In article <mkj2cdINNdkc at exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>, duke at cairn.Eng.Sun.COM (Jack Duke) writes:
> My son is a junior in high school and has shown an interest in the subject
> of genetics and genetic engineering. I would like to encourage and help him
> to determine if this field is really what he wants to pursue as his life's
> career. His school counsellor has not been of great help. The counsellor has
> produced a list of schools that he might attend but they don't have much
> information about what a geneticist does. I don't know enough about the
> field to fill a thimble. I have tried to contact several companies in the
> S.F. Bay area to see if they have tours etc but so far I have not found one
> willing to give him a tour of their facilites or otherwise answer the kinds
> of questions my son wants to ask. We also have not been able to make contact
> with any college professors who would be willing to talk about the field
> to an unsolicitated requestor.
> (rest deleted)
I think Mark Garfinkle did an admirable job of answering "what does a
geneticist do" and how to find a professor. I would only add the suggestion of
trying your local science museum. They are great sources of information about
science and are likely to have suggestions about contacting willing scientists.
In SF, try the Exploratorium, in Berkeley, Lawrence Hall of Science. It may
take a few telephone calls to get through to the right person, but the people
who work at these places are very helpful, and dedicated to the principle of
opening paths to science for students showing interest.
Laurel F. Appel LAPPEL at EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU
Genetics Group
Dept. of Biology
Wesleyan University
Middletown CT 06459
