75 Years of Transforming Lives From the study of the brain to the study of photography Besides the brain, he loves photography. He purchased a three-megapixel camera to take photos of his newborn daughter and it was love at first sight of his daughter and the camera. He was taking digital images of the brain to aid in his Ph.D. research at the same time. “It was a perfect time in my life to get into photography because shooting digital was inexpensive compared to buying and developing rolls of film,” Chappell said.
“I love to shoot night shots,” he said. “We don’t spend enough time gazing into the sky at night to view the enormity of the cosmos. To contemplate the beauty of the night sky, the beauty of nature, the wonders of this pale blue orb we call Earth. “At night with one’s own thoughts…to think, to ponder, to have a chance to get to know yourself and think about your role in this life,” he said. “Purpose, meaning, to think about things of that nature, it’s all so fantastic; this life that we are all lucky to have.
“We are so lucky to be here, at this time in our species’ survival, to stare at the Milky Way He paid for graduate school by and to shoot star trails with taking photos of weddings and my camera,” Chappell said. “It families. is so peaceful at night. Nature fills me with much wonder and He continues to upgrade his amazement, I am happy to be cameras and equipment. here.”
Tyson Chappell was named professor of the year at the USU Eastern campus.
His favorite part of teaching is the challenge of students learning to conquer the study of anatomy and biology. “It’s tough, they struggle, but they learn,” he said. “I think they appreciate learning the subject. That makes me excited and appreciative of what I do every day. “I am really freaking crazy over these subjects,” he grins. “I am animated about the material that I am teaching and hope the students feel the joy and excitement of studying the human body like I do.”
do and that will benefit those around them. “If you can find a job like that, as I have done, you may, too, reach a state of bliss, happiness and peace in life,” he said. “One must continue to learn. Never rest on former degrees or education, but continue to push and strive for a better understanding of the world around us.” Every day is a great day for Chappell who said he appreciates the natural beauty of this area.
“I want to continue to be a better person and do better Chappell said he gets his things,” he said. “I want to be attitude about life by appreci- good for goodness sake alone. ating, loving, respecting and Every day counts in always accepting an evidence-based doing your best. You have to reality. live each moment and enjoy the journey because you will “Even when the evidence never get a chance to live might seem too hard to accept today again.” and too hard to learn, natural ____________ evidence can provide so much Writer: Susan Polster freedom and beauty to our understanding of this life,” he said. “The challenge is to push my students, for their benefit, by having them understand scientific material and evidence and that they need to acquire critical-thinking skills about the world around them in order that they, too, may see and experience the beauty of living in an evidence-based reality.” His advice to students is to take a lot of classes, push themselves scholastically and find something they love to
23