It is Russ’ ability to disseminate his knowledge to students that plays a key part in the close relationships he develops with his research assistants. “I got a vast amount of help and understanding of the instruments being used, which I further used in my internships,” says Fuller. “Dr. Russ was the first person to teach me how to use gas chromatography—the background history of it. And, in that respect, it has helped me in many ways.” Fuller’s mastery of complex analytical instruments requires the application of scientific methodology. The combination of application and methodology enables students to understand science as a whole—another goal that Russ sets for his assistants and his classrooms. Additionally, he notes, his research is multidisciplinary, so students learn from fields such as archaeology or biology along with chemistry. As a supervisor in the Rhodes Archaeology Field School, Fuller, in fact, has done more work on archaeology digs than Russ, bringing
handed me some more papers. I was stunned, speechless, and to this day I’m not sure I ever thanked him properly. No one (outside of my parents) had ever done anything like that for me. It was probably the only way I would have accepted it at the time. A “let’s not overanalyze this—I just want you to have
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in a level of knowledge and understanding that saw the scholar-mentor relationship evolve into one of colleagues. “When they get to the point that they are doing these sophisticated methods by themselves, that they can go from the basic wet chemistry and extraction up to this complicated analysis, then they no longer need your help,” says Russ. The relationship was critical to Fuller’s understanding of her science and her appreciation of her time at Rhodes and in the department. “Our work together did get to be more discussion-based rather than him just teaching me, and I thought that was a great help for me and my future in grad school,” she says. “It felt like he was preparing me for that.” Fuller is now on the path to a master’s degree and a career in crime scene forensics. She has had internships during her years at Rhodes with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Arkansas State Crime Lab and will be leaving in September for a master’s program in the field at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
this opportunity” way. A true gift. I often wonder where I would be if it weren’t for him, but I know it wouldn’t be in my 26th year of practicing law. — Linda Odom ’84
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