ScienceMakers Toolkit Manual - The History Makers

Computational Biology and the Developmental Biology program. Jarvis became a tenured associate professor
at Duke in 2008, where he taught laboratory science for underprivileged students through the Science Outreach
Program of New York.
Jarvis has been recognized as a young pioneer in his fi eld, and his research and study of songbird neurology has
won him many awards, including the National Science Foundation’s highest honor for young researchers, the
Alan T. Waterman award, in 2003, and the National Institute for the Humanities’ Director’s Pioneer Award in
2005. Jarvis was also named distinguished alumni at each of his undergraduate and graduate universities.
In 2008, Jarvis was chosen to become an Investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the largest
philanthropic research organizations in the country. Jarvis has been an invited contributor for several books
and has published hundreds of scholarly articles in prestigious journals, including the Journal of Bacteriology
and the Journal of Comparative Neurology.
Discussion Questions
Personal:
1. What was the most compelling thing you learned about Dr. Jarvis?
2. Where was Dr. Jarvis born? Locate it on a map. How far away is this from where you live? What are the
names of his parents? Where did Dr. Jarvis attend high school? What do you suppose high school was
like for him?
3. How old are you? In what year was Dr. Jarvis your age? What was happening in the country that year?
What was happening in the world that year? What do you suppose his life was like when he was your
age?
4. Where did Dr. Jarvis get his inspiration to become a scientist? Give some specifi c examples of how this
process occurred. Where do you get your inspiration to learn new things?
(See New York Times Interview)
5. Dr. Jarvis discusses his early life with his parents. What was his father like? What was his mother like?
How did their divorce affect his scientifi c curiosity? What kinds of things did he have to overcome in
order to achieve his success? (See New York Times Interview)
6. Dr. Jarvis has an unusual artistic background. What is it? Why do you think he chose a professional
career as a scientist? Which of these fi elds do you prefer: the arts or the sciences? Why? Do you know
anyone who is equally comfortable in the sciences and in the arts? What are the differences between the
two? What are the similarities? Can you think of any skills that are equally applicable to both?
(See “Diversity in Science” Blog and Nova Interview)
7. Dr. Jarvis talks about being a “scientifi c artist.” What does he mean by this? What are his thoughts on
the compatibility of the arts and sciences? How does he say they are similar? How does he say they are
different? How does this relate to your life? (See Nova Interview)
8. Dr. Jarvis says that there are two kinds of families in the African American community. What are they?
What does he mean by this? Do you agree with him? If so, what kind of family is your family? How
does your family defi ne who you are as a person? (See Nova Interview)
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Life Science