Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky
Dr. Shmaefsky grew up in a housing
project near a notoriously dangerous section of Coney Island (in
Brooklyn, N.Y.) where "surviving to graduate high school was my
primary goal and going to college was the last thing on my mind".
Many of his friends ended up in Vietnam or became manual laborers. He
says, "On the advice of a high school counselor I went to train as a
radiographic technician. I was not considered college material." He
worked for one year in a downtown Brooklyn hospital dubbed "The City
Morgue". Unfortunately for them, the science of taking X-rays
interested him more than the actual work and he left to obtain a
biology degree at Brooklyn College.
His father and mother encouraged education and his father's
interest in science and nature fostered in him the desire to pursue
his studies in biology. However, "With three languages being spoken
around the house it was difficult to speak and write comprehensibly
[in English]". After battling to overcome poor English and writing
skills he won several scholarships and undergraduate awards. The
accolades he received as an undergraduate encouraged him to obtain a
Masters degree in biology from Southern Illinois University, to do
doctoral studies on plant biochemistry at the University of Illinois,
and on ecology and limnology at the Rocky Mountain Biological
Laboratory in Colorado.
From 1982-85 Dr. Shmaefsky worked at Sigma Biochemical in St.
Louis, Missouri. His knowledge of environmental affects on cell
physiology was valuable in industry, where he investigated
commercially important biochemicals extractable from animals and
plants. Extracting large amounts of biochemicals [from plants] is not
just a mechanical task. Some biochemicals will degrade or be produced
in quantities too small to be of value if the tissues are not handled
with care. For example, the extraction processes for removing
biochemicals from cytoplasm are different from the methods used to
isolate biochemicals from the cell membrane or organelles. While he
was at Sigma, academia beckoned and Dr. Shmaefsky taught nights and
weekends at Southern Illinois University and McKendree College. His
interest in teaching grew, prompting him to pursue a Ph.D. in higher
education from Southern Illinois University. An offer to work as a
visiting instructor was the impetus to leave industry and to teach
full time, and while he experienced a substantial pay cut, he feels
that his enjoyment of teaching is well worth it. He became Chair of
Biology at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Director of the
region's Resource Awareness Program and a consultant in natural
resource conservation. It is here that his interest in bioremediation
developed (at the time he was investigating the feasibility of
harnassing plant and microorganism biochemistry to remove soil and
water pollutants, since from his undergraduate research on salt marsh
reeds he knew that fast-growing aquatic plants were capable of
removing large amounts of agricultural nutrients and metals from the
environment).
Dr. Shmaefsky went on to Kingwood College (Texas) to direct and
develop its Biotechnology Program. His contacts with Houston
biotechnology industries led to opportunities for consulting in
bioremediation even though he had no formal training in the area.
Much of what he needed to know was gleaned from the scientific
literature and from working on projects in the field. He now
consults on petroleum cleanup and reclamation projects in South
America and elsewhere. His interest in bioremediation is not as a
researcher [pure science]. Rather, he is a user of the technology
[applied science]. He evaluates the successful transition of
laboratory research findings to applications under "real" conditions.
He says, "Ideas can look great in the lab. But, in many instances
they lose that potential when tried in nature. Bioremediation is
replete with such successes and failures."
Dr. Schmaefsky's publications focus on science teaching and the
philosophy of science and he is active in NABT, NSTA, the Society of
College Science Teaching, and other professional organizations. He
is one of a dozen field-test teachers for the BSCS module: "The Human
Genome Project: Biology, Computers, and Privacy". He serves several
industrial trade journals associated with biotechnology and
environmental sciences, and contributes to efforts to ensure
environmentally friendly development in the greater Houston area. He
recently provided comment on the US/Canadian Joint Air Quality
Agreement.
Science continues to be a focus in his life, which he attributes
in part to his father's Russian upbringing: "Russians are instilled
with a scientific view of interpreting the world and the meaning of
life." His hobbies are writing about science and teaching children
and the public to appreciate science and nature. He recognizes that
his current position results directly from "pure perseverance for a
quality education that allowed me to escape the failure-ridden
environment in which I grew up. Many of the kids I knew as a child
are in jail or dead. I appreciate the teachers who recognized my
talents and encouraged me to succeed." Dr. Shmaefsky believes
everyone has the ability to contribute lasting positive changes to
society. He requires all his students to find ways of using what
they learn in their biology classes, and to conduct community projects
based on that learning.
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