{"181161":{"#nid":"181161","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Hammer Enjoys Engaging Students in Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen you walk into Brian Hammer\u2019s classroom, you might be greeted by the sounds of hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj or the Godfather of Soul James Brown. It all depends on the day\u2019s lecture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBefore class, I play a song that is related to what I\u2019ll be discussing,\u201d said Hammer, an assistant professor in the School of Biology. \u201cFor example, if we are talking about how genes are activated, I might play David Guetta and Nicki Minaj\u2019s \u2018Turn Me On,\u2019 or if I\u2019m talking about bacteria transferring DNA, I might play \u2018Sex Machine\u2019 by James Brown.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMusic is one of the ways that Hammer, who arrived at Georgia Tech in 2008, tries to\u0026nbsp; make often-complicated material understandable to students. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy research focuses on concepts like cell-to-cell communication called \u2018quorum sensing,\u2019 which can be a challenge to wrap your brain around,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I love the challenge of finding ways to explain my research to anyone \u2014 from my college students to my wife\u2019s second graders.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead on to learn more about Hammer and his time at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get to Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile doing my post-doctoral work at Princeton University, I realized that I wanted to work at an institution that was supportive of an interdisciplinary approach to research. At Georgia Tech, biologists are integrated with engineers and that appealed to me.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us about your research.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI study how bacteria use chemicals to communicate with their environments. For example, Vibrio cholerae, which causes the fatal disease cholera, lives in the ocean.\u0026nbsp; When it comes into contact with chitin from crab shells, the chitin acts as a signal that flips an \u201con\u201d switch in the bacteria. The cholera bacteria then start to bring in DNA from their environment that can provide the microbes with new genetic material, allowing them to, for example, make new toxins or other disease-causing factors. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is an average day like for you?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI teach three days a week and then spend my remaining time doing office work, meeting with students and trying to inspire them, and presenting at meetings. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EName a misconception that people have about your profession.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EA seventh grade teacher who I collaborate with each summer told me that he thought all microbiologists used microscopes \u2014 but we don\u2019t. Actually, most of our days are spent using pipettes to dispense fluid containing DNA into tiny tubes. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the one piece of technology you couldn\u2019t live without?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy iPhone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the greatest challenge you\u2019ve faced while teaching?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EComing to the realization that all of my students aren\u2019t little clones of me, meaning that the way I learned things and did research might not work for them. I\u2019m always reminding myself to think of students like I think of my successful colleagues. Just because the students\u2019 approaches are different from mine doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t be just as effective. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you think about the increasing popularity of massive open online courses?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EI think we have to be open to them, because they are coming whether we like it or not. Personal interaction is important to me in my classes, and I think some of that will be lost in these courses. But I would be open to teaching one. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your favorite spot on campus? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI like the biotech quad. The grassy area is a quiet place, and I love the fact that I\u2019m also surrounded by science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to have lunch?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt would have to be Taqueria del Sol, and I\u2019ll order enchiladas or fish tacos. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen I was an undergraduate at Boston College, I sang in the university chorale and had the opportunity to sing for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the greatest risk you ever took \u2014 and did it pay off? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile I was completing my master\u2019s in ecology, it was difficult to admit that I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do with my life. It was a huge relief when I was able to admit this. I was finally able to figure out that microbiology was what I was interested in.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen you walk into Brian Hammer\u2019s classroom, you might be greeted by the sounds of hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj or the Godfather of Soul James Brown. It all depends on the day\u2019s lecture.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"When you walk into Brian Hammer\u2019s classroom, you might be greeted by the sounds of hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj or the Godfather of Soul James Brown. It all depends on the day\u2019s lecture."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-01-07 16:15:46","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:26","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-01-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-01-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"180301":{"id":"180301","type":"image","title":"Brian Hammer","body":null,"created":"1449179053","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:44:13","changed":"1475894825","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:05","alt":"Brian Hammer","file":{"fid":"196024","name":"hammer.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hammer.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hammer.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2938000,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/hammer.jpg?itok=DwfcfeH6"}}},"media_ids":["180301"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12952","name":"Brian Hammer"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}