Heros outnumber heels by a wide margin. Find--and share with us--the story of a researcher in your field who has done exemplary work both on technical and ethical grounds.

If you are a botanist, you may, for example, want to nominate Arthur Galston, a graduate student at the University of Illinois in 1943 who studied the chemical processes regulating plant growth. Galston figured out how to hasten ripening in soybeans for Midwest farmers.

Galston, writes Linda Lambeck, "was successful in finding a compound that produced flowering two weeks earlier. But he discovered if he used too high a concentration, it also made the leaves fall off as he noted in his thesis before heading off to serve in World War II."

"He returned to find that someone else had read his work and had the idea patented. His compound and others were the basis for Agent Orange. By the time the Vietnam War arrived, it was ready for use. Millions of gallons were sprayed over Vietnam from 1961 to 1970, exposing the Ho Chi Minh trail and other enemy passageways and causing a tremendous amount of ecological damage."

"Valuable teak trees and mangrove swamps along the estuaries of the delta south of Saigon were stripped and remain so to this day. Once aware of the ecological damage the chemical was causing, Galston and other scientists went to Vietnam. They began to wonder about the effects on people and animals. When they returned, a committee was formed to study the impact of the spraying."

"A November 1967 study Galston led was unable to come to firm conclusions about Agent Orange but advised its continued use might 'be harmful' and have unforeseen consequences. The spraying was stopped in 1970 after Galston and others successfully appealed to the Nixon administration" (Linda Conner Lambeck, Connecticut Post, Dec. 10, 2005, accessed by G. Comstock on 5/15/2007 at Agent Orange Discoverer Tries to Make Amends).

Heros, as we say, abound. We encourage you to find one or more in your department and then share them with the OSRE community. To get started, consult your mentor. To see our developing list, click on "Heros" to your left.