Photo: Michael T, Bowers Michael T. Bowers
Professor, Chemistry
Pull quote. It's so critical to persevere, and not give up," says Michael Bowers, giving advice about the difficult, upper-division physical chemistry courses that he teaches. Bowers, a pioneer in mapping the three-dimensional shape of biological molecules, strives to make the material fun, and to help students to "get out of their own way," in learning how to approach problems "not as spectators but as participants."

A sports enthusiast who served as the UCSB Faculty Athletic Representative to the NCAA for ten years, Bowers says that part of the fun of research is being surprised by unexpected discoveries.

"Many of the great things in science happened serendipitously," says Bowers, citing examples from velcro to x-rays. "Accidental discoveries often lead to research breakthroughs completely unrelated to the original questions."

In his research, Bowers is always searching for ways to do an experiment that's never been done before. "What you really want is to do the new experiment that opens up a whole new field."


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