Reminds me of a rather heart-breaking interview with a man who should have been a laureate.
(I wish I had saved this at the time, but now I'm unable to give a link to the video material)
The Chemistry prize in 2008 was awarded for fluorescent proteins, which can be used to label interesting biological structures and functions.
One of the laureates' guests at the ceremony was a former colleague, whom they were careful to point out had been absolutely critical for the discovery, implying that he should have been sharing the prize.
A TV reporter caught this colleague for interview for a while during the festivities after the main banquet dinner, and found, in addition to congratulations to his friends and background on his contribution, a story of extreme academic pressure and not getting enough money to sustain himself and the research. To make ends meet, he left science and started driving long haul bus transports, and that's how he had earned his living ever since. He looked sad about it, but also resigned - claimed the pay is better and it's a lot less stressful. You got to pay the bills and at least it's some financial security.
I found it a very moving story, and the reported seemed shaken at that point too.
"But you were doing Nobel Prize quality research!"
"Well. That makes me a very overqualified bus driver, doesn't it."
On the bright side, it seems he returned to Scientific Research: In June 2010, Prasher was finally able to return to science, working for Streamline Automation in Huntsville until December 2011, and then from 2012 to 2015 in Tsien's lab at the University of California in San Diego
(I wish I had saved this at the time, but now I'm unable to give a link to the video material)
The Chemistry prize in 2008 was awarded for fluorescent proteins, which can be used to label interesting biological structures and functions. One of the laureates' guests at the ceremony was a former colleague, whom they were careful to point out had been absolutely critical for the discovery, implying that he should have been sharing the prize.
A TV reporter caught this colleague for interview for a while during the festivities after the main banquet dinner, and found, in addition to congratulations to his friends and background on his contribution, a story of extreme academic pressure and not getting enough money to sustain himself and the research. To make ends meet, he left science and started driving long haul bus transports, and that's how he had earned his living ever since. He looked sad about it, but also resigned - claimed the pay is better and it's a lot less stressful. You got to pay the bills and at least it's some financial security. I found it a very moving story, and the reported seemed shaken at that point too.
"But you were doing Nobel Prize quality research!"
"Well. That makes me a very overqualified bus driver, doesn't it."