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“We
have to be advocates for moving science forward.”
Alex
Burgin ’86
As director of biochemistry
for the Biostructures Group of deCode Genetics on
Vashon Island, Washington, Alex Burgin’s office
and laboratory are equipped for his every research
need. Yet the scientist’s most creative thinking
is sparked in his garage.
 “Ten
years ago I bought a ’72 Norton—I’ve
rebuilt it twice, and I love doing that work,”
the long-time motorcycle rider explains. “Some
of my best ideas in science have come when I’ve
been doing something mindless, like putting my carburetor
back together, and suddenly the job is finished.
I hardly remember what I was doing, because I’ve
been thinking about a lab experiment and have come
up with a new way to approach it.
“Science is very creative—it’s
putting two ideas together that most people don’t
think fit—and my best ideas come from this
relaxed state, something I learned from [Wabash
art professor] Doug Calisch in our photography class.”
This juxtaposition of vocation and avocation and
the pursuit of balance have been running themes
in Burgin’s life. While grad school classmates
spent every waking hour in the lab, Burgin sneaked
away for printmaking and pottery classes “with
the old ladies” at the local community college.
Today he kayaks and spends hours with his kids in
Puget Sound and stays in shape training for triathlon
competitions. This spring he entered his first marathon.
And, when travel schedules allow it, he visits with
the three fraternity brothers he considers “the
best friends in my life.”
“The most famous scientists with the huge
laboratories probably don’t have much else
in their lives,” Burgin says. “I’ve
seen them working 20 hours a day, 7 days a week,
and because I don’t choose to live that way,
I probably won’t ever be in their league.
On the other hand, I do think that my other interests
help me to see things differently, and sometimes
more clearly.”
Burgin’s liberal arts approach to life entered
its formative stages not long after the small-town
Indiana kid stepped into the Wabash classroom—in
this case a freshman tutorial entitled “Creation
vs. Evolution” taught by professor Dave Krohne.
“I was very afraid to speak out in class,
and I didn’t think my ideas were worth anything,”
Bergin recalls. “But Dave gave me validation.
I’m very irreligious, but there were two students
in that class who were very zealous about their
beliefs, and we had these very feisty yet friendly
discussions on the issues.
“That same year, [biology professor] Tom Cole
sent me a congratulatory letter and a book over
the summer—The Original Genes by Ben Lewin—for
earning the top score in his bio-molecules class.
That was tremendous positive reinforcement—one
of those little things about Wabash, those connections
with professors.
“[English professor] Tom Campbell really built
up my confidence, and my determination to follow-through,
when I did this study for him in socio-linguistics,”
Burgin says. “I came up with the idea through
discussions with Tom, and I finished the study,
but I waited until the last minute to complete parts
of it—I rushed them. When I turned it in,
Tom said, “Great study,” but he knew
exactly where I’d hurried things. He showed
me where I’d come up short, and that was important,
too.”
“And even though I’m irreligious, the
Old Testament course I took from Hall Peebles was
one of the best classes I’ve ever taken,”
Burgin says. “I just learned so much, and
it’s amazing to me today how often I read
references in journals, newspapers, even in scientific
writing that I would never have understood if I
hadn’t taken that course.”
In C&T with Paul McKinney, Burgin learned that
“if you’re going to say something, you’d
better say it clearly and correctly and have a reason
for saying it.
“That was incredibly important to me, because
that’s how it is at science conferences today—you’d
better stay sharp and not let your guard down, or
your colleagues will pick you apart. That’s
just the nature of science.”
Burgin came a long way from the shy Plymouth, Indiana
kid to debating in C&T with one of the College’s
sharpest minds. The opportunity to “do science”
in Dave Polley’s genetics class and the summer-long
aquatics biology immersion trip built skills and
an intensity that powered him through grad school
and into the upper reaches of the hottest field
of science today. So Burgin has to pause for a moment
when asked where Wabash came up short in his science
education.
“The
nurturing and building up done here is very important
preparation for graduate school, but when you go
out into the world and all the scientists are suddenly
picking apart your ideas and trying to bring you
down, it’s a real eye-opener,” Burgin
says. “I had no understanding of the competitiveness
in science. You write these grants, you spend a
year poring over every little thing, and then you
get picked apart for anything they can find. Because
only 15 to 20 percent of grants can be funded, everyone
gets picked apart. It’s a hard life!
“But I’m not sure how you can prepare
students for this, except through internships,”
Burgin says. He’s encouraged to hear such
internships are more common among today’s
Wabash science majors, and that many are required
to present their findings at research conferences
where they have to defend their work.
Burgin nods and says, “I learned something
here at Wabash that really didn’t sink in
until I had to do this work in the world: if you
want to be a successful scientist, it’s fine
to do the greatest experiment in the world, but
if you can’t communicate that to other people,
to your company, to your employees, to the market,
and to your board of directors, you’re nowhere.
“I think this is a trend among all scientists—we’re
spending more time reading, writing, convincing
people, understanding the audience. We have to be
advocates for moving science forward.”
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