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In some cases, I say fine and just go on. In other cases, I will “stew” on the rejection for a long time, especially if there is nothing I can do about it. In other cases, espe- cially with papers, I try to evaluate why the paper was rejected and make corrections.
So, the answer to the question is that I handle rejection in different ways depending on the circumstances. The only rejection I cannot handle is when one of our grandkids says that she or he would rather pal around with a friend than spend time with grandpa (Figure 1)!
What are you proudest of in your career?
I think it is the way my work has evolved. I started out asking questions about what fish hear, and over the years, the questions I asked and the research approaches I have used have evolved: first to asking questions about the evolution of hearing (a topic that still holds great interest to me) and most recently to being heavily involved, on an international scale, in setting guidelines and criteria for the potential effects of anthropogenic sound on aquatic animals. The point is that I am proud that the questions I have asked and the approaches I have taken to answer the questions were never static. Indeed, I think that an evolution in research questions and approaches is critical for any good scholar.
At the same time, there are a couple of specific things I’ve done that I think have been of considerable value. My discovery of the organization of sensory cells in the ear of fishes (which was simultaneously discovered by several others in Europe) has had a significant impact on under- standing fish hearing (Popper, 1976). And my being able to cochair an international group developing criteria and guidelines for the effects of sound on fishes has become an informal standard around the world. Knowing that our group has had a real impact is quite a nice feeling.
What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?
I’m sure I’ve made mistakes in both science and life. I do think these were mainly where I made the wrong choice when I had options. However, I try never to go back and ask “what if ” because I know that I cannot change where I’m going. For example, what if I’d chosen to take a post- doc with Arthur Myrberg at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, rather than take the job offered me at the University of Hawai’i (my first job)? I’ll never know but I am really pleased where this decision took me.
What advice do you have for budding acousticians?
Find great mentors at every stage of your career and be a great mentor to others. Develop great networks. Value and enjoy collaboration. Read what other authors of “Ask an Acoustician” essays have said about this and figure out what will work best for you.
Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome? How did you deal with that if so? In hindsight, I suspect so. Mostly in terms of collabora- tion, wondering whether I’m contributing equally to the collaborations. However, over the years, I realized that collaborations are really a sharing of ideas and skills and my collaborators keep “coming back for more,” so I feel comfortable in saying that, despite how I might feel, I am giving as much as I get to our shared endeavors.
What do you want to accomplish within the next 10 years or before retirement?
Since I am already semiretired, I am now contemplating a second retirement where I actually learn to not work and find fun things to do. I have no idea what those things will be, but I will be entering full retirement on December 31, 2024. Of course, everyone who knows me, from colleagues to Helen to grandkids, laughs at the idea that I will “really” retire!
Bibliography
Fay, R. R., and Popper, A. N. (2014). A brief history of SHAR. In Popper, A. N., and Fay, R. R. (Eds.), Perspectives on Auditory Research. Springer, New York, NY, pp. 1-8.
Popper, A. N. (1976). Ultrastructure of the auditory regions in the inner ear of the lake whitefish. Science 192(4243), 1020-1023.
Popper, A. N. (2014). From cave fish to pile driving: A tail of fish bioacoustics. In Popper, A. N., and Fay, R. R. (Eds.), Perspectives on
Auditory Research, Springer, New York, NY, pp. 467-492.
Popper, A. N. (2020). Colleagues as friends. ICES Journal of Marine
Science 77(6), 2033-2042.
Popper, A. N., and Hawkins, A. D. (2019). An overview of fish bio-
acoustics and the impacts of anthropogenic sounds on fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 94, 692-713.
Contact Information
Arthur N. Popper apopper@umd.edu
Department of Biology
University of Maryland, College Park College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
Micheal L. Dent mdent@buffalo.edu
Department of Psychology
University at Buffalo
State University of New York (SUNY)
B76 Park Hall, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
Spring 2022 • Acoustics Today 71