In this week’s episode, guest co-host Amelia Naumann speaks with Dr. Donna Nelson about her role as science advisor on the hit TV show Breaking Bad. They discuss how she got into chemistry, how she got involved in the show, and all aspects of her career and connection with Breaking Bad.
Dr. Lynn Vartan 00:01
Hey everyone, this is Lynn Vartan and you're listening to the apex our on KSUU thunder 91.1. In this show, you get more personal time with the guests who visit Southern Utah University from all over, learning more about their stories and opinions beyond their presentations on stage. We will also give you some new music to listen to and hope to turn you on to some new sounds and new genres. You can find us here every Thursday at 3pm or on the web at suu.edu/apex. But for now, welcome to this week's show here on thunder 91.1.
Amelia 00:45
Welcome everyone to another Apex our here on KSUU tunder 91.1. As you've probably noticed, things are a little bit different in the studio today as our fearless leader, Lynn Barton unfortunately, could not be here. But that's all right. I'm here to fill in. My name is Amelia Nauman. And I'm a student right here at SUU and I've worked for APEX for this entire semester. And let me tell you, it has been such a phenomenal opportunity to see speakers come from all over. But I have to say today definitely takes the cake for one of my favorite events all year. I'm joined in the studio today with Dr. Donna J. Nelson, who has a resume that is so great. So phenomenal. And I am so excited to dive in and talk a little bit more about Breaking Bad and of course other experiences you've had in the world of chemistry. So Donna, how are you?
Dr. Nelson 01:36
Oh, I'm doing great. Thank you so much for hosting me here. I have enjoyed this visit so much.
Amelia 01:42
Oh, I am so glad that is what we like to hear. Well for our audience, I'm going to just read a little bit a little spiel about your just so they kind of become a little bit more acquainted with you before we really dive into the conversation. So for those who are unable to attend our apex event today, Dr. Nilsen got to talk about her phenomenal experiences being the scientific director and like consultant for the hit a MCT. TV show Breaking Bad. However, she has accomplished so many other things. And again, I'm excited to dive into those. And so I'm just going to read you a couple of the things that she's done. But I highly, highly encourage you to give her a Google because my goodness what a phenomenal resume. Some of the things that Dr. Nelson has accomplished in her career is being the American Chemical Society president in 2016, which by the way, is the world's largest scientific society with over 150,000 members. She is the fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She has an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburg, she has the Guggenheim Fellowship, and has been awarded some several awards for in the National Organization of Women, and most specifically the Woman of Courage Award in 2004. So Donna, I wanted to ask you a little bit more about some of your background with the American Chemical Society. Because as someone who doesn't know a lot about chemistry, it was absolutely amazing to do a deep dive into kind of what they do. So how did you become acquainted with the society? And how did you work your way up to being president.
Dr. Nelson 03:09
So I first became acquainted with the society in the same way that most chemists do. And that is, while I was an undergraduate, I joined as an undergraduate in school, and it turns out that that's how most of the students do and of course, you find out about those things from your professors. And, of course, we always follow all of the advice of our professors. And, and so that's how I joined and then you just spend years with it, because it offers the American Chemical Society offers so many things to its members. And so you just naturally want to go to the national meetings and the regional meetings and experience meeting other professors meeting other members, and you go to the exposition, and you get to see so much equipment being demonstrated. And it's just a way to keep up in your field. I might mention also that these national meetings that the American Chemical Society can have up to 20,000 attendees in one city. Yeah. Oh, wow. for that week. Yes. And so it is definitely an opportunity to meet a lot of people.
Amelia 04:25
Oh, for sure that networking is absolutely phenomenal. So that's amazing that you've been involved in this organization since undergrad like starting out. It's just a resume builder and turning into a big part of your career. So how did you kind of work up to being president and what are some of the experiences you had while serving as the president?
Dr. Nelson 04:42
So? Well, you have to hold certain positions in order for people to even think about voting for you for president. So the American Chemical Society has a lot of different local chapters, etc. So I was chair Have those and serve on different committees and serve on different technical divisions. And just bit by bit, you learn a lot. But so my, the Breaking Bad ended in 2013. And I was science advisor for Breaking Bad. And so in 2013, people were saying, oh, Donna, you've got to run for ACS president. And you know, students can vote. And so they said, You've got to run, you'll have to run in 2014, while everything is still fresh in their minds, and that's what I did. And I got elected pretty easily. So I would say that there is a connection between being Breaking Bad science advisor and being a CS president.
Amelia 05:45
Oh, that's great that those two like completely flowed together. That's
Dr. Nelson 05:48
well its name recognition,
Amelia 05:50
name recognition that is so so so important. I absolutely love that kind of speaking of name recognition, I wanted to let our listeners know that you were named, like in the top 70, most inspirational, inspirational women leaders impacting the world. And you've written over 200 research related publications, and you've given hundreds of presentations and national meetings, and you've presented at universities all across the world. So do you have any specific experiences that you would like to share with our audience a little bit about specific meetings or things that have been standouts in your career?
Dr. Nelson 06:25
Well, I can remember, one that was sort of strange, it was the, it was the meet the national meeting of the Japanese Chemical Society. So many countries sent their Chemical Society presidents to this meeting. So there was the president of the Taiwanese Chemical Society, the Korean Chemical Society, the Chinese Chemical Society, the New Zealand Chemical Society, the Australian Gima, etc, etc, etc. And so, of course, they were all men, except for me. So I was the only female pres president of a chemical society there. And so we were all in one large room talking. And people came to me and said, you know, there's a lot of female chemists in this room next door. And we would really like for you to go over and say a few words to them. They're really wanting to meet you. And I said, Okay, great. Let me go. So we went over, and I was meeting them. And then after I had been there a few minutes, a person I don't remember who came up and said, Are you aware that you're going to be speaking in front of the, the whole meeting, including all of these presidents of these chemical societies? And I said, No, I didn't know I was supposed to do that. And they said, Well, you are. And so I, I was thinking, Oh, my God. And I said, Oh, that's wonderful. And, and so I was also thinking, Well, I wonder when this is I wonder how much time I have to prepare a few remarks, you know, just to think about some things. And so I said, Well, when is it and they said, Oh, it's now. And so. And so I said, Oh, great. And so I was thinking, I wonder how far I need to walk because maybe I'll be able to think up some, some some words while I'm walking there. And she said, How far is it and she said, Oh, it's just next door. And so we were able to just walk next door. But I was able to, you know, collect my thoughts and some ideas to speak. But that sort of having to be constantly ready to speak and represent your society was something that I wasn't really prepared for initially, but you have to learn it, you have to learn it. And I saw a politician, friend of mine, a couple of weeks later when I had returned, and I mentioned that to him. And I said, I bet this happens to you all the time. And he said, Yep, several times a day. It's just a process of learning.
Amelia 09:19
Oh, for sure. In that process, was that just trial and error? Or did you take any specific steps to kind of always be ready?
Dr. Nelson 09:26
Well, it was, you know, it's immersion. I mean, that I had never experienced what I just described until right then so you just have to grow into it. Oh, wow. That is that is so great. There was no preparation at all.
Amelia 09:40
Just throw yourself in. I like that, you know, kind of jump in and learn to swim or get dragged in. Even better, even better. I was like kind of going back to what you said just before that. I love that story so much. But throughout your career you have constantly and consistently been oftentimes the only woman in the room and kind of what are some of your experiences when you walk into a room or you walk into a classroom and you realize that you were you were the token you are the one who kind of sets an example. So kind of what are some of your thoughts on when you walk in and you realize that you kind of have to stand alone in your own right. Where do you go from there? Like how do you handle that?
Dr. Nelson 10:20
Well, yes, that has happened to me it happened a lot especially starting out. I never really thought of myself as a token because it just happened and I would certainly say My advice would be don't ever let it hold you back. Just go in and function and you know, don't dwell on it. Don't even think about it just go in and do what you need to do. And and perform you know, to the best of your ability as you always do. And that's what I've always done and I would certainly say you know, by all means don't let it worry you. Yeah. Oh that just right. Go for it.
Amelia 11:01
Go for it. Oh, that is that is so great. That is so phenomenal. Okay, I was like I think that's the perfect time for our first song break. Here on the apex our we get to do phenomenal interviews with our guests but we also hope to turn you on to some new sounds. So this all of these songs today have been featured on the hit TV show Breaking Bad because we love a theme here on the apex hour and this is on a clear day
11:25
Amelia 15:00
Perfect Welcome back in everyone that was on a clear day by the peddlers and all songs featured on this Apex our have been featured on the hit TV show, AMC is Breaking Bad. I'm joined today in the studio by Dr. Don J. Nelson, who was the scientific adviser on Breaking Bad among doing so many other things she has worked in so many societies, other TV shows almost anything you can imagine, which does lead me to my next question, which is, Donna, you've accomplished so many things, so many phenomenal things, from awards to research projects. And before you kind of embark on something before you decide to do something, because there's only so many hours in a day, how do you decide what's worth your time and what projects you're going to take on next?
Dr. Nelson 15:47
Well, thank you so much for those kind words. I would say that, of course, you have to look, research it thoroughly. The number one thing, if you're looking for a research project, you don't want to go in and start doing something that someone else has already done. So you need to research your idea thoroughly to see if it's already been reported in the literature, because you want to do something that's new. And also, for me, anyway, I try to do things that are significant. You know, you wouldn't want to spend a lot of time doing something that nobody's going to be interested in, and you want your research project to be affordable, you don't want to get into it, and then realize that you can't afford this research project, and you can't get money to fund it. So it needs to be something that is significant, something that is supportive, affordable, something that will benefit a lot of people, preferably. And so if you'll think about it, remember the on my last slide of the talk I just gave, yes, it was the look for the gaps quotation by Steve Jobs. And so it was just like he said, you know, you want to do things that people need that are affordable, that are capable of being done. And that will benefit people.
Amelia 17:14
Oh, for sure. And that is absolutely phenomenal points. So for those who are unable to go to the talk, will you just give like a little elevator pitch of I thought this was so fascinating on how you ended up going onto the set of Breaking Bad just by how you found that magazine? And if you could just like tell that tell a brief little part of that. For those who are unable to make it to the talk?
Dr. Nelson 17:33
Well, sure. I'm often asked, How is it that you located in Oklahoma, managed to have contact with the writers, and Vince Gilligan, who were located in Burbank, because after all, Burbank is in California, and it really had nothing to do with proximity. It is again, it's sort of a pitch for the American Chemical Society, which is near and dear to my heart. So the American Chemical Society, magazine, chemical and Engineering News had a story that was featuring an interview of Brett Vince Gilligan, the producer of Breaking Bad. And so in it, he said, we appreciate we would appreciate constructive comments from a chemically inclined audience. And I looked at that, and I thought, Oh, wow, this is an invitation to assist them. And and I was thinking in the back of my mind, what an opportunity to be able to influence them and possibly make them realize the value that science and scientists have to our country. And so I am I had to think about it for a little bit because I thought, well, you know, this show is about math. So I watched the episodes. And that's when I realized, well, there were a lot of morals in that show. And so then I realized, well, I could be associated with it. And then and then I thought again, about the the what it could mean to be able to bring good science to the show. And so I got back with the person who had written the story. And I said, Would you be willing to send a message to them that if they want to volunteer, they have one hour volunteer to help them. And then they got back in touch with me. So that's it really in a nutshell.
Amelia 19:28
Oh, that's perfect. And what was it like kind of breaking into Hollywood? Because that is a completely different sphere than the world of academia that I'm sure you were used to. Oh,
Dr. Nelson 19:36
it's a different world. It is a different world. Yes, it really is. And I would say for anybody that's interested, you have to be flexible, then that is the number one thing you have to be flexible, and align your goals. If you do get lucky enough to work with one of the one of the groups that's putting together a show or has the show you have to align align your goals with the IRS. In other words, their goals, their goal will be to get picked up next season. And so you need to align your goals with theirs, and make certain that you help them. And, and other than that, it was just a tremendous amount of fun. It was such a learning experience for me. I had a great time. It was a new world. And I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity.
Amelia 20:28
Oh, that's great. What were some of your favorite experiences, either with the writers or even just on set?
Dr. Nelson 20:34
Well, one thing that I remember that made such I don't know that it was a favorite, but it sticks in my mind and forever will that when I would get introduced when Vince would introduce me to people, they would usually look at me and they would respond with, you're not a scientist, and I'm so yes, I am, you know? And I said no, now you're not a scientist. And I, you know, and we would argue about it a bit. And they know you're not a scientist, I guess I am. I am a tenured professor of organic chemistry, I assure you, I am a scientist. And so we had to have this little dance, it seemed like all the time. And so I eventually realized that they didn't picture scientists as looking like I look. And I realized now that that in itself, is a way to impact Hollywood to make these writers and producers and directors and even the people that handle the props, to make them realize that scientists can be women, also, you know, and can have nice looking hair and wear makeup and things like this. So that's one thing that stuck in my mind. Of course, I didn't let it hold me back for a minute. No, not at all. But it is a fun thing to think back on.
Amelia 21:50
Oh, that's absolutely phenomenal. Do you have any other experiences on set specifically or meeting anyone? Like any of the actors? That was kind of like a really fun moment?
Dr. Nelson 21:59
Yeah, one other thing that was really funny, I remember when Bryan Cranston, you know, of course, was playing Walter White. And so in between takes like that, maybe they would have a take inside a room. And they would have to knock the wall out of that room and put up another wall so that they could do the take, again, at a 90 degree angle to the original take. And while they were changing the walls, Bryan Cranston would have to stay in character. And, you know, they get in character they go in, and they have these takes made of them. And so the, the, the actors have to stay in character. And so he might have to stay in character for a couple of minutes, while they're not knocking out a wall and putting up a fresh wall so that they can change the direction of the camera. And I remember one time he walked over to me, and you could, I could see that he was staying in character. And he he looked at me, and he said, Have you read any good chemistry articles recently? And I turned, I said, Yeah, I have, I've read some good ones in the Journal of Organic Chemistry. And he said, Good, we'll have to talk about them later. So just for me, I had never thought about that about that need. And so that's what I mean, it was a great learning experience. For me, I enjoyed this so much. I learned to really respect actors and directors and the producers, I have an immense respect for them after seeing the different talents that they need to have in order to have a hit show.
Amelia 23:42
Oh, for sure. Did you really just consult with the writers? Or did you ever get to actually sit down with any of the actors and talk about chemistry? Yeah,
Dr. Nelson 23:49
well, no, they wouldn't want to Ms. You're right, you're saying that to be able to stay in character, but I did get to meet them all. So when I was on set, you know, I would go in in the morning at the same time that everybody reported and said they would be the directors and the often the producers and all of the actors in the stage hands etc. And so I would get to watch the filming which was fabulous. I learned so much. I major thing to learn is to be quiet while they are filming. And then and then there would be break for lunch. And we would all go over to the lunch cars and just sit intermingled with each other. So sometimes I would sit next to you know, Bryan Cranston, or sometimes I would sit next to one of the stagehands or maybe one of the directors, everybody just, you know, filed in and sit next to each other. It was like one big happy family and everybody got along fabulous. Slowly, everybody was so nice to each other. I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
Amelia 25:05
Yeah, that's phenomenal. Was it really easy to kind of be accepted into this community as you walked in as a, as a scientific adviser, because usually in Hollywood, we don't see a lot of advising. And it's really just googling. And that's how you write your show. So it was easy to be accepted into these community
Dr. Nelson 25:21
They did completely. They were absolutely fabulous. So friendly. And I really enjoyed it. Now, I think it might be because of my interactions with the writers. I respected them immensely. And so they respected me. And so we got along great. It was, it was only a wonderful experience.
Amelia 25:44
Oh, that is that is so phenomenal. I absolutely love that. What are some of the other TV shows and other experiences that you've been able to have since Breaking Bad? Because I know you've continued to consult in the world of arts in Hollywood? Yeah.
Dr. Nelson 25:57
So I did make a couple of set visits for Big Bang Theory, which was fun, but it was entirely different. Because that was done to a live audience. True, where as Breaking Bad was not. And so there, you know, you even have to have additional cautions to, you know, stay outside and things like this, you have to be more careful. And that was a lot of fun. There science advisor was just an immensely wonderful friend. And you know, I had a great time with that. So for me, I still regarded it as a learning experience. Oh, that is
Amelia 26:37
so great. And then what other experiences have you had in the worlds of like consulting or even just going around and speaking about your experience with Breaking Bad?
Dr. Nelson 26:46
Well, I've been I don't, I have lost track of how many talks I've given, you know, Breaking Bad. And it has been several years. You know, I did, in one case, a tour of Germany, where I was there something like, a total of eight days, you know, you fly in one day, do a tour of six different cities, one per day for the next six days, and you fly out the next day. And that was, I really just sort of did that to see if I could, it was a test of my stamina. And it was a great experience. The German students loved bright. There is no other way to say it. I never experienced anything like my my talks with them anyplace else, because the students would come to my presentations dressed in hazmat suits. We just totally unique. They really love Breaking Bad. So, you know, I've just given so many talks to so many universities, and it's, it's, I've been very lucky. It was a wonderful, fortunate experience. And I'm just so glad that I had this experience and I was able to bring it to the scientific community because I can tell you this, it's a lot easier to have me come in and speak to your university than it would be to have Bryan Cranston or Aaron because Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul would be so much more in demand and it would be much more difficult to get in touch with them. My email address is a lot more available
Amelia 28:30
Great, awesome. I think that is the perfect segue into our next song break and all of the songs on this hour have been featured on the TV show Breaking Bad This is 1977. perfect Welcome back everyone to the apex hour here on KSU youth thunder 91.1. I'm in the studio today with Dr. Donna J. Nelson, who is a phenomenal chemist who it has been such a privilege to have you on campus. What are the next things that we're going to talk about has been quite a point of interest in some of the class visits and a couple of the other things that we've been able to do with Dr. Nelson. And those are the Nilsen diversity surveys. And Dr. Nelson, I will not do it justice. So tell me a little bit about what those are and kind of how they came to be.
Dr. Nelson 32:31
Sure. So the Nielsen diversity surveys, I? Well, let me start at the beginning. They are a set of surveys, which show the headcount of the the faculties of 15 different STEM departments at each of the top 100 departments. So for example, the top 100 chemistry departments, top 100 physics departments, top 100 math departments, etc, etc, etc. And so we contacted the department chairs of all of those departments and asked them to tell us their tenured and tenure track, faculty headcount, disaggregate disaggregated, by race, by rank and by gender. And so the goal here was to determine to quantify actually, the representation of these faculties and to see how many minorities and how many women were present. And then once you get the numbers, you can tell what the percentages are. So we were wanting to see if the underrepresented minorities were being hired, in at the same rate as they were having been produced in PhD programs. And so of course, you know, the hiring was lower than the PhD production, the percentage of hiring was lower than the PhD production. So the representation of minorities among assistant professors was lower, much lower than the representation of underrepresented minorities among the PhD recipients. And so that empowered minorities to be able to talk about the their representation and to assist themselves. And so in that way, I think of it as a gift to the scientific community, the minority communities because it empowered them in the past, and before that, minorities would say, Well, you know, it seems like there's not many of us, but once you have the numbers, you can go in and say, Here's the numbers. Why are we being hired in? It's in such low Numbers.
Amelia 35:02
Yeah. When When did you first get the idea to start on this project, because that's a huge undertaking, collecting all of that data. So when was the kind of linchpin moment of like, this is something I'm going to do?
Dr. Nelson 35:13
That was late in the year 2000. And we reported our first data in early in 2001. And so it really made headlines. We at first, we just surveyed chemistry chairs. And let me just say that if you're wanting to know the representation of underrepresented minorities, you have to have the full populations. So in other words, you've probably heard people talk about surveys they did, and like, say, we got 63% participation, or we got 78% participation. Isn't that wonderful? Well, if you need the whole population, it's 100%. Participation, which is almost impossible. But you have to have that because if you've got underrepresented minorities, and you want to reveal the numbers of, say, black women, or, you know, Hispanic women who are assistant professors, or even Native Americans, you have to have the whole population because the numbers are so tiny. And sometimes the numbers are zero. Yeah. And so we we did that. And it just enabled the those groups to be able to talk about the the accurately to talk about the situations.
Amelia 36:37
Oh, that is, yeah, that is so phenomenal, something that is so empowering. And I know, it's something that is still looked at today. What are some of the current projects that you're embarking on? Because as we've talked about, throughout this hour, you've done so many phenomenal things. So what are you currently working on?
Dr. Nelson 36:51
Well, I'm always thinking about how you know, communities. So my work with Breaking Bad that was to benefit the scientific community, you know, to try to bring it to the general public, how scientists and science are benefiting them. And so for the Nelson diversity surveys, that was a gift to the minority communities, so that they would to empower them so that they could move themselves forward. And now I'm doing work on chemical education. You know, my I just sort of follow wherever I see a need and an opportunity, something that I can do that I think I can actually do and do reasonably, that will make a difference, and benefit a community. And like Steve Jobs said, you know, that is needed, affordable, is possible, etc, etc.
Amelia 37:53
Oh, that's great. So kind of what are some of the steps that you're taking currently to, to kind of accomplish that.
Dr. Nelson 38:01
So what I do is I present, I give surveys to my class at the beginning of the course, and at the end of the course, these are surveys that measure their mindsets, and their personality traits. And then I look at, I compare the before and after, and I can see how what I've taught to the students has influenced them. And so I just find that it's very interesting that in just within one semester, we can, it is possible to have a huge impact on students. And that that makes me feel really good. And so I want to explore that, because I teach organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry, I had pre med pre that pre Dental, pre pharmacy students. And it's just very important that they have honesty, ethics, integrity, and egalitarianism. And so this is a way to ensure that I am indeed presenting material to them that will develop those characteristics in those students. And we do want our next generation of doctors and dentists, etc. To have those characteristics.
Amelia 39:24
Oh, for sure. And as a student myself, that is so fascinating to hear that you can really make a change in that semester.
Dr. Nelson 39:29
Yeah, it surprised me too.
Amelia 39:31
Yeah, you would never think just in like few short months that you could make that happen. So I as a student, and I know for the other students listening, what is your advice for as you kind of embark on your career, and you really want to have these traits that I know are super important to you like honesty and integrity. How do you kind of keep that as a balance in your life and how do you just any advice you have for students?
Dr. Nelson 39:56
Yeah, well, I would say to think about it, you know, Think about those things, and you have to make the correct choices. And also you need to get the correct role models, you know, so, because the you will grow to resemble the people that you spend a lot of time around. And so, you know, you want to select role models, who will have, or who do have the same characteristics that you want to have yourself. And I don't mean, necessarily being in the same area of science, but I just mean having the same personality characteristics. And so it is very important, not only to get the correct discipline of science, but also to to get the correct characteristics in your role models, at least, that's my belief. So that's, that's one thing I would recommend. Oh, that's great.
Amelia 40:54
And who are some of your role models or people who have impacted your life?
Dr. Nelson 40:59
Well, my PhD mentor, my postdoctoral mentor, unfortunately, they both passed away now. But I was impacted greatly by those. And I was very fortunate that my PhD mentor was Michael Dewar, who was a true genius and a very fine person. My postdoc mentor was HC Brown, a very famous chemist and a Nobel Laureate, and how he was an excellent person, as well. And, you know, you can also learn about people by watching certain movies, I mean, or certain films about those people like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington is, you know, so notice, these aren't chemists. Well, Benjamin Franklin was a scientist. But, you know, there are, there are many famous people and excellent role models that you can learn about, you can learn about their characteristics by watching documentaries about them, and so you don't actually have to meet them, which would be very difficult in the case of Benjamin Franklin, you know, although I would love he would probably be the number one person I would love to meet if I could meet anybody from any time period.
Amelia 42:14
Oh, that's so great. And then what were some of the role models you had in your family life that led you to become a chemist? Well,
Dr. Nelson 42:22
my father was an MD, and his father was an MD. And so I have originally thought I was going to be an MD. And so I learned a lot from those people who, after all have certain scientific characteristics. And my mother also influenced me greatly. She was the one that was always sort of driving me or pushing me and telling, you know, telling me that I could be and do anything that I wanted to be or do and she had an extreme amount of confidence in me and I think that she was the one who conveyed to me that she had all these expectations of me and never, never never never even hinted to me that I would be held back at all because I was a female.
Amelia 43:12
Oh, that's so phenomenal. Well, thank you so much for sharing about your personal role models and about honesty and integrity because that is something that I'm sure we all need a little bit more of in our life. That is going to lead us into our next song break and all of the songs have been featured on the hit TV show Breaking Bad and this is stay on the outside by Whitney. This is K SUU thunder 91.1 Welcome back everyone to the apex hour here on KSU youth under 91.1. As always, this hour has gone by much too quickly. So Dr. Donna J. Nelson, I have one last question for you. And this question is what is lighting your fire this week and this can be anything related to science or anything not related?
Dr. Nelson 48:44
Well, I have really enjoyed this trip to your university. The people are so nice. And so that is what has lit my fire just being here and socializing with all of the extremely intelligent and kind people and the students also who came to my talk and turned out for so many talks, you know, so many meetings, and they were also well attended. I really appreciated that. So I was really impressed by this fabulous visit to southern unifying Southern Utah University. So thank you so much.
Amelia 49:25
Well, thank you so much. It has been such a privilege to have you. Thank you all so much for tuning in this KSUU tunder 91 and this has been the apex hour with Dr. Donna J Nelson and we will see you all next week.
Dr. Lynn Vartan 49:39
Thanks so much for listening to the apex hour here on KSU us under 91.1. Come find us again next Thursday at 3pm for more conversations with the visiting guests at Southern Utah University and new music to discover for your next playlist. And in the meantime, we would love to see you at our events on campus. To find out more. Check out SUU dot EDU slash Apex until next week this is Lynn Vartan saying goodbye from the apex our here on thunder 91.1