Playing the violin with Tal Ohana

Tal Ohana is a PhD student in the Quantum Optics Group at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Tal was interviewed by Rujuta Vaidya, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Rujuta Vaidya: How would you describe your research to a fifth grader?

Tal Ohana: In my lab, we are trying to build a new, faster computer – the quantum computer. The quantum computer will be able to handle many complicated tasks at a time, and it will do them faster than our current computers.

RV. What got you interested in violin?

TO: I started playing when I was 7 years old, and for a while I even considered becoming a professional violinist. I also enjoy playing with other people and ended up befriending many researchers in our institute who play various instruments. Connecting with these talented artists made me realize that what we really needed was a group to organize our practice sessions and showcase our music. So I founded the Weizmann Orchestra along with a friend of mine. Having that organizational structure has helped us all get together to practice our craft and it has been such a rewarding experience to learn and grow together as artists. As of now, we are a team of 30 players and a conductor. We’ve also been able to secure a grant to help sustain our little group and organize concerts for folks in the institute. Currently, we are practicing hard for our upcoming summer concert!

RV: What do you enjoy most about your hobby?

TO: I enjoy having these moments when you are “in the zone”: your heartbeat slows down, and you feel calm, kind of like meditation. It helps me concentrate better too. I also enjoy learning new things and the whole process of figuring it out. It feels so rewarding to take on a new, challenging piece of music and practice it until I get the hang of it.

RV: Are there any composers that you particularly love?

TO: My favorite classical piece is the Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 of Mendelssohn. The first time I heard it I had tears in my eyes. I was still learning how to play violin back then, but I knew in that moment that I wanted to learn that piece. After years and years of practicing, it has become one of my favorite pieces to play. I also like modern music and am constantly trying to listen to new genres that I haven’t heard before.

RV: Do you have any funny or memorable stories from your performances?

TO: Two of my music instructors were a Russian couple, and they talked to each other in Russian during my lessons. I ended up picking up some Russian too – I wasn’t fluent enough to speak it, but I understood it pretty well. We were practicing for an upcoming concert and as we were leaving, my instructors and I discussed the concert date and time and our outfits [in Russian]. Cut to the next day: I arrived at the concert venue all dressed up for the big event – only to find it empty except for security personnel! The security guards were kind enough to tell me that I had gotten the dates wrong, and the concert was tomorrow. Turns out my Russian wasn’t as great as my instructors thought!

RV: If you could meet one famous historical scientist, who would it be?

TO: I wish I could meet Albert Einstein and his violin Lina. I would ask him how he managed to combine his love for music with his scientific pursuits and whether any of his brilliant ideas came to him while he was playing his violin!

Painting with Pablo Moreno Garcia

Pablo Moreno Garcia is a postdoctoral researcher in the Li Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University. This interview is about Pablo’s painting hobby. Pablo was interviewed by Rohit Jha, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Rohit Jha: How would you describe your research to a fifth grader?

Pablo Moreno Garcia: I study how pollinators like bees and butterflies interact with plants. For example, temperature changes and prescribed fire management can change plant communities, so I study how changes in plant communities affect pollinator communities and the interactions between plants and pollinators.

RJ: Do you remember your first painting?

PMG: I have been drawing and sketching since a very young age. I did my first oil painting when I was nine years old.  

RJ:  Why do you prefer oil painting to other types of art?

PMG: I love oil-based painting because it takes more time. It really requires patience compared to watercolors, which are faster and you must work faster because they dry quickly. With watercolors, you must manage your time well and be sure of what you want to do. Oil paintings are different. They allow you to make more mistakes. It takes longer to dry. You can work on a portion of it, let it dry, and in the meantime you can think about what you want to do next.

RJ: How did you get into painting?

PMG: I started with drawings. I did a lot of them! I would create stories and little characters and things like that. But then when I was around eight or nine years old, we went to a small regional art fair, and that's where I met my painting professor. I still remember that she was sitting in a small booth surrounded by her paintings, which were beautiful. She used to smoke a lot and she was smoking then. She and her paintings were surrounded by the smoke, and it gave a whole bohemian artist impression. My parents knew her, so they talked to her about my interest in painting and enrolling in classes. That is when I started going to classes, which I continued during my bachelor’s degree. There was even a question about whether I would go for an ecology-based or an artistic degree, because of my love for painting.  

RJ: Can you talk about one of your paintings that is particularly special for you?

PMG: The one which is most special to me is not an oil-based painting, it's a crayon painting. It is based on a painting by a Spanish painter, Sorolla. In the original painting, there is a woman with a child in an orange field. I changed some elements of it so that it portrays my grandma and my little cousin. I gave that painting to my grandma and she cherishes it a lot. She says how much she loves that painting every time I visit her. It brings me so much joy.  

RJ: Do you think your painting in some way inspires the science you do, or vice versa?

PMG: I think that painting is an activity that comes from appreciating nature. When I do my paintings or observe other paintings - especially landscapes - I love to imagine how that [ecological] system works and think about the biotic and abiotic components of that system. I think it acts like a two-way feedback mechanism. One the one hand, your painting inspires the research you do, and your research subjects inspire what you paint.   

RJ: How important do you think it is important for scientists to have a hobby?

PMG: I really think they should have one. There are so many things outside of work that are worth exploring. Having a more balanced life where you can have hobbies and time with friends and family along with your job gives you more of a sense of fulfillment and greater happiness. It is also helpful with a job that is really demanding and can be very hard. Sometimes you may have papers rejected or results that don't turn out as you wanted and that can really affect you. In those situations, having other things in your life that you can rely on can be super helpful.

Dog competitions with Kale Rougeau

Kale Rougeau is a Master’s student in the Elderd Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University. This article is about Kale’s hobby of participating in dog competitions. Kale was interviewed by Nathaniel Haulk, a Master’s student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Nathaniel Haulk: How would you describe your research to a 5th grader?

Kale Rougeau: We study caterpillars and what makes them sick in order to help farmers and scientists. A lot of caterpillars are bad, and we need to know how to stop them from eating crops like corn and rice.

NH: When did you adopt your dogs? How did you choose those two specifically?

KR: I wanted to get a Dalmatian my whole life. When I was 21, I found a lady in Texas that had a litter available and contacted her. I researched which one would best fit the Dalmatian standard, and it was a dog named Jake. I got him in 2018 when he was eight weeks old. From then up until the beginning of 2019, I looked at more breeders that matched what I would want for a dog, and eventually I found a breeder in Florida. She had a litter that was born August 2019, and she and I worked together for the next eight weeks to select a puppy. Based on temperament, structure, and the other features I wanted, I selected June. 

NH: When did you first become interested in competing?

KR: That was something I wanted to do my whole life. Growing up, I was always around dogs and livestock. Dog shows were my favorite of the livestock shows, and I was interested in agility, which is racing around an obstacle course, and in a few other sports that were televised. When I was in high school, my family acquired a few Husky mixes, and I started going to agility classes with one of them, Lucy. I found the agility classes enjoyable and then picked up obedience classes. Once I got June, I had a dog that could do it more competitively, and that made me want to compete in more sports.

NH: What was your first competition with the Huskies? And what was your first competition with the Dalmatians?

KR: With Lucy, my first competition was a barn hunt competition, where dogs find rats in hay bales. She did really well, and that was a really fun and encouraging start. June's first sport event was FastCAT, a 100-yard dash for dogs, and she did not do well. She had no idea what to do! Now, it's actually her favorite sport, and she has a personal best speed of 27.16 MPH. June’s actual first competition was when she was a four-month-old puppy, and she did a conformation show. These tend to be the typical dog shows where they compare temperament, expression, movement, all of that. For the first competition, she did really well and won best puppy among the other Dalmatians.

NH: So far, what has been your favorite event?

KR: I would say agility. That was something that I always was interested in, and it's the very first class I took. It's also one of the hardest events and is a long term and difficult investment. June has her agility course test title, but even with both dogs I've done ability trials with, I am still working on getting actual trial titles.

NH: Are there any competitions you'd like to enter in the future or are there any milestones you want to reach in the future?

KR: In May, I have a rally trial, and beyond that, there's a barn hunt trial in July. In the grander scope, I really want to go to the Dalmatian Club of America National Specialty. That’s the yearly national competition where all Dalmatian owners who are in the club come together and compete, and it’s held in a different state every year. I'd also like to attend Westminster and the American Kennel Club National Championships.

Woodworking with Jerry Ferris

Jerry Farris is a Distinguished Professor of Environmental Biology at Arkansas State University, and enjoys woodworking in his free time. Jerry was interviewed by Kevin Krajcir, a former graduate student at LSU and current Grants Coordinator for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Kevin Krajcir: How would you describe your science to a 5th grader?

Jerry Farris: I work with [the process of] cleaning water. I study animals that reflect the impact that we have on water. Like a doctor might take your temperature, I take measurements from these animals to determine if they are feeling well.

KK: How long have you been practicing woodworking? What, or who, initially drew you to the hobby?

JF: My father had a shop in our backyard. From him, I learned how to use and take care of the tools. I remember when I was 6 or 7 years old, I would sneak his tools out into the yard! Eventually, I began my own collection of tools. The pieces I make are largely inspired by my passions as a naturalist. While working on my Master’s degree [at Arkansas State University], I realized I could craft birds, invertebrates, and other decoys. My style, however, was largely influenced by an artist. I took a print-making class as an elective in graduate school, and I was always amazed by the work of our professor, Evan Lindquist. When I asked about his inspirations, he told me that prior to becoming an artist he went to school for biology! His insight into both fields has inspired my craft.

KK: Can you describe some of the pieces that you’ve made?

JF: I have six grandchildren, and I recently made them an ark filled with animals. This ark has been the most challenging piece I have ever made, based on its size and the numerous animals I made. It was a bit difficult to hand it over to my grandkids for them play with once I was done! I have also used my skills to craft pieces for scientific societies. I found out that folks really like shorebirds, so I have donated pieces to silent auctions and the funds have been used to raise money for graduate student travel to these conferences. I have also gifted pieces to genuinely nice students who have worked with me, in the lab or elsewhere, as a going-away present. I typically create something based on their scientific interests.  

KK: Of all the pieces that you have made, is there one that is particularly special to you?

JF: I value them all, because they represent different periods of my work and different people who I have worked with over the years. I have a carving of a predaceous diving beetle as a piece of office furniture. What makes it special is that I have the names of all the technicians from that project carved into the wood. So it serves a reminder of my time with those folks.

KK: Is there any advice you have for folks wanting to get into woodworking?

JF: Visit every museum when you get the chance to travel anywhere! I love the Smithsonian Institutition and the indigenous cultural museums of the Pacific Northwest. You learn so much about the craft and various styles by seeing others’ works and their processes. Learn what you can from books, magazines, and online resources as well; there is so much available on this topic!

Rockhounding with Aimee Van Tatenhove

Aimee Van Tatenhove is a PhD Candidate in the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University and a Science News Reporter for Utah Public Radio. This interview is about her hobbies of rock tumbling and rock and fossil collecting (aka “rockhounding”). Aimee was interviewed by Hirusha Algewattage, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Hirusha Algewattage: How would you describe your research to a 5th grader?

Aimee Van Tatenhove: I study pelicans that nest on an island in the Great Salt Lake, which is this huge salty lake in Utah. I basically study where they like to go, how well they're surviving, and what causes their populations to get bigger or smaller.

HA: When did you first start collecting rocks and fossils as hobbies?

AVT: I've been collecting rocks and fossils most of my life with my family. We all live in rock towns, so we all love to collect rocks and fossils and gems, and I realized how fun it is to go look for shiny things on the ground. I got into rock tumbling specifically in 2020 as a pandemic hobby. I bought a small rock tumbler and got some grit to add to it to make the rocks shiny.

HA: Can you describe the the process of selecting rocks, and how you determine which ones are suitable for collecting and tumbling?

AVT: I first identify rocks based on their physical characteristics. For example, I can tell if a rock is hard or soft, shiny or dull, and if it leaves a mark when rubbed against something. Usually I choose rocks that have a similar hardness to one another, and which are quite hard. I put them together in my rock tumbler and change out the grit as they become shinier. During the tumbling process, I monitor the rocks to ensure that they are tumbling well. If I notice that some rocks are not tumbling well, I replace them with different ones. Ultimately, I aim to select the hardest rocks because they are the ones that will end up the shiniest once the tumbling process is complete.

HR: What is your favorite rock to collect?

AVT: I personally prefer a hard blue-colored metamorphic rock called specular hematite for the tumbling process. It looks great, and has a somewhat metallic color.

HA: Have you found any interesting fossils?

AVT: I have collected at many different sites, and each one has its own unique collection of fossils. There's a fossil site in Idaho that I've frequently visited, which has a lot of interesting fossils. For instance, I have collected trilobites, which are tiny bug-like creatures. Where I live in Utah, I often come across fossils such as crinoids, which are plant-like sea creatures, as well as various types of coral and fish. A couple of summers ago, I participated in a program where you pay to help with an excavation in Montana. We were able to dig up pieces of dinosaurs such as an Allosaurus, which is a huge dinosaur. It was an incredible experience. However, I couldn't keep any fossils of that dinosaur because it was not allowed.

HA: What advice do you have for people that are starting out rockhounding as a hobby? 

ATV: If you are thinking about getting into tumbling rocks or collecting rocks and fossils, do your research first. It's important to understand the basics before you start, and you can find a lot of information online, in books, and from other collectors. You should learn about the different types of rocks and fossils, the equipment you'll need, and the techniques involved. Another tip would be to start small when you're just getting started. It can be overwhelming if you try to build a big collection right away, so it's a good idea to begin with just a few rocks or fossils. This will give you a chance to learn more about the specimens that you're interested in and develop your skills over time.

Making Crochet Animals with Amy Panikowski

Amy Panikowski is a freelance scientist in South Africa. This article is about her hobby of making crochet animals. Amy was interviewed by Anjira Sengupta, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Anjira Sengupta: How would you describe your research to a 5th grader?

Amy Panikowski: I wear a lot of different hats when it comes to my research. Professionally, I am a scientist for hire. Some days that can be studying water control, other days I'm studying natural resource management. I also work with rural communities, and some days I'm playing with snakes. I am also an educator. I talk to people about snakes and other reptiles, and why they are important.

AS: How did you get into crocheting animals?

AP: I started around 2018. I went to the University of Florida for graduate school and got my Master’s degree, then I came to South Africa to do research and I met a guy [later husband] there. The entire visa process was too much and that’s when I started to crochet to deal with the stress of going through visas every couple of years. Since the beginning, I wanted to do something more contemporary. Around 2021, our former vet, Dr. Gustav Botha, was moving away. He and his wife were having a second child. I said, “Well, can I make you something?” Gus said, “We have enough blankets, we want a dinosaur.” So I made an Ankylosaurus for them. That was my first crochet animal.

AS: How long does it take you to finish one project?

AP: With my daily schedule, it takes about 2-3 weeks to finish a project. I'm typically a nighttime and weekend crocheter, as other things take up my time - freelancing, rescue and rehabilitation [of wildlife], conservation education, etc. Bigger projects take longer. I am one of those people who tends to have multiple projects going simultaneously.

AS: What are some of your favorite pieces you’ve crocheted?

AP: I made my nephew a chameleon and a frog. My niece likes horses and fish, so I made her little versions of each. My mom loves the beach, I made her a little sea turtle. In 2016, my dad came to South Africa and he just fell in love with the rhinos. So I made him a little rhino. I think those are my some of my favorites.

AS: What would you tell a person who is planning to start crocheting? Can you suggest some resources that might help a beginner?

AP: I'm pretty much self-taught. If you're like me who's a visual learner, YouTube is a great tool. But if you've got a friend that has been crocheting for a while, you can work with that individual side by side. My friend Angie [Redinger] taught me how to read crochet patterns. She's the one I went to when I had to learn how to read and understand that Ankylosaurus pattern!

AS: Do you feel crocheting helps with your conservation work?

AP: All that love for conservation just manifests itself in different ways throughout my life. When I'm working on a [crochet] piece, and I'm counting the stitches, sometimes other conservation things pop up in my head, or things I need to work on, or remember later. But it also gives me a break when I'm in a deep work mode. It gives a bit of time for my brain to relax while at the same time still being productive. I do a lot of work with snakes here. I have to deal with people who kill snakes. I see a lot of dead snakes during the summertime, almost on a daily basis. I spend an enormous amount of time and effort getting people not to do it. It can cause a lot of burnout. Crocheting really helps me on those days.

AS: Do you think having a hobby beside science helps scientists?

AP: Oh yeah, you have to have a hobby. I actually think that there should be more time, especially in grad school, for artistic outlets. I think art is really important for people, even very sciencey people. When I grew up, I was a dancer and I danced all the way through college. We all need something that gives our minds a break, and a different perspective really helps with your work. I hope my crochet animals [on Instagram and Twitter] help people understand the importance of natural organisms, because I really would like people to care about nature.

Fostering Cats and Kittens with Carrie Barker

Dr. Carrie Barker is currently a research associate at the Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium at Louisiana State University. Carrie was interviewed by Aislinn Mumford, a PhD student at LSU.

Aislinn Mumford: How would you describe your science to a fifth grader?

Carrie Barker: I study plants, how they got to where they are growing, and why certain species grow in some areas where other species do not.

AM:  How did you become interested in fostering cats?

CB: I started off volunteering at a local animal shelter. I first started walking dogs, then cleaning cages. I’d always wanted to foster, but at that time, I was traveling a lot, so it wasn't feasible. Then the pandemic happened. I wasn’t traveling then, so I was able to start fostering. I really fell in love with it, so I made it a point to continue doing it.

AM: What is the fostering process like? If someone were interested in fostering, how would they go about doing it?

CB: Usually a shelter will have either an email or a link that you can use to sign up. Each shelter will give you some basic training on how to become a foster. After that, as cats come in, they will reach out to their network of fosters. Sometimes they do that through an email listserv. Cat Haven [in Baton Rouge, LA], the shelter I foster at, has a Facebook group, and anytime they have cats or kittens that need to be fostered, they'll just post, and whoever is first to say, “I can take those kittens” will take them. The length of time that you are required to foster for the cats or kittens depends. For kittens, you usually foster until they are eight weeks old and two pounds. If they are adult cats, there may be particular reasons why they need to be fostered. It may be that they have health problems, or that the shelter is having a hard time keeping up with so many cats, or they may need more socialization if they were a stray, so the length of time can vary. It can be up to the discretion of the person fostering. One time I fostered a feral cat for four months because she needed more socialization.

AM: Do you have a favorite memory from fostering?

CB: One time I read a Facebook post a little too quickly. I thought it said they needed a foster for three five-week-old kittens, and it actually said five three-week-old kittens! That was my first time fostering kittens and they had to be bottle fed. You have to bottle feed them every three hours and wake up in the middle of the night to feed them. Luckily, this was during this summer, so I didn't have any classes that I had to go to. It was very difficult, but very rewarding taking care of life that is so fragile, and they became very attached to me. They were very affectionate, and bottle-fed babies tend to be the most affectionate cats, because they get so much human attention.

AM: What would you say to someone who already has a cat, but is interested in fostering? Is that something they can still do?

CB: Yeah! I have a cat that doesn't particularly like other cats or has a hard time getting used to them. I live in a very small apartment as well, so I make it work by keeping them separate for the first couple of weeks, and then slowly introducing them. Or if you have a bigger space, you can have a designated foster area, then you wouldn't have to worry about introducing them to your other animals.  

AM: What is your favorite thing about fostering? 

CB: Probably just knowing I've made a difference, even if it is a small difference. You have these stray animals that wouldn’t have survived that if they hadn't been brought into the shelter, especially the kittens. And so I know that we are making a small difference, and trying to limit the amount of stray cats in Baton Rouge as best as we can. But no matter how many cats and kittens we have spayed, they are always more, so there is always more to do. But yeah, I guess just making a making a little difference is what I like about it. And they're really cute!    

AM: What advice would you have for people who are interested in fostering?

CB: There is a YouTuber called Hannah Shaw that has dedicated her whole life to fostering kittens. She calls herself the Kitten Lady, and she has a ton of informational YouTube videos. She's even made books on how to foster and all the different steps. So if you are interested in fostering, and are kind of nervous about starting, she has a ton of information that was super helpful to me.  

Collecting Comics with Herman Mays

Herman Mays is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Marshall University. Herman was interviewed by Mark Yeats, a Master’s student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Mark Yeats: How would you describe your research to a fifth grader?

Herman Mays: I mainly study birds. I want to know where they come from, especially birds on islands. I am curious about how they got there and how they evolved into new species. A big part of that is figuring out how many species of birds are on an island. That might seem easy, but there are some birds that are very closely related and look very similar, so you really need to dig deep to figure out if they are different species.

MY: When did you first start collecting comic books?

HM: Well, I had comic books when I was a kid in the 1970s. However, I have none of those comic books anymore! When I started in graduate school [at the University of Kentucky], I didn’t have a lot of money, but there were some great comic shops nearby. Sometimes, on my way home from leaving the lab or office, I would stop by and look at comic books, buying a few here and there. In other words, I had a few when I was in graduate school in the 90s, but I have probably been seriously collecting for only about 20 years.

MY: In total, how many comic books do you think you have in your collection?

HM: The nice thing about having collections, whether it's books or comics or anything like that, is they now have apps. For example, [Key Collector] allows you to keep track of them, so I can look and see what I have. Some people have tens of thousands, but I have 2,677. I think that's a pretty modest collection. Some people I know have around 20,000.

MY: What is the earliest comic book that you remember reading, and how do you think that influenced your interest in collecting comic books?

HM:  I remember reading things like Green Lantern comics [in my early youth]. When I started collecting back in the 90s, I remember reading Venom and The Amazing Spider-Man. A more modern comic book I remember is Jason Aaron’s run on Thor. I remember that very clearly, because it dealt with issues like how there can be a loving God when there is suffering in the world. The comic book dealt with a villain who wants to kill all the gods in the Marvel universe, because of the horrible suffering his people have gone through while the gods remained silent, never helping them. I thought that was a fantastic story.

MY. What is your most cherished comic book, and what makes that one special?

HM: It was a long time ago, my wife gave it to me for my birthday or Father’s Day. She bought me The Amazing Spider-Man #31, which is the first appearance of Gwen Stacy. It's one of my oldest comic books, from 1965. It's amazing to me that you can have this seemingly flimsy paper book that’s almost 60 years old. Also, that one is great because my wife bought it for me! I think she paid $50 for it too. So not only does it have sentimental value, it is probably in my top 10 most valuable comic books.

MY: Does your interest lie mainly in the industry giants like DC and Marvel, or have you found any indie comics that you like?

HM: Most of my collection is Marvel now, and I have a few DC books but not many. However, I do have some independently published comic books. One of the new [indie] comics I have is called Animal Castle (ABLAZE Publishing). It's an adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm where farm animals live together in a dictatorship.  I have some Image Comics, and there's one called Crossover. The premise of it is there is some weird cosmic accident and all these comic book characters that were just appearing in fiction become real and hunt down their creators.

MY: Is there any overlap between how you think as a comic book collector and a scientist? Or, has reading comic books ever shaped how you think as a researcher?

HM: The appeal of comic books is, when you're a scientist and you write a scientific paper, you are chasing after something that’s empirical. You can't make up anything. But in comic books, you can. I think part of the appeal is that comic books are not like science. Comics are so open ended.

MY: In my experience of reading comic books, I developed an interest in Alan Moore’s work. I was wondering if you have a favorite graphic novel author. What is it you find unique about their writing style or storytelling ability?

HM: I think my favorite is Frank Miller. My favorite by him, and the biggest part of my collection, is Daredevil. [During the 1980s,] Frank Miller sort of redefined Daredevil, and turned him into the version that everybody knows today. Miller writes in a very gritty, street-level setting, and Daredevil isn’t usually saving the universe like the Avengers, he is just trying to save Hell's Kitchen. He isn’t even saving New York, just his neighborhood.

MY. Is there any advice you would like to give someone interested in collecting comic books?

HM: If you have a local comic book shop, that's the best place to start. Go in and get to know the staff and tell them what sort of characters and stories you find interesting. They will be happy to help!

Painting with Maheshi Dassanayake

Maheshi Dassanayake is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University. This interview is about her painting hobby. Maheshi was interviewed by Samadhi Wimalagunasekara, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Samadhi Wimalagunasekara: How would you describe your research to a 5th grader?

Maheshi Dassanayake: I study how plants grow in difficult environments like in deserts, in saltwater, on mountain tops, and in snow-covered regions.

SW: When did you first start painting as a hobby?

MD: I started painting after finishing high school and while waiting to start college. I was waiting until the announcement [about my college entrance exam results]. During that gap period, I didn't have much to do, and at the time I had my first boyfriend, Suniti [editor’s note: he later became her husband], so I tried to draw things to send to him. That was actually the start.

SW: Why painting? What is your favorite thing about your hobby?

MD: I always liked the natural environment and looking at paintings of birds and plants and flowers. There were leftover paints my mother had used for her work, and I simply played with that paint and started drawing or painting.

SW: Is there any specific type of painting you prefer to do?

MD: Watercolor paintings of plants and animals.

SW: Do you have any favorite paintings, and what is the story behind them?

MD: Not necessarily just one, I like a few of them. Some of these paintings are actually from one-inch postage stamps that I wanted to paint. One such stamp was a Sri Lankan stamp of the Sri Lanka White-eye, an endemic bird in Sri Lanka. Another example is the Wood White Butterfly from an Australian postal stamp. I gifted those paintings to Suniti.

SW: So, the story behind most of your paintings is just to impress Dr. Suniti?

MD: Yeah, absolutely.  I was eighteen years old, and I got a new boyfriend. There was no email, SMS, or phone at the time, right? So that's what I did.

SW: Does your science help your painting or does painting help your science?

MD: There is a natural connection. I was always curious about biology. Even as a four year-old kid, when I had not formed clear thoughts about my passion for science, I was curious about pretty much every living thing. This curiosity made me pay attention to plants and animals that I could see in nature and in pictures, even in small stamps! So what I painted was an extension of that curiosity. The subjects [of the paintings] were naturally those things that I liked to see and later on studied.

SW: As a busy scientist, how do you manage time for your work and time for your hobby?

MD: I hardly have time for painting these days because I prefer to spend more time with my students in the lab. However, I plan to resume painting in the near future.

SW: Do you think it is important for scientists to have non-science hobbies?

MD: I think it's not just one hobby, scientists should have multiple non-science hobbies so that they can get a break from thinking about science and then resume science with a refreshed mindset. Everybody should have a non-science hobby.

Mary Mangan is an independent scientist and co-founder of OpenHelix, a company that provides awareness and training on open-source genomics software tools. Mary was interviewed by Garima Setia, a Master’s student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Garima Setia: How would you describe your work to a fifth grader?

Mary Mangan: The goal of my work is to help people understand where to find the [biological] data that they need and how to find it effectively. We help people get the most credible information through the best resources available. If they have had their DNA analyzed, we want them to have the best way to understand that.

GS: How did you get involved in lacemaking as a hobby?

MM: I live in Somerville Massachusetts, which played an important role in the American Revolution. I was doing volunteer work at the revolutionary war site in my city. As volunteers, we had the opportunity to walk the people through the site and teach them history about the site. During this, I became interested in learning about the clothing of the colonial period.  I realized that during this revolutionary war period, lace was really important, people would put lace on their caps and cuffs. This aroused my interest in lacemaking, but I couldn't figure out how to make the lace. After doing some research, I found a local group called the New England Lace Group. They were giving an introductory workshop on lacemaking. I took the workshop and learned how to make lace. I struggled through that because making lace is complicated! Luckily the woman who taught my workshop was also interested in historic lace, and she had some extra details for me. She pointed me in a direction to find more information about the historic laces. That’s when I became interested in this particular kind of lace called Ipswich lace. This lace was made in the late 1800s, about 30 miles from me. There was this community where 600 women made lace, and I had never heard about it before.

GS: What are the things that you really love about lacemaking? And what do you find challenging about it?

MM: One of the things that I love about lacemaking is something that I didn't expect, and that is the lace culture. I didn't realize that lace would have this sort of structure around it where there are all these women who regularly meet. Every month we have lectures about the history of lace or some museum exhibit, so there's a great amount of ongoing education. If you go to a lace conference, or a lace meeting, everyone takes the workshops. People are skilling up constantly with different kinds of lace. I make a couple of kinds of lace but there are dozens of them, and people are always learning more, and they're taking another class, and they're telling you about the class. Their workshop system encourages you to skill up so much. So that was a surprise to me, and I really like that feature. What's challenging to me is how tricky some of the laces really are and it's hard to learn. Some of the patterns in the books are cryptic. They're hard to decipher unless you've taken a workshop with somebody who knows it.

GS: Are there any books you would recommend to people who want to learn lacemaking?

MM: There's a classic book by Santina Levey called “Lace: A History”. This book gives you the whole scope of lace over centuries and the different kinds of lace. This book is expensive. However, one of the cool things about lace culture is that lacemakers have their own libraries, and you can borrow the books from the library. There are also some great introductory lace books that are not too expensive, and you can buy them on Amazon. “Laces of the Ipswich” by Marta Cotterell Raffel is the one that got me into that particular historical lace.

GS: Do you think awareness regarding lacemaking is increasing nowadays?

MM: There is more awareness about lace now compared to how it was before. In the 1970s and 1980s there was a revival of interest in lace. People started coming together to form these local groups and have these workshops and conferences. Now the International Organization of Lace has small chapters, there are also many regional chapters. There is an Eastern Massachusetts lace group, that's part of the New England Lace Group. There is also a Washington DC Lace Group, Florida Lace Group, Toronto Lace Group, and upstate New York Lace Group. There is a new interest in lacemaking by some young people who are coming to lace because it is fun. A number of people do lace TikToks.  There have been a couple of designs by major designers who are using handmade laces. I think it's attracting some people in new ways. So, besides the people who've been doing lace for a long time and are super knowledgeable, we've got a lot of fresh young people coming into it, too.

GS: What advice do you have for people who are interested in lacemaking?

MM: Join some local communities who are involved in it, and you will learn about it. The women who are involved in lace are eager to help! Go to Saturday or Sunday lace events, go to the demonstrations, go to the conferences and take workshops, because lace culture is super interesting. There are a whole bunch of other lacemakers who are doing lace, not in just the traditional patterns but also as art. So I would say, come into it for the hobby, and engage your brain, but also immerse yourself in the culture.

OR

Painting with Rodrigo Diaz

Rodrigo Diaz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Entomology at LSU. This article is about his art hobby. Rodrigo was interviewed by Evelin Reyes Mendez, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Evelin Reyes Mendez: How would you describe your research to a 5th grader?

Rodrigo Diaz: I work with invasive species, organisms that come from different countries or regions and create a lot of ecological problems. People are moving goods and transporting different things faster than ever. My job is to understand how the invasive species [that are accidentally transported along with these goods] impact our ecosystem. I am very interested in finding out how species in their home countries have enemies that keep them under control; this is called biological control. One hypothesis that we are very interested in is that when invasive species arrive in a new region, they explode in number because they do not have a natural enemy. [To test this], we have different projects in different areas, in both the home countries and here. We work a lot with insects and plants that are problematic, and a lot of insecticides and herbicides are used to manage this problem. However, we may be able to use these natural enemies as an alternative method of controlling invasive species.

ERM: What hobbies do you like to do outside of work?

RD: Painting has been my hobby for so long. All of this started with my grandfather when I was a little kid. I would see him painting all the time in oil, I was mesmerized by the diversity of colors and frames [he used]. I started painting with my grandfather, and it was a great bonding time. I like that now I am doing the same with my son, and it is a great way to connect as father and son and share my love of painting and drawing with him. 

ERM: Do you think this hobby makes you a better scientist, or does being a scientist make you good at this hobby?

RD: I believe it is a mix of the two. Good observation is vital both for being a scientist and for painting. I like painting insects, so I am very interested in observing proportion, colors, and features. You have seen paintings of fantastical and very realistic birds. Sometimes if I bring my [scientific perspective], I want to do a realistic representation of an animal. However, at the same time, there is a spectrum where I do not want to be super realistic; I want to lose myself a little bit and enjoy the process of creating something more abstract.

ERM: How long does it take you to complete one of your paintings?

RD: It depends on the technique I use. Some can take me eight hours and others three minutes. It also depends on if I want to do something that I can use in my science, where I need to include more details.

ERM: Do you think that having a hobby in science makes a difference in how you manage stress?

RD: Yes. Studies have shown that you have a greater capacity to concentrate at the beginning of the day: to do more analytical tasks, work on research, write a paper, and so on. However, towards the end of the day, you need to find activities that relax you more. In my case, painting is outstanding because I need to use other skill sets.

ERM: Is there any other hobby that you would like to try?

RD: In terms of art, there are other techniques that I would like to try: charcoal pencils, watercolors, and acrylics. 

ERM: What advice do you have for people that are starting out painting or with their career in science?  

RD: They need to put some time into developing a skill set, and the more effort you put in, the more you will start growing and enjoying the process. Science can be stressful, with [all of the] deadlines. If you start early on allocating some time for any hobby, that can help with time management. If you make time for a hobby, it will help you be more organized in general. I need to have this time for growing, not just as a scientist but as a human being. The greatest joy for me is to give my paintings away and share. I also paint t-shirts with acrylics. I put so much love into my paintings. This is my joy that I can share with friends, and maybe this sparks an interest, and they get into painting.

Scuba Diving with Maggie Knight

Maggie Knight is currently a Research Associate in the lab of Laura Basirico in the LSU College of the Coast & Environment. Maggie was interviewed by Olivia Kluchka, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Olivia Kluchka: How would you explain your science to a 5th grader?

Maggie Knight: As a marine ecotoxicologist, I spend a lot of time looking at chemicals in the environment and how those chemicals can potentially impact people, animals, or plants. We use a lot of technical machines to measure concentrations and presence of those chemicals.

OK: What got you into scuba diving?

MK: I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was younger, but I was terrified of the ocean. Both of my parents got scuba certified in college, and they had always talked about how awesome it was. I thought, that sounds great, but I’m going to be a boat marine biologist. For my 15th birthday, they signed me up to get scuba certified. I was terrified through the entire course, not only because I was the only kid, but I was also the only girl. Only three of us finished the course and I thought, if I can do something like that, then I’m cut out for this. The first couple of dives did scare me, but it also fascinated me to be underwater and I just fell in love with the ocean more and more every time I went diving.

OK: If I am interested in scuba diving, what type of certifications do I need?

MK: There are many certifying agencies for scuba diving. The agency that I use, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), has an Open Water Certification, the basic scuba diving certification. You are required to take the course once, and it follows you all over the world for the rest of your life. However, it is recommended that if you go more than two years without diving you should do a refresher course, which is basically getting in the water with an instructor to recap skills. For an Open Water Certification, you must complete your book work before the course begins. The company I worked for did camps for kids that lasted five days, three days of pool work and two days of open water dives where the students do two dives a day. For adults, it’s typically 20 hours that gets divided up into two consecutive weekends to practice dives. There’s also a discover scuba experience, you don't get a certification out of it, but you get to put on scuba gear and get in the water with an instructor. There are also other types of certifications if you want to stay down longer, dive deeper, take pictures underwater, or dive in a current. Under the PADI system, if you complete five specialties you are considered an advanced diver. On top of that, if you want to get into providing aid to other divers, you can do a rescue course. If you want to do it professionally, you can become a dive master or even an instructor, and there are multiple levels for instructors too.

OK: What was your most memorable diving experience?

MK: In fall 2020, I worked for The Coral Restoration Foundation in Key Largo, Florida. On the last day, we did a public outreach event where we invited scuba-certified community members into our coral nursery to help us clean and take care of the coral that we were growing. Later, we went to monitor restoration areas. It was December, and the sun was setting early. We were going out in the boats around 5 p.m., and we got into the 72-degree water - which is freezing for Key Largo but nice everywhere else in the world - and we immediately spotted a sea turtle. Seeing one in the Keys is a dime a dozen, but if you have ever seen a sea turtle, you know it is a special moment every time. Then we saw all these baby corals that we had outplanted six months earlier, and they were adhering to the reef and doing well. During all our swimming and observing, the sun came out from behind the clouds and was dancing through the water. All of a sudden, there was a huge group of jellyfish, called a smack, floating gracefully in the evening sun. Before I got back on the boat, my coworker showed me a bunch of wild coral that was still doing well, and it was just a magical afternoon and a nice way to cap off the experience that I had in active marine restoration.

OK: Did scuba diving make you fall more in love with the idea of being a marine biologist?

MK: About 90% of marine biology is done above the surface, 10% of it is not. However, scuba diving opens up opportunities for me as a scientist, and I have many great memories. How many people can say they've been thrown off a boat by their dad to scuba dive with a pod of wild dolphins? Also, if you're scuba certified, you can go to coralrestoration.org to learn more [about doing restoration work] and sign up for dives.

Cooking with Kelsey Jenkins

Kelsey Jenkins is a PhD Candidate at Yale University in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. This article is about her cooking hobby. Kelsey was interviewed by Abdul Ada, a PhD student at LSU. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Abdul Ada: How would you explain your research to a 5th grader?

Kelsey Jenkins: What I tell everyone is to imagine every reptile they can, living or extinct. That includes turtles, crocodiles, dinosaurs, all of that. I study the grandpa of all of those things and I study the things leading up to it.  

AA: How did you start with your cooking hobby?

KJ: It was the pandemic, I was so bored. I came up with a lot of really weird hobbies; this is probably the most normal of my hobbies! I started collecting coins off the ground, cataloging nature, just because that's what there was to do during the pandemic. You either sit at home alone or you go for a walk, and cooking came out of that too. I was like, I might just tell my friends what I'm up to, then I actually got a small following [on Instagram]. I think I have about 1000 followers, which is a big deal for me.

AA: What cuisine is associated with your cooking?

KJ: A little bit of everything. When I started the [Instagram] account, I wanted it to be a Cajun cooking account because I was up North and I hadn't eaten Cajun food in a long time. I was the source of Cajun food among my friends. But it turns out that there are about eight famous Cajun dishes, then you get kind of bored. So I changed the account to almost everything.

AA: How would you describe Cajun food?

KJ: There are two sorts of cuisines associated with Louisiana, Cajun and Creole food. Creole food is associated with the upper class, as one spends more on nicer ingredients. They tend to be seafood dishes that are creamy and rich, such as shrimp, grits, and etouffee. Whereas Cajun food is more of a working-class cuisine. For example, the rice dish jambalaya, which is kind of a hybrid of paella from Spain.

AA: Are there still dishes would you like to learn to prepare?

KJ: I want to get very good at making ramen. Also, Asian foods more generally, because the flavor profile is totally different than what I grew up with. I am always wondering if I am buying the right ingredients and using them correctly, so I don't cook Asian food very often, but I'm slowly trying to incorporate that. I've also been trying to find a good South African cookbook because I've been there a couple times and I've always wanted to get that type of background [in South African cuisine].

AA: Cooking can be time consuming. How do you manage your time between cooking and doing science?

KJ: At the end of the day, you’ve got to eat and you're going to do bad science if you're hungry. That's just rule number one about human survival: you’ve got to eat. I like nice food, but I'm also a graduate student on a budget. I can eat whatever fancy meal I want, as long as I’m willing to cook it myself. I only cook fancy meals two or three times a week, and the recipes sometimes can take only 30 minutes, and then you get back to work.

AA: Can you describe a cooking experience that did not end well?

KJ: What's more frustrating is when something tastes really good but the photo comes out really ugly. I want to post it [on Instagram] so badly, but no one's going to look at it or think it looks appealing if it looks really ugly. I also burn stuff all the time. You shrug it off and go to the next day.

AA: What positive and unexpected results are you seeing from your hobby?

KJ: When I started, I didn’t expect to get anything out of it. I think that now among my friends, I have a reputation for being a good cook, which is kind of nice. My lab used to have a member from Italy and, of course, Italians have a really good reputation for food, and now I feel like he respects me as a cook, which feels great. Other than that, it is just for my own gratification. I think that's why you have a hobby, it's for yourself, unless your hobby is helping other people.

AA: What keeps you motivated to cook? Is it the feedback from those trying your food?

KJ: Some people like to cook for others, because they like the camaraderie, and some people like to cook because they like to show off. And I like it for both of those reasons, but I think the more I cook for myself, the more I’m like, okay, this is something that I’ve earned. At the end of the day, it's important to take care of yourself, part of doing good science is taking care of yourself.

AA: For somebody reading this and thinking that this sounds good, but they don’t know how to start, what would you advise?

KJ: Start slow! Pick one recipe. Don't try to give yourself five recipes a week, because you're going to get tired. Start off once a week doing a recipe for yourself and then you're going to have leftovers, so you don't have to worry about what you make the next day. Start with something you're familiar with. Learn to follow a recipe, force yourself to look at all the words of your recipe and follow it, and don't go off course.

Art Journaling with Janet Salmons

Dr. Janet Salmons is an independent researcher, academic writer, coach, instructor, and methods guru at SAGE MethodSpace. Her hobby is art journaling. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Janet was interviewed by Elaine Nkwocha, a PhD student at LSU.

Elaine Nkwocha: How would you describe your research to a 5th grader?

Janet Salmons: I carry out qualitative research, which involves making observations, asking others about their research, or doing the research myself. I’m about to embark on a study with three other co -researchers who work in other parts of the world. Two people are from a group called e/merge Africa based at the University of Cape Town. e/merge Africa is a network of people in educational technology across the continent. The other person is from a group called AuthorAID, which hooks up graduate students and early career researchers with mentors who help them figure out how to get their work published. We’re going to contribute a chapter to a book about the principles of methods because we're all interested in research methods.  

EN: How did you get involved in art journaling as a hobby?

JS: When I was a teenager, I did watercolor painting and other creative stuff. In the last couple of years, it has been very stressful and demanding teaching in an institution during a fair amount of turmoil. When it was my birthday, my daughters would ask what I want; I’d say, “Maybe I need some art supplies; I need art therapy.” Meanwhile, about six or eight months afterward, these supplies just sat there, and I wondered what to do with them. Then I had a ruptured disc for which I was in an incredible amount of pain and got sidelined from things that I do, and I picked it up [art journaling]. I found that it was so helpful in getting through this time, where I was in a lot of physical pain and felt anxiety around that. Art journaling was incredibly relaxing and helped me get through that difficult time, and then I just kept on with it.

EN: What is your favorite thing about your hobby?

JS: I like trying out all the different supplies and trying out different techniques, and just the experimentation. It has been this time of isolation [with the Covid-19 pandemic], but I look forward to connecting with other people who enjoy the same hobby outdoors. Art journaling gives me another focus. In addition, I make art cards that I send to people, and it's a happy thing to get something in the mail that somebody made. I just finished making some cards for Easter and spring.  I made a series of pop-up cards with flowers that pop when you open them, and that was fun.

EN: What advice would you have for others interested in your hobby?

JS: Well, I have the '‘just do it’' school of thinking; don't overthink it. I’ve been teaching art journaling, and I have come up with a whole set of materials for people thinking about it. Some people do art journaling that is interior. It's their reflections or dreams, their hopes, their thoughts, and at an intimate level. Other people do things about their immediate environments, like a garden journal, their quote designs, menus and food, travel journals, and nature journaling. Do you want to have a combination of those things or have journals dedicated to one area? Journaling for some people is very much a private experience.  Part of it is choosing whether you would make a private kind of diary versus using it as a basis for exchange. One example of a cool project is the Brooklyn Art Library in New York. They have this project that is not juried - anyone can do it - where you can buy sketchbooks from them, fill them up, and send them back. They have a whole library of these sketchbooks, like an art installation, and a digital library where you can look at journals from people all over the world. Get some supplies, and just try it out or find something that you like to do, and that gives you a chance to be hands-on.

Embroidery with Abby Kimmitt

Dr. Abby Kimmitt is currently a postdoc at Texas A&M University. This interview focuses on her embroidery hobby. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Abby was interviewed by Maggie Vincent, a PhD student at LSU.

Maggie Vincent: How would you explain your research to a fifth grader?

Abby Kimmitt: I study how birds move and how that relates to how different birds look everywhere, [and how that] promotes diversity. Migrate is the word for their long-distance movements. When birds move, or migrate, that affects when they can breed and have babies and that affects the timing of other events in their life.

MV: How long have you been embroidering?

AK: It hasn’t been that long, three or four years. I always had a crafty side, I guess. I'm not really an artist, but I like doing different crafts. When I was little, I learned how to cross stitch, and then I picked up knitting in high school, so I've learned these different skills over the years.

MV: Is it a difficult hobby to get started in?

AK: No, having the resources and stuff for some hobbies is more difficult than for others. You can watch YouTube videos if you don't know how to do a certain stitch, and do it from the safety of your sofa. I have other hobbies that I have had to put on hold because of COVID, but this is something that is still easy to do at home.

MV: Do you make your own patterns?

AK: This is something a friend and I talked about, neither of us have done our own designs because it seems stressful. I think it's stressful to me because I’m not an artist. I like to draw some, but I don't think that it would necessarily turn into a beautiful embroidery, so I tend to follow other people's patterns and alter them. I wanted to do a lavender [flower design] and was having a hard time finding a pattern that I wanted, so I slightly altered one and added a bee to it. So, I modify it, but some people do like to make their own, and I think there is a pretty big market for it on Etsy, where they sell their own designs.

MV: Do you have a favorite project?

AK: It was very simple, it’s one I made for my sister. It's just the mountains and they're very blue, like the Blue Ridge [Mountains], with a sun behind it. The pattern didn't call for it, but I decided to do a fancier stitch type for the sun, and so I think probably that is my favorite. Almost every new one I do ends up being my favorite, because I'm improving. I'm not really that hard on myself about my embroideries, so I feel like, “I'm proud of this one.” Then the next one I do, I'm like, “This one's better than the last one.”

MV: What function does embroidery serve for you? Is it relaxing?

AK: It's definitely relaxing for me. As a scientist, there is a lot of thinking and a lot of stress, and this is a way that allows me to think some, but it's also easy to just get into. The pattern of it, you can just focus in that moment on what's happening and what is the next step. You can just zone out into this little stitching world, and not be stressed out about your next talk or your next project coming up. And all the things that you could be doing, but know that you need a break from, and shouldn't be doing, but also should be doing.

MV: There's this idea in science that you should be working all the time.

AK: Which I don't agree with, I feel really strongly that it's better to have really productive work [bouts] as opposed to working all the time. I don't think anyone can be productive if they work all the time, your efficiency slows down. I think it's important to take breaks, so that you can be your most efficient productive self.

“Dog Sports” with Gary King

Dr. Gary King is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU. He enjoys participating in dog competitions with his dog Albus, although he doesn’t view this as a hobby, but more as a lifestyle. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Gary was interviewed by Eric Martinez, a PhD student at LSU.

Eric Martinez: How would you describe your research to a 5th grader? 

Gary King: My research [on microbes] involves the kinds of life that can do super things that humans can't, like live in water that is very hot, extremely acidic, or salty, or breathe without air.

EM: Can you tell me about your dog and the competitions?

GK: Albus is a Manchester terrier, one of fewer than a thousand of his breed in the United States. He is a little over two years old and I was able to get connected to him through a breeder in Los Angeles. He’s a constant companion. We’ve gotten into what most people would call “dog sports.” The primary goal of starting this was to make sure Albus was having fun and enjoyed doing it. Coursing, fast CATs [Coursing Ability Tests using timed runs], and agility competitions totally excite Albus, he absolutely loves these types of activities. A lot goes into these competitions, it takes a team effort. A dog can do all the activities in a course by himself, but that doesn’t mean he’s going through each event in the right order, he needs his partner there to help guide him through. Your dog is watching you and you are watching your dog, you are communicating and signaling [with hand and voice]. The dogs watch how you move too, they pick up signals from the way you position yourself. If they see you moving in a direction, this tells them what to do, and as a handler if you do this wrong, they won’t know what to do. It’s a lot more complicated than I originally thought. Agility competitions involve a minimum of 100 dogs, and the dogs and handlers range in classes from novice to masters and the courses are adjusted based on each class. There are different kinds of courses set up with jumps, weave poles [where the dog runs back and forth through poles that are close together], tires [that the dogs jump through], tunnels, A-frames [that the dogs climb up and down], elevated walks, there are a variety of obstacles.

EM: Do you have time to practice before running through a course?

GK: The night before a trial, maps are posted for each of the courses, so you can get an idea of what the course will look like and think about how you are going to run it. However, the actual course on the field has a different feel than the map. The handlers get eight minutes to check out the course before their run, where they can walk through each obstacle and get it in their head, “this is how the course is going to flow, and this is what I’m going to have to do to help guide my dog through this.” I’ve learned I need to look at this course in the way Albus will see it and not how I see it. He sees a tunnel right in front of him after a jump and that’s what he thinks he needs to do next. So I need to be directing him even before he makes the jump to make sure he goes to the assigned obstacle and not that tunnel. Some dogs are slower, making this interaction a little easier as they move through the course, but Albus is on the move when it is time to go, making it a little more challenging for me.

EM: How did you get involved in your hobby? Was there any specific reason you started? 

GK: The main reason for us starting competitions was purely so Albus and I could build a strong relationship while also having a fun time. Albus doesn’t know he’s the fastest Manchester terrier in the United States. He has the lifetime speed record for Manchesters. We started late in 2019 and right away he popped to number one, which I didn’t know about until another competitor let me know that AKC [the American Kennel Club] actually keeps records of all of this, so I looked it up and suddenly Albus was the fastest Manchester runner in 2019. All of the number one dogs in each breed got invited to a National Invitational that AKC put on in Orlando in 2020 and Albus had the opportunity to run there, obtaining a rank number of 17 out of 117 dogs. All of the breeds ahead of him were bigger, and he was only tenths of a second off of these bigger dogs. He’s currently number one in 2021 as well, and we’ll go back to nationals in December 2021. Just recently Albus set a personal best of running 30.11 miles per hour, the guy really flies, which takes him way out in front in the Manchester rankings. His previous best was roughly 28.5 miles per hour, and he just trashed that record. He’s running at the top speed of a lot of other fast breeds, so if you compare him to lifetime records of Italian Greyhounds, which are bred for speed, he’s actually in the top 10 of Italian Greyhounds. Though he has no idea how good he is, Albus is just having a great time.

EM: What is your best memory while doing competitions with Albus?

GK: The memories are all built around knowing how much fun Albus is having. Agility is very different than coursing events and I know he really enjoys going to the agility field. He knows our practice field from about a mile away, recognizing landmarks, and he starts to get really excited, jumping up and down, making all these noises, and once we drive up to the field it takes everything in me to keep him in the car. He just really loves running the agility courses. That, to me, is what this is all this about.

EM: What advice would you have for others interested in your hobby? 

GK: That’s easy: get a dog and start looking for fun stuff sponsored by AKC and others.