Opportunities

My Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship continues to play a significant role in my life. I was at the Leopold Wenger Institute for Ancient Legal History and Papyrus Research at the University of Munich as the guest of Professor Dieter Nörr. During that time, I wrote my first book. This book helped me gain tenure and promotion, but the experience of learning German and making connections with German colleagues went far beyond that. I returned several times to Munich to work on subsequent projects as the guest of Professor Alfons Bürge and Professor Johannes Platschek. Although my current duties as dean limit my ability to undertake a long research stay, I keep in contact with my German colleagues. My wife and daughters joined me in Munich. The experiences in Germany played a special role in our lives, and I will be forever grateful for the friendships and research opportunities the fellowship made possible.

My postdoc in Germany was critical for launching my independent career. I had the opportunity to use world class instrumentation to look at important problems in energy conversion. I was introduced to a completely different set of researchers, complementing my training in the United States, and those networks persist in my career today.

My Humboldtian mentor was highly recognized. Working with him was more valuable than getting another PhD. I collaborated with him through the end of his life and now work with his other former students in Germany. I learned that there was no reason to confine my thinking.

At the invitation of the AvH I have enjoyed several additional short-term research stays at the Technische Universität, Freie Universität Berlin, and Akademie der Künste Berlin (Bertolt Brecht Archive). The opportunities to use research collections and network with colleagues in Germany has been a significant aspect of my professional career, including the privilege of hosting several Feodor Lynen Fellows at the University of Wisconsin.

I am not alone in the ranks of thousands of successful AvH scholars in maintaining that the AvH Foundation has excelled in keeping the steady course of promoting dedicated front-edge fundamental research and its concomitant state of mind ever since it was launched. May it live long and prosper!

My Humboldt experience is ongoing and will hopefully be part of the rest of my research career. I have ongoing collaborations with my host Dr. Roser Valenti and her group, as well as multiple other research groups spread across Germany. My host is not only a respected colleague and productive collaborator, she was also a devoted friend who helped us cope with a dire medical crisis; my host gave freely of her time and strength to help us navigate unfamiliar hospitals and systems. Her example of combining science and compassion has made the deepest impression on me.

I first discovered the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 1978 when I met Hartmut Kern, Professor of Mineralogy at Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, at a conference in Aachen. Upon his suggestion, I applied for and received a Humboldt Fellowship, starting collaborations with him on rock deformation and anisotropy in the Earth that have continued since. During my time in Germany, I met a number of scientists with whom I worked closely, among them Heiner Mecking and Fred Kocks, another Humboldt Fellow from Los Alamos. These interactions had a great impact on my career, as they led to the development of new experimental techniques and sophisticated methods of modeling and applying results to metals as well as the deep Earth. Fred Kocks and I also co-authored a book, Texture and Anisotropy, in 2000 that remains a seminal work in the field. The Humboldt Research Fellowship provided the opportunity for international and interdisciplinary collaborations—vital to advancing science—and I am grateful to have had this opportunity in Kiel, later in Hamburg, and again in Bayreuth. Fellow alumni who visit my office no doubt recognize the green pocket calendar on my desk sent by the Foundation every year.