physics dept. at Manhattan College actually disappointed me when I first visited.  But many of my high school friends spoke highly of the college and one of my favorite high school science teachers was a graduate of Manhattan...I let that influence me a bit too much but I have to admit the education and the time I spent at Manhattan was very good and it paid off for me with decent employment afterwards. I still am in contact with guys I graduated with.  However, I wonder if I had visited more places in the area I might have gone elsewhere.

For you I would recommend visiting and talking with the professors and students at the places you are interested in. Ask if the budget to run the dept. is good (can affect the facility and the research they do). You want to go to a place you can afford but it should be run well....

I hope that helped a bit. You can ask me for more details if you wish. Choosing a college is hard work and takes a bit of time.  But, it also can be quite interesting (and fun).

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current Job• What is your favorite aspect of

your job?

• What is the most interesting or unusual project you have worked on?

The best part of my job is doing measurements like those for airborne radioactivity. I have always been fascinated by the way instruments can detect radiation. But the data collected is always fun to pour over. You get to interpret what is going on with the radioactivity and report that to management or to our regulating agency in New York.  Then you can take action if necessary (most of the time we don't need to)... Clearly measurements can be fun to do and sometimes challenging as well.

The most unusual project I worked on was years ago (1988 or so) when I worked for the US Government at the Dept. of Energy. I was asked to fill in for a sick colleague who was scheduled to do some radon gas measurements in Hawaii. I thought this had to be the luckiest day of my life and in many ways it was...but the measurements needed to made on an inactive volcano at at altitude of 10,000 feet, just high enough for the temperature to drop from the normal Hawaii normal of 80 deg to about 35 or 40!  And, we had to do our measurements during the day and at night...Guess who got the night shift on Mona Loa volcano at the weather station there?  Yep, me (and a colleague). Not so much fun after all...but on balance it was the most unusual (and fun)  "mission" I was ever on.  You can look up the Mona Loa weather station on the internet...They have live camera shots of the weather station (Google Mona Loa)...It is still there...

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http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/

Career / field of study• When you were eighteen,

what did you want to do when you grew up? How has that changed?

• How easy is it to find a job in your field?

When I was 18 it was 1975 and I was just getting out of high school....By then, I definitely knew that I wanted to TRY for a career in science but I was not sure I would be good enough intellectually to make it. So all I can tell you is that I wanted to give it a go in college. Then, I would see if I could "master" the material and of course seek the advice of professors and friends about staying in the field. I made many twists and turns in my head: physics was something I could study but I did not think I was good enough to compete w/ others at it for a living...Radiation science was something that evened out the playing field for me...Other physicists were not too interested in it and I liked the aspects of it that dealt with hazard control and environmental concerns....So I made sure I took biology and chemistry and a few other non-physics subjects. In grad school I studied environmental health (which is like public health). It had toxicology and other bio-related subjects in it.  I had to take my radiation science courses too but I sort of did the opposite as I did in college...I added lots more "hard" science course like nuclear engineering, meteorology (health physicists get involved w/ radioactive air pollution) and aerosol science...The point I am trying to make is that many people never really know what they can do or what they want to do.  They sort of "feel" their way thru over time, moving forward then a little side-ways until they feel that it is time to give their education, interests and talents a try in the employment arena.  So, don't assume we all know what we want to do exactly. The really talented guys and gals might, but the rest of us try things and decide as we go.

As for employment in my field I would say it was easier to get a job 15 years ago...If you are willing to live away from where you grew up you can find work at government laboratories, in consulting firms and in hospitals that use radiation.  It is not as easy as it once was, but you can still find work. The sacrifice is moving from a place you may love to one you may not love as much.

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