Improbable Research

Alexander Mastin has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). He says:

Having submitted an application some years ago to this prestigious organisation and failing to get in, I have since fastidiously and intensively worked on developing a collection of hair which befits both the Luxuriant Flowing Hair and Luxuriant Facial Hair Clubs (with a provisional application for the Former Hair Club in due course, I am sure). I am a veterinary epidemiologist working at the University of Salford in England, investigating Echinococcus tapeworms in domestic dogs in China and Central Asia. Which basically means I am a professional collector of dog faeces. I like to think that the luxuriance of my hair complements the glamour of my job.

Alexander Mastin
Research Associate in the Epidemiology of Cestode Zoonoses
Cestode Zoonoses Research Group
School of Environment and Life Sciences
University of Salford
Greater Manchester, UK

Bryan Boling has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). He says:

I don’t own this hair, I simply coexist with it. Due to these lovely locks most of my colleagues refer to me as “the hippie”. I am currently a senior graduate researcher in the Aerospace Engineering department at Georgia Tech. I work primarily in regulatory policy for civil aviation, and plan on finishing my Ph.D. soon. I’ve been told if I want to transition to a real job I’ll need to cut this hair, but that’s just convinced me that I don’t need a “real job”.

Bryan Boling, LFHCfS
Senior Graduate Researcher
Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory
Georgia Tech
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Eiko Fried has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). He says:

In all modesty, I do believe that I was bestowed upon by our Noodly Creator with luxuriant flowing hair. The resemblance of my hair with His Noodly Grace is evident, which can be seen as proof that HE created us in his very image. I myself am an evolutionary psychopathologist, delving deep into the noodly mysteries that lie within what we consider today as the human species. My two hairiest fields of interest are:

(1) The human genome and its double-helix, closely resembling Fusilli, Gemelli, but above all Rotini.

(2) The human brain with its tangle of spaghetti-like axons and meatball-like structures. Again, I see a close resemblance to Him who created trees, mountains, midgits and probably much more.

Eiko Fried, LFHCfS
Ph.D. student in psychology
Freie Universität Berlin
Berlin, Germany

Roland Pfister has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). He says:

I am pleased to be a member in the combined programme of flowing and facial hair. My latest publication is ”Effective rotations: Action-effects determine the interplay of mental and manual rotations,” Janczyk, M., Pfister, R., Crognale, M., & Kunde, W., (in press) Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

Roland Pfister, Dipl.-Psych., LFHCfS
PhD student
Department of Psychology
University of Würzburg
Würzburg, Germany

Dieter Hochuli has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). He says:

 I head the insect ecology research group at the University of Sydney. Our work focuses on functional roles these animals play in nature and their use in the assessment and restoration of degraded ecosystems – which basically means I spend my time watching insects and spiders do stuff in the name of solving our great environmental crises. I started growing my hair as a joke for a school reunion and decided to keep it when I found out that it annoyed my balding and greying colleagues. As you can see, it’s also a handy tool for enhancing teaching evaluations.

Dieter Hochuli, Ph.D., LFHCfS
Associate Professor
School of Biological Sciences
University of Sydney
Sydney, Australia