2005_vprdoc PSpreads2.qxp - University of Akron

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Stephen C. Weeks —no fish story Sadie Reed and Tom Sanderson are at different levels of study, have different academic goals and most likely will do different things with their lives. However, when it comes to detailing their time spent working with Dr. Stephen Weeks, they speak with a similar voice. 32 Both Reed, a Ph.D. candidate, and Sanderson, a master’s student, attribute much of their success as students of science to Weeks. “He helped me become a better writer, deepened my understanding of the scientific method and allowed me to become a better biologist,” Sanderson says. “He is always willing to work with me until I understand something. He has saved me several times from making mistakes by just telling me that he has tried that before and it didn’t work. I believe I gained a greater understanding of the scientific process from him.” Reed takes things a few steps further. She marvels at Weeks’ body of research, along with his enthusiasm for the area of study. She shares the latter and hopes to one day emulate the former.
In the most basic of terms, all Dr. Stephen C. Weeks wanted to do was to “swim with the fishes.” “Initially, I wanted to be a ‘Jacques Cousteau’ kind of guy,” Weeks muses. Translation A marine biologist. You may surmise, based on his current locale of Akron, Ohio, that the goal didn’t quite pan out. Yes, and no. There aren’t a boatload of jobs in marine biology available, at least not the kind that garner for you television specials on premium cable channels. Weeks, professor of biology, found a different path and jumped on it. The academic world, rather than the undersea world, provides him with the opportunity, not only to teach aquatic biology, but study it in depth, and he has done some groundbreaking work in that area. In fact, Dr. Jerry Stinner, former chair of the Department of Biology, reports that Weeks is known internationally for his work in evolutionary ecology and carcinology, and is emerging as one of the most prominent researchers on large branchiopod crustaceans. Weeks’ current work deals with hermaphroditic shrimp that live in the desert. He actually began studying the evolution of marine animals during his days as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. When he moved on to UC, Riverside to work on a master’s degree, Weeks shifted to fresh water, which represented a quantum leap for him. “Before then, as an undergrad I wanted to deal with fish and inter-tidal marine research. I didn’t really care what it was,” he recalls. “I wanted to be near the beach. But you can’t really get a job just doing that. Riverside was where I really started to concentrate on questions, rather than on being a marine person who just wanted to swim with the fishes.” hermaphrodites and males amidst their population in a rare mating system termed “androdioecy.” “We’re trying to understand what is it about Weeks these shrimp that allows them to do this,” he said, alluding to the self-reproductive capability. It’s this kind of question-and-answer, and discovery, that Weeks loves sharing with his students. “I’ve always liked working with things like this,” he says. “I like the teaching more than I probably thought I would. I like interacting with students a lot. The research itself is an everunfolding series of mysteries. You make some inroads in some areas, then open other holes and questions in other areas. “Intellectually, it’s challenging and ongoing. That’s probably the main thing — feeling like I had something to do with general knowledge of (students).” Weeks implores his students to stay focused on what they want to do and keeping after it. He realized this in his own life. He didn’t get to do exactly what he hoped to do, but that may have turned out to be a blessing as his research led Weeks to collaborate with colleagues in Japan, Taiwan, India, Australia, Italy and Venezuela, and has him published in numerous international journals. “I guess I’ve carved out a niche and I’m a part of one of maybe two or three groups that are working on androdioecious species and who study the larger question of why hermaphrodites and males co-exist,” he says. “It’s a big question.” Once Weeks had his direction, he began studying shrimp. Through the research, it was discovered that the various species of this more than 250 million-year-old sea creature have Reed Sanderson “His work ethic is evident in his prolific research and writing, and he serves as an excellent example for what I would like to accomplish in this field,” she says. “His enthusiasm for his research area is contagious and by simply talking with him about it, I find myself highly motivated to be involved in the variety of projects he undertakes. Not only is he an exemplary role model of a scientist at this University, but his activity in the science community throughout the world has shown me the myriad of possibilities open to me in the future.” Reed praises Weeks for his willingness to allow student involvement in his highprofile research projects, along with his openness to students’ ideas. Weeks has introduced her to influential people in the field and accompanied her to Australia last summer for a meeting. “The role of an adviser is extremely important in developing relationships with others in the scientific community,” Reed says. “I know I will be very well trained to move on to the next step of my career when I am done with this program.” 33
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