Most physicists lead diverse careers, but many have one thing in common: they love their challenging work.
Allen Mincer is a professor and chair of the physics department at New York University. His research is in experimental particle physics and particle astrophysics.
"Most of my work is directed toward one of two goals: furthering the knowledge of mankind or teaching people about what we know," he says. "In the process, I get to ponder the behavior of this amazing universe."
Mincer rides the highs and lows of his career with enthusiasm.
"As an experimentalist, I never know what I will be doing next or where I will be doing it," he says. "I also get to meet and even work with some of the most brilliant people there are, to learn from their insights and share in the enterprise of trying to figure out what's out there or in here.
"On bad days, I get tired of all the hard work, especially when I am stuck on some problem and don't think I will ever solve it. On good days, I find it hard to believe that I am actually getting paid for having so much fun."
Mincer divides his time among teaching, research and administrative duties at NYU.
"My research tends to be in large, multi-institutional and often international collaborations," he says. "I will spend some time working at NYU designing and building some equipment or computer software, and then travel to a central laboratory to combine this work with that of other researchers."
Mincer's work in experimental particle physics is the study of the basic building blocks of matter and their interactions.
"We use large machines to smash together subatomic particles and reconstruct the properties of the particles from the debris that flies out of the interaction," he says. In astroparticle physics, Mincer studies "astronomical processes by measuring particles which these processes produce, some of which reach the Earth."
An exciting experience from his career was when Mincer was a collaborator in one of the experiments that discovered the top quark at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
"The strangest thing I have done in research is scuba dive to help repair a detector," he says. "The most satisfaction I have gotten out of teaching was in reading a letter from a former student who was in medical school when she wrote the letter, and explained that I had changed the way she thinks about things."
Robert J. Ragan is an assistant physics professor at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. He spends most of his time teaching and researching. His research involves computational physics and quantum theory.
"I study quantum phenomena at temperatures near absolute zero," Ragan says. "Quantum physicists mostly think about what's going on inside the atom and nucleus, but at ultra-low temperatures. Crystals and even some liquids obey quantum mechanics."
Quantum research is "pure" research, which means there is not a lot of direct application to his work.
"However, my teaching hopefully gets students to think rationally about things -- to decide for themselves whether they really understand something or not," he says. "My teaching of engineering students helps develop and sharpen their technical and analytical skills."
In another research area, Ragan is involved in computational biomechanics, working with the university's physical therapy department.
"Using computer simulations of seated humans, we are trying to design better wheelchair cushions for spinal cord patients," he says.
Ragan most enjoys using mathematics and computers to make scientific discoveries. "I also enjoy interacting with scientists -- they are incredibly bright, energetic people," he says.
Margaret Carrington works as an associate professor of physics. She is primarily a research scientist. Her area of interest is quantum field theory. She also teaches.
"Through my work with students, I'm contributing to the development of the next generation of scientists," Carrington says. "In addition to teaching students about physics, I try to teach them academic integrity and help them to develop the skills they will need to prosper in a professional environment."
To be successful in physics, one needs to be organized, self-disciplined and self-motivated, says Carrington.
Those traits are important because physicists can find it difficult to balance all their responsibilities. "The hardest part of my job is finding the time to teach and do research at the same time," Carrington says.
"My work can be difficult and stressful. But it's also very exciting. Most days, I am eager to come to work in the morning."
"The talents one needs to succeed in physics are not always easy to discern, and it takes the combination of many different sorts of talents to put a successful experiment together," says Mincer.
"So if you would love doing this, give it a try. You don't have to be an Albert Einstein to have a successful career and to contribute to the scientific enterprise."