search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
MicroscopyPioneers


Nestor Zaluzec: Next Question, Please


Cameron Varano Te Pennsylvania State University, 201 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802 cvarano@psu.edu


Dr. Nestor J. Zaluzec was born


and raised in the South Side of Chi- cago, IL in a family of five boys. While his brothers enjoyed playing sports in their free time, Zaluzec gravitated toward science. Tey all eventually leſt sports behind to pursue careers in engineering, medicine, arts, or chem- istry, but for Zaluzec it seems he has always known his path. His career has been shaped by his ability to recognize the need for new technologies and then build and implement those technologies. Zaluzec is looking for the interesting questions and is not bound by borders or scien- tific discipline. Consequently, he has found and helped cultivate a global community. One such example is the development of the TelePresence Microscopy Collaboratory (TPMC). Shortly aſter the web browser Mosaic came online (1993), Zaluzec launched TPMC to allow scientists and students around the world to access scientific resources. He fondly remembers that elementary school children would log on around lunchtime, knowing he would be around to share something amazing or to help with homework. Te same year he launched the Micros- copy Listserver, which, along with the TPMC, is still operating today and helping to unite the global microscopy community. While he is hesitant to agree on his “pioneer” status, he does admit that his scientific endeavors are “pushing the frontiers.” We have all played enough Oregon Trail, however, to know that those who are on the frontiers are the pioneers. One wonders if this is who Zaluzec is at his core or if it


Nestor Zaluzec


was cultivated by his experiences. He admits to being a natural tinkerer but can provide a lengthy list of impactful teachers and mentors beginning in grade school at Oliver Hazard Perry School. Outside of class, the Illinois Junior Academy of Science provided a continual outlet for young Zaluzec to explore his passion. When he speaks of his experiences there, it is easy to understand how impactful this opportunity was for him. It is not surprising that he is now a mentor in the program. Te legacy he wants to leave is not simply his scientific accomplish- ments, but a new generation that has the same zeal for answer- ing the scientific needs of the world. Zaluzec’s first notable foray in pioneering new technol-


ogy occurred during his undergraduate years. He applied for and earned a position as a lab technician at Sherwin-Williams Research Center. Te position relegated him to tasks such as


60 doi:10.1017/S155192952000084X


Figure 2: Details about the spectrogoniophotometer, also called the “Nesto- rometer,” including a photo of Zaluzec from the early ’70s.


www.microscopy-today.com • 2020 May


washing test tubes. It was during this time that a programmable calculator arrived at the facility and sat idle. Zaluzec began to tinker and realized that he could program the calculator to do his homework. Aſter a gruff inquiry regarding his activity, his superiors quickly realized that young Zaluzec’s efforts were bet- ter spent at places other than the laboratory sinks. While at Sher- win-Williams he built a spectrogoniophotometer, fondly dubbed the “Nestorometer,” (Figure 2) to analyze the light-scattering properties of paint. When asked about this, he laughed with a sense of pride, remembering that he only had a single color of wire and that it worked the first time. Zaluzec credits his train- ing from teachers at Illinois Tech for providing him with the fundamental knowledge for that project. Zaluzec continued his part-time job at Sherwin-Williams until he graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. Upon graduating he, if you will pardon the pun, changed wavelengths and transitioned from studying the scattering properties of paints to metals. By this point, word of his ability had spread and he received


several offers for graduate school. Ultimately, he decided to pursue his doctorate at the University of Illinois, Urbana in metallurgy. Te deciding factor was Dr. Hamish Fraser, his soon-to-be advisor. Fraser was a new faculty member who was interested in exploring important problems and looking for a student who could be his collaborator. It was his philosophy on “why we do what we do” that solidified Zaluzec’s decision. He


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84