At the beginning of “The Entangled Dance of Physics,” Steve Benka mentions the media coverage that breakthroughs in physics receive and then goes on to say that physics “is grossly undervalued.” I could not agree more.
After obtaining a degree in physics, I began a balancing act of pursuing a PhD in geology and working part-time at a geophysical consulting company. This combination seemed natural to me, since my thesis had involved signal processing for ground-penetrating radar and validating techniques borrowed from a related discipline, seismic prospecting.
Even though I originally thought these were the best options for someone with my background, I soon began to think otherwise. Every time I was introduced, my name was followed by a proud “He's a physicist, you know.” Then the person introducing me would always go on to say that “nevertheless,” I had a background in geophysics.
In industry, being a physicist seemed to convey an image of someone with a deep understanding of grand unified theories (to which I make no claim) but with almost no practical experience. At one time, a coworker suggested to me that it would be easier for me to secure a position if I introduced myself as a geophysicist.
Within academia, I have never felt displaced for being “simply” a physicist. I have been invited to, and even received grants from, societies covering areas from granular materials to biophysics and geology.
I must disagree with Benka on one point: I believe research scientists tend to be more open-minded than people working in industry. Unfortunately, I think a few isolationists in academia are the ones who have been the source of the misperception.
