Science can be like the ocean: deep, obscure and unnerving. Geological Sciences Prof. Adina Paytan entered her career in order to explore the mysteries of the sea and demystify science for the future generations. When I sat down with her, she spoke at length not only about the interests that led her to teach and to study the ocean, but also her wisdom on “taking the time to grow up and find your place in life and your passion.”

Paytan started our interview by discussing her role as a teacher at Stanford. As a professor, she teaches a minimum of five classes each year, from freshman introductory seminars to graduate school lectures. The majority of professors only teach two classes.

Yet to Paytan, research cannot exist without teaching; they “feed from each other,” she said. She took time to emphasize her belief that science education requires more than just the presentation of facts.

Professors, she said, must give the “tools and skills in addition to the context,” so that trained, discerning scientific minds can be brought to “any object in any place.”

Paytan teaches in a markedly student-centered style. She tailors each of her classes not only to the educational level of the students, but also to their particular needs. The hesitation with which many students approach science saddens her. She makes sure not only to make the material approachable, but her teaching style as well.

In addition to teaching, Paytan pursues her award-winning research in oceanography. She came to oceanography because she loved chemistry, biology, geology, physics and every other scientific discipline she encountered. Oceanography, says Paytan, “is by nature interdisciplinary,” so it allowed her to synthesize her multiple passions and “see how they intersect.”

Despite her obvious love and talent for oceanography, Paytan avoids overspecialization and even expertise for fear that they will preclude her from exploring and learning. She describes herself as “an eternal student” in this regard.

Taking a leaf out of Einstein’s book, Paytan mixes creativity with hard science, and the human fascination with unexplainable mysteries of the Earth system. When she described the ocean, she talked of its chemistry and physics but also man’s spiritual longing for this “vast, beautiful, scary, fearful....source of life.”

Paytan also brought up the current state of the ocean. We only have “one big ocean [that] is vast but not unlimited,” she said. She talked about the ocean’s integral role in food, medicine and climate, among other things, and how we must treat the sea with greater respect and care than we have recently.

With regards to her personal life and approach to her passions, Paytan credits her upbringing in Israel with shaping her personality. She talked about an Israeli culture constantly on edge that instilled her with an honest, straightforward demeanor.

Paytan does not over think the repercussions of communicating her ideas, but “follows her passion, justice, what is right.”

Before going to college, she served the mandatory two-year term of service in the Israeli army and then traveled for over a year in the Himalayas. These experiences gave Paytan time to grow up and to step outside of herself. They forced her to introspect and ask herself who she was and what she wanted.

Paytan said she would advise everyone to strive for a similar experience and to “think about what you are doing rather than [follow] inertia...learn about [yourself] first. You are losing a lot and compromising yourself if you don’t follow your dreams.”

Paytan said she sees people everyday who “forget about the human aspect of their lives...forget that they are dealing with people.” Yet, she shows how possible and inspiring it is to find success while cherishing that humanity. She is a living example of how important it is to have faculty and mentors who care deeply about both the students’ education and their personal growth.