Reflections from Helsinki: Week 3

Most of us will spend a huge portion of our lives working, which makes what we do important. Work is the main way most of us engage in our communities and take part in the human endeavor on earth. Work also challenges us, brings tension into our lives, and forces us to look at ourselves. Work is a teacher, and as humans I think we are meant for it.

I'm fortunate to have work with variety and that I enjoy. I get to teach young Montanans and see one or two a year get hooked on the joy of learning. That's a rush! And I'm a research mathematician, one of a global community, which requires hard work and travel to do it well; right now, I need a break from it.

I recall dreaming of being a Professor when I was an undergraduate, and yet I can't say that I chose my career. Looking back, it feels like it just sort of happened. And now at 38, with a family and lots of responsibility, a Professor is what I am and will be for some time. With the years rushing by, I do feel trapped now and again, and frustrated at the limitations of my chosen work and that my time on earth is so short. But on the whole, I feel fortunate to be doing what I'm doing.

This week I took a work trip up to the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, abound 4.5 hours north of Helsinki by train. Kuopio is similar to Missoula in size and remoteness, yet there's a group in the Physics Department there that is one of the strongest in my research area in the world. It was good to visit with such high caliber people, share ideas, and get some collaborations started. 

Kuopio, Finland.