The Scientific Activist

Dare I be so presumptuous to suggest that you've checked out the About page on my blog in the last couple of days, you may have noticed a few new photos. The first one was taken last summer in front of the Wellcome Trust building in London:

Yes, that's right: I'm standing in front of a giant neon protein structure. And, I don't think it's possible for me to convey just how much I want one of those!

The Wellcome Trust--a ubiquitous name in science in the UK--is the second largest medical charity in the world and the largest non-governmental funder of biomedical research in the UK. It funds a large degree of the research that we do in our lab, and it even paid for Oxford's 950 MHz NMR magnet (the most powerful in the world). Last year, the Wellcome Trust opened the Wellcome Collection at this building in London. It includes several very interesting (and free) exhibits fusing art and science, including these neon protein structures.

Taking things in a completely different direction, the next photo was taken at Texas A&M University, at the George Bush Presidential library:

I think that if I ever become a Republican, you can expect it to look something like this. I was actually at the Bush Presidential Library last September to address the incoming class of the Texas A&M University Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, and I couldn't resist such a pricelessly ironic photo op.

Last but not least, the person who made both of these photos possible (not only by taking the actual pictures but by conceiving of them in the first place) is my lovely girlfriend Meredith Clancy:

Meredith is a third-year vet student at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, and, as you can see, she's awesomely sciencey. She's also a tried-and-true political activist... and clearly my better half all around. Who could ask for more? You can also see Meredith in the reflection of the first photo, and you might catch her commenting on the blog from time to time.