Dr. Walker Smith, Oceanographer and UT Knoxville Professor of Botany and Ecology
Q: When and how did you get interested in oceanography?
A: "I grew up on the shores of Lake Erie, and was always interested in the lake, from pollution problems (massive fish die offs, and so on) to storms (ships sinking, and so on) to shipping to sailing to swimming to beaches."
Q: What kind of courses did you take to prepare you for a career in oceanography? What schools did you attend?
A: In high school as well as in college, I took a wide variety of science courses. In college at the University of Rochester, I took a course in limnology, the study of lakes. I gradually moved to studying bigger, better bodies of water. I received an undergraduate degree in geology from the University of Rochester. My Ph.D. (in botany with a minor in chemistry) is from Duke University.
"I'd like to emphasize that you need to take a lot of different courses early in your school career (that is, physics as well as biology), not just in your area of interest. You can specialize later in your school career."