I enjoyed listening to Dr. Alber give a history of Louis Pasteur and his lifetime of scientific thinking. I liked how she started the talk by outlining 3 main questions. We discussed Pasteur as a microbial physiologist who studied microorganisms. Dr. Alber walked us through the many events that took place to lead into Pasteur’s acceptance as a member into the Academy of Science and the Academy of Medicine. We also spent time talking about Pasteur’s life and how politics also shaped the personal and scientific parts of him. The Franco-Prussia War had major impact on the profound Frenchman. Pasteur was forced to move often during the times os unrest, which rattled his life as a scientist with ideas of a laboratory to complete experiments. However, Louis had a laboratory that was built in his childhood home that was very modern. This is now available to view, and Dr. Alber was able to show us images from the home and laboratory. The lab was very modern for the time, and complete with gas lines, modern fume hoods, and an incubation room. Something that particularly interested me was the fact that all of the glassware used was blown by Pasteur himself!
Next, we discussed the main areas of diseases that Pasteur studied. Pasteur investigated the various diseases and looked for practical solutions. Louis was an experimental scientist that enjoyed testing theories to see what gives answers to questions that have been posed. He connected diseases and solutions with the ideas of Germ Theory, and left his mark on the scientific word. The main accomplishment of Louis Pasteur was his studies of diseases to look for practical solutions for the bettering of mankind. He was a man that did his work to help others, and not to just advance himself. This is an important characteristic that made Louis a great scientist.