Samantha L Davis, Ph.D.
I was born smack dab in the middle of America (Indiana, to be exact), and yet by the age of 3, I was telling everyone that I knew that I would become a marine biologist one day (actually, first I said mermaid, then oceanographer, but I think I can be forgiven for lack of specialist knowledge, right?) …and here I am today! But what happened in the middle?
After moving to San Diego, CA in the early 1990s, I became fascinated by the immensity of the ocean. Coming from landlocked (and obscenely flat) Indiana, the ocean itself was mesmerizing. And of course – I had seen Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” by that point – so I was also curious about what could possibly be living out there in the depths? I was fortunate enough to go on several field trips in elementary school – to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and even a trawling excursion with SIO scientists (see pic below).
At that point – I really was hooked! Marine Science, here I come!
However, there was one major issue that I hadn’t accounted for – MATH.
From an early age, I was petrified of math. I was convinced that I was “no good” at math (I wasn’t alone – check out a Science Magazine article on the topic here), and I was no different. I am not sure how this phobia developed, but I really hated math. I knew you needed a strong basis in math to be a scientist, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t get it – all those numbers everywhere! How on earth do any of these equations make sense?! Why can other people just memorize this stuff, but I can’t? I felt frustrated and confused and totally disheartened. I took the bare minimum number of science and math classes in high school to graduate – even though I loved biology! I just didn’t see the point. I focused on other things that I was more comfortable with (Band, French, History, English Language/Literary Analysis, Writing…pretty much everything else). By the time it was college application season, I had almost forgotten about my heart’s desire to study marine biology. How was I ever going to make it through college level calculus and statistics?
Fortunately for me (?), I am made of stubborn stuff. I applied and was accepted to UCSB to study Aquatic Biology. Apprehensively, I signed up for Calculus during my first quarter… and passed with an A!! I could barely believe it – what changed?
For me – the difference was doing work with applications. For some reason, grade school math focused on straight memorization – who cares when or how you will actually use this information in your life? Just memorize it! In college, I began to experience applied math and science. Math problems that related to problems that students were interested in. I’m not saying we never had to solve the “Random Train going to Nowhere No one Actually Cares About” problems in Math or the “Why On Earth Is An Elephant on a Spring??” problems in Physics, but the shift had occurred. I realized that I was happiest and most engaged while solving problems of real interest.
My current interests all relate to this theme, whether tackling environmental problems (e.g., sustainable marine resource use, achieving conservation goals) or working with students in a classroom or 1-on-1 setting (e.g., engaging students with subject material and promoting self-motivated learning). If you are interested in learning more about what I do, check out my “Research Interests” and “Teaching” pages above!