Dr. Phil Sze (Photo: Roland Dimaya)
Insight: Dr. Phil Sze
What do you regard as your greatest academic success?
Students who took my courses in marine biology and ecology and then pursued careers in those areas.
What is your idea of happiness?
Attending a wonderful opera performance or hiking through spectacular scenery.
Who were the greatest influences in your life that led to your career?
Teachers from high school through graduate school.
What do you enjoy about teaching?
Bringing current information into my courses—the challenge of collecting information and organizing it so students can understand and appreciate it.
What historical figures would you most like to meet?
Mozart and Charles Darwin.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Improve the quality of our natural environment by reversing the effects of recent climate change.
How do you have fun?
Attend opera performances, hike, photograph nature.
What is the best piece of advice you could give to your students?
Get satisfaction and enjoyment out of what you are doing rather than as a means to an end (goal).
What is your motto?
Quotes I like from Shakespeare:
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” (Midsummer’s Night’s Dream)
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (Hamlet)
Feature Story
Testing the Waters: Dr. Phil Sze Explores the Complicated Worlds of Algae and Intertidal Systems
In 1968, the Onondaga Lake in upstate New York was heavily polluted. Georgetown Biology Professor Phil Sze, then a graduate student at nearby Cornell University, joined a team of engineers, limnologists, water chemists, and local government officials to study the green lake water and try to fix the problem.
Related Stories
Student Profile: Jessica Smits
"I feel that what I'm doing today is definitely a product of my studies at Georgetown, and especially Dr. Sze's influence."
