By Matt Wood
A scientist’s career can take many forms. Most commonly, researchers focus on a very specific system, like the interactions between tuberculosis-causing bacteria and the immune system, or a single natural phenomenon, like the climate change-driven spread of invasive species. Others master a core process, like genetic modification, and partner with other scientists to apply their knowledge to a variety of problems.
Stephanie Palmer, PhD, sees herself in a different mold. “Digging into one system or one question for your career is a completely wonderful way to do science,” she said. “It's just not how I do science.”
Palmer’s work sits at the intersection of biology, physics, mathematics, and computer science. When pressed to define her research in a single sentence, she says it mostly focuses on how animals’ visual systems help them make predictions about what’s happening next in their environment. That starting point has led her down many paths, from studying how salamanders anticipate movements of their prey to circadian rhythms, cephalopod camouflage, and color vision in butterflies. If she had to give herself a label, she might call herself a theoretical neuroscientist, but now she has a more appropriate description: polymath.
Palmer was recently named one of six new awardees of the Schmidt Science Polymath Program, which supports creative, recently tenured professors with multidisciplinary track records and research ideas that cross field boundaries. Each awardee receives up to $2.5 million over five years to support research groups by funding students and postdocs or acquiring equipment and resources.