melpor, From New Jersey, USA, 389 Fans, 91 Hubs, Joined 4 years ago
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Natasha Peters Interviews Melpor
Insights from an Experienced Chemist
You mention in your profile that you worked as a chemist for an incredible 35 years! Can you tell us about what your work was like, and what you accomplished?
It was an exciting and rewarding experience working as a chemist for so many years. I started as a lab technician, right out of college, working for a major tobacco company in their quality control lab performing chemical analyses on processed tobacco leaves. After about a year there, I took a job in the pharmaceutical industry working in the research and development division at two different major pharmaceutical companies for the next 34 years. My job was very demanding, since I was required to conduct lab work, tabulate the data generated, and present the results in an acceptable report for upper management to read for approval. The approved report was ultimately submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the application for “New Drug Approval Process”; which must be submitted before critical deadlines. During that time I developed several products to treat patients with chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD), cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. My most significant accomplishment as a scientist was a change I implemented in how our lab procedures were written. I added my own hand-drawn illustrations to the procedures to elucidate the complicated steps in the procedure that words alone could not do. At that time hand drawings were used since computer graphics was still in its infancy. My supervisor liked it and she later gave me a promotion for the idea. Now the company uses off-the-shelf softwares to do this. I guess this is my legacy to future scientists at this company since I am now retired.
You're a veteran writer, not only as a Hubber, but also for many journals and magazines. What are some writing tips you've picked up over the years?
When I first started working as a scientist, writing reports and papers was a challenge to me until my supervisor gave me this simple advice one day. He told me writing is something you get better at doing by doing it. The more you write, the easier it will become. He was right. In those 30 odd years of writing I have written many reports, mainly technical papers, and each time I did that it was easier than the previous time. Now, with all that experience I can write a Hub in a couples hours once I found a subject to write about. Also before I write a Hub on a particular subject I do a lot of researching and reading, usually reading related articles on the subject several times, before I put pen to paper. The words come flowing out of my mind onto the paper once I start writing. This is why some of my introductions that you have read in my Hubs are close to 100 words or longer in length before I start writing the body of the Hub. Most of my Hubs are 1000 words or longer for this reason. Finally, I try to write Hubs on subjects that I already have some knowledge of so that I do not have to work so hard to write it because it will become harder once you go into unexplored territory.
Your primary interest seems to be science, but you also profess an admiration for history. Many people dismiss history as "unnecessary" as it is "in the past," Could you tell us why you think it is so important?
It is important to know your history. I once read a quote from the famous astronomer Carl Sagan. He said, “You have to know the past to understand the present”. I strongly agree with his statement. That applies to everything that is happening in our life. You cannot fully understand what is going on in the world today unless you know what happened before the current event that you are probably witnessing right now. For example, why is Nelson Mandela such an important figure to South Africa and the world? Why are all the world leaders in attendance in South Africa in celebration of his passing? If you know your history you will see clearly why these current events are happening now in South Africa. There are and will always be events occurring in world because of something that happened in the past. Time is defined by “cause and effect.” When something happens in this world there is an effect afterward.
You also mention that you're an artist. What sort of art do you create, and why?
I am a self taught artist, however I did take some art classes in high school. I do pencil drawing, mostly portraits, and it is something I have been doing since I was six years old as a hobby for relaxation. One of my Hubs, The Radioactive Polonium in Tobacco Leaves, contains one of my hand-drawn illustrations. I am planning to add more hand-drawn illustrations to future Hubs when the opportunity pops up to do so.
If someone could only read one of your Hubs, which would you recommend?
This is a tough one. I would recommend a few of them, but the one I would probably choose would be Aliens and UFOs from Another World, I Don’t Think So. I like this one because it shows my scientific, critical and humorous side. One of my goals at HubPages is to write Hubs that make my readers go “hummm” and scratch their head. Then they begin thinking about what they just read. People would be surprised about what they do not know. When they read my Hubs, they will learn something new.
What inspires you to write, and what are some of your greatest writing achievements?
What inspires me the most to write is to educate others. I always wanted to be an educator but instead became a scientist to help improve the health of people all over the world. In the end I believe the ultimate goal of most readers is to learn something new, to improve themselves, and to have a better understanding of the world around them. HubPages has made that possible for me to make a contribution toward that goal for many years to come. Thanks!
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