Gregory Wiedman, Engr ’15 (PhD) is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Seton Hall University. He reflects on his time at Hopkins, preparing for a career in academia, and his sources of inspiration.
Why did you pursue this career path? What motivated and attracted you to it?
After graduating from UPenn, I knew my goal was to continue conducting research and working on an academic level. Attending Hopkins for graduate school and being part of the Preparing Future Faculty for Teaching (PFFT) Academy helped me apply my analytical skills in the classroom, which is something that I have carried on in my career. I built on what I learned from my mentors at Hopkins as a postdoc at the Public Health Research Institute at Rutgers.
One of the main factors that attracted me to an academic career was the freedom I’d have to pursue my ideas and research interests. Being a professor gives me the opportunity to explore my passion for science in an environment that my students and I can create.
I also really enjoy the mentoring aspect of being a professor. I love seeing that “lightbulb moment” when one of my students makes a realization in the classroom or comes up with a new idea in the lab. I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of some amazing projects and having this ability to foster creativity is unparalleled in nearly any other profession.
What attributes, skills, or knowledge are needed to be successful as a professor?
I’d say time management is one of the main skills a professor needs. There are so many draws on our time in academia, be it teaching classes, researching in the lab, administrative work, applying for external funding, and more. Discerning what tasks are most important is crucial to success as a professor, and I’d struggle without it.
The second aspect I believe is that you need to be a little bit crazy. Not “mad scientist Dr Frankenstein” kind of crazy, though. There are very few things that go exactly as planned in science. If you weren’t already crazy, research will probably drive you to it. But that said, being a bit off-the-wall with ideas leads to the creativity that we all strive for as scientists and even as humans.
Who in MatSci/other departments inspired you to teach?
I likely would not be where I am today without the support and mentorship of my advisor Kalina Hristova. If there’s anyone in the world that I know would go to bat for me, it’s Kalina. Her mentorship is where I learned much of what I know about managing my time in the lab. One of the things I’ll always remember is her telling us why it’s better to spend that extra hour in the lab wrapping something up instead of letting it sit over the weekend. She always told us: “Those weekends add up, and soon instead of two or three extra hours of work, it’s days or months when you could have finished much earlier.” That’s an invaluable lesson about managing time that I now impart to my own students.
The second person I’d like to highlight is Dr. William Wimley from Tulane University. While I was at Hopkins, I spent a short time interning in Bill’s lab. I learned much of what I know about peptide library synthesis and design from Bill and his students. Much of my approach to understanding the thermodynamics behind biochemical processes comes from the time I spent working with Dr. Wimley. He’s been a great mentor and friend to me as a graduate student and I continue to keep in touch with him as well.
The final person I’d like to highlight from Johns Hopkins, who had a large impact on my passion to teach, is the late Robert Cammarata. Bob was a monumental figure in the department and his passion for teaching helped light the same flame inside of me. I’ll never forget his randomly coming into classes taught by other professors and imparting a bit of sometimes non sequitur materials science knowledge. Bob had a bit of that “craziness” that I think we all need as scientists. I’ve always hoped that I could embody that quirkiness that he had along with his uncanny ability to inspire my students.