Turning Science Into Things People Need by David Giltner

Roger McGowan is a Research Fellow at Boston Scientific in Maple Grove, Minnesota, where he develops fabrication processes for vascular stent delivery systems. He received a Ph.D. in physics from Colorado State University, where he performed experiments in laser spectroscopy and laser light manipulation of atoms with Dr. Siu Au Lee. After receiving his Ph.D., Roger accepted a postdoctoral position with Dr. Dan Grishkowski at Oklahoma State University. He then returned to the Minneapolis/St Paul area where he grew up, working at Imation and ADC Telecommunications before arriving at his current position with Boston Scientific.

Q. How has your perspective changed since you first went into industry?  Is there anything you would do differently with the knowledge you have today?

A. One thing I would have done differently is to plan for going into industry while I was in grad school.  I value what I learned from my postdoc, but I would skip it if I had it to do over again.  Now I realize that three years gaining experience at a company would have been far more meaningful than the three years I spent as a postdoc.

“Physicists make very good technical leads and project managers because of their critical analysis and problem solving skills.”

- Roger McGowan, Ph.D., Research Fellow , Boston Scientific