Category Archives: Nostalgia

In which academic dreams come true: a belated professorship

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Jennifer Rohn

I have wanted to be a scientist since before I can remember. I did all the right things: I studied hard, finished my homework, raised my hand in class, failed to hide the fact that I loved learning, even though … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Careers, Nostalgia, Research, Staring into the abyss, The ageing process, The profession of science, Women in science | 5 Comments

In which summers shrink

Posted on June 27, 2021 by Jennifer Rohn

Academics talk nostalgically about rosy-tinted times of yore when summers meant a lull in lecturing duties. The months would unfold before you, a vast landscape of research possibilities. It was a time to write papers, craft grants, catch up with … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Careers, Nostalgia, Research, Students, Teaching, The ageing process, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which summers shrink

In which the pandemic unfolds: a postcard from The Big One?

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Jennifer Rohn

Epidemics are works in progress. At any given moment in time, you can’t know how they will end. They are a curve on a graph of ultimately unknown trajectory; when you are just a dot on a growing curve, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Epidemics, Nostalgia, Scientific thinking, Staring into the abyss, Work/life balance | 1 Comment

In which my mother stands behind me, and I mother in turn

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Jennifer Rohn

The winter always belonged to my mother and me. We both loved the late autumn, when the last of the leaves plastered the pavements in a smear of color, and our breath fogged the morning air. November also usually brought … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic bliss, Joshua, Nostalgia, The ageing process, Work/life balance | 2 Comments

In which I realize I am part of a select sci/art group

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Jennifer Rohn

I haven’t written here for a gazillion years – life is just too full-on. But I found out an amusing fact that I wanted to share. I’m not sure how it came up, but my Fiction Lab contact at the … Continue reading →

Posted in LabLit, Nostalgia | Comments Off on In which I realize I am part of a select sci/art group

In which I evolve (or possibly, devolve) as a scientist

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Jennifer Rohn

Last Thursday was a normal day. After a few hours at my desk working on a grant application and a paper revision, I ran to the tube station, threw myself into a train down to the main campus, trudged a … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Careers, Nostalgia, The ageing process, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which I evolve (or possibly, devolve) as a scientist

In which we wind down

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve been off work for a few days, but the incompatible clash of exhaustion and adrenalin which characterizes my life in academia has yet to ebb. These days it takes a full week to come down from the jaw-clenched crush … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Nostalgia | Comments Off on In which we wind down

In which I present my third lab lit novel, Cat Zero – out soon!

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Jennifer Rohn

I’m pleased to announce the imminent publication of my third lab lit novel, Cat Zero, with Bitingduck Press, a science-friendly indie imprint out of Altadena, California. I have always wanted to write a story starring feline leukemia virus (FeLV), the … Continue reading →

Posted in LabLit, Nostalgia, Work/life balance, Writing | 11 Comments

In which an era ends

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Jennifer Rohn

She was decent and hard-working. She seldom complained, even when she got herself into a jam. She witnessed my awakening as a writer, from tentative, cliché-prone beginner to confident, stripped-down wordsmith capable of earning money and book deals. She saw … Continue reading →

Posted in LabLit, Nostalgia, Work/life balance, Writing | 4 Comments

In which I feel a bit too old for this game sometimes

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Jennifer Rohn

Age is a slippery thing. Most days I still feel like that tentative new PhD student, pulling 80-hour weeks at the University of Washington Health Sciences Center in Seattle. By the red glow of the safelight, I’d feed dusky rectangles … Continue reading →

Posted in Nostalgia, Scientific method, Students, The profession of science | 2 Comments