{"id":2375,"date":"2002-09-15T18:10:03","date_gmt":"2002-09-15T22:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2014-12-15T18:10:39","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T23:10:39","slug":"geared-greatness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2002\/09\/geared-greatness\/","title":{"rendered":"Geared for Greatness"},"content":{"rendered":"

That Spandex blur is Scott Burkholder \u201902, speeding from engineering to oncology research.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A mountain bike racer in his spare time, Scott Burkholder \u201902 at last spring\u2019s Whiting School Convocation received a Loy Wilkinson Award for academic excellence, leadership, and service in chemical engineering.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To say that Scott Burkholder \u201902 is on a roll would not only be a pretty bad pun, it would also be a gross understatement. The chemical and biomedical engineering double major\u2014who now works as lab technician conducting oncology research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine\u2014is also a nationally competitive bicyclist.<\/p>\n

Basic science is not the traditional career path of a trained engineer. But then, Burkholder has never been much of a traditionalist. The Alexandria, Minnesota, native picked Hopkins in the first place because, as a high school student, he knew he wanted to go into some kind of medically related engineering. He just wasn\u2019t sure which kind. \u201cThe fact is,\u201d he says, \u201cI could not decide between chemical and biomedical engineering.\u201d Hopkins was one place he could do both in four years. \u201cAnd at that point I wasn\u2019t even aware of Hopkins\u2019 reputation in biomedical engineering,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Then, as a freshman, he was looking for a job. \u201cThe best wage for my level of experience was in the Transgenic Core Laboratory\u201d at the School of Medicine. As an animal technician there, \u201ccleaning cages and stuff,\u201d he got his first look genetic research. \u201cThe Transgenic Core Laboratory is really a service lab,\u201d Burkholder explains. Researchers involved in various genetic research projects contract with the lab, located in the Wood Basic Science Building in East Baltimore, to produce transgenic mice. Much of the genetic research supported by the lab is directed to the study of cancer.<\/p>\n

During his second year helping at the lab, Burkholder started to do more technical work. The sophomore was also learning more about the oncology research in which many of the Hopkins scientists were engaged. \u201cI have a keen interest in genetics,\u201d he says, \u201cand a big field that uses genetics is oncology.\u201d That led to his decision to conduct basic science research after graduation.<\/p>\n

Then, in his junior year, he got a mountain bike, and things really began getting interesting. For the busy undergraduate\u2014whose time was now split between studying for a double major, working in a lab on the other side of town, and participating in campus ministry, not to mention chairing a committee for the Johns Hopkins Model United Nations Conference\u2014biking became yet another passion. \u201cThe closest place to the Homewood campus for trail riding is at least four and a half miles away,\u201d he explains. That means about 20 minutes riding each way, just to get to the single-track dirt paths and challenging courses that serious mountain bikers crave. \u201cSummers weren\u2019t so tough, because it stays light longer,\u201d he says. But on some days, he\u2019d have to ride straight to class, where he would grab his seat and start taking notes, still dressed in mud-spattered biking shoes, Spandex shorts, and bright riding jersey.<\/p>\n

The bike also became a commuting machine. \u201cMy best time from Homewood to Wood Basic Science is 10 minutes, 18 seconds,\u201d he boasts. \u201cThat\u2019s faster than the shuttle.\u201d His route down into the urban core of East Baltimore could be as challenging as the dirt tracks of Robert E. Lee Park in the northern part of the city, but the ride was exhilarating\u2014 and great exercise. When a security officer at Wood suggested Scott limit his riding to daylight hours, he decided he\u2019d take the shuttle\u2026sometimes. And it was on that shuttle that he met David Neil Watkins, an Australian researcher working at the School of Medicine. \u201cI\u2019m the kind of guy who likes to strike up a conversation,\u201d says Burkholder. The two talked about genetics, oncology, and the Minnesota Vikings. They hit it off right away.<\/p>\n

Through another fortunate turn of events, Watkins, who originally intended to return to his home country after completing a research project in Baltimore, was hired as a member of the Hopkins Medicine faculty. He\u2019s now Burkholder\u2019s boss at the cancer lab.<\/p>\n

Burkholder views his engineering background as a boon to his new career in research. \u201cAs a basic scientist, you are geared toward absorbing knowledge,\u201d he says. \u201cAs an engineer, you learn how to get the knowledge to solve problems. These problemsolving skills are extremely valuable in basic research. My path as an engineer is different from most, and I think in some ways it should be encouraged. The tools you gain as an engineer are so applicable and practical.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for bicycling? \u201cI\u2019d love to get to France to experience the Tour de France first-hand,\u201d Burkholder says. He also intends to continue competitive cycling, as a secondary passion. \u201cRight now, I\u2019m just loving riding and learning how to ride. I would love to see how far I can go with it.\u201d If experience is any indicator, he\u2019ll go far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That Spandex blur is Scott Burkholder \u201902, speeding from engineering to oncology research. To say that Scott Burkholder \u201902 is on a roll would not only be a pretty bad pun, it would also be a gross understatement. The chemical and biomedical engineering double major\u2014who now works as lab technician conducting oncology research at the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-making-waves","issue-fall-2002"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGeared for Greatness - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2002\/09\/geared-greatness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Geared for Greatness - JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"That Spandex blur is Scott Burkholder \u201902, speeding from engineering to oncology research. 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