Nine of Oakland University’s faculty were recently recognized as being the “world’s best scientists” in a recent Research.com list.

Amid the excitement of campus life, it’s easy to overlook what makes academia truly valuable: science.

But contrary to popular belief, science is not driven forward by lone madmen in white coats up at ungodly hours in thunderstorms — facing mysteries that have plagued humankind since its genesis.

It’s more of a group project.

“Science is always a collaborative effort,” Professor Lisa Welling, who leads a psychology lab focused on human sexuality and mating behaviors, said. “Any accomplishments I’ve had are deeply connected to excellent students, collaborators and mentors over the years, and to them I am very grateful.”

It is in stitching a mutually supportive academic community together that Professor Welling feels Oakland finds much of its success.

She also suggests that much of the research is not what is written on the pages of an article, but the tenacity to find something valuable there.

“Focus on curiosity and consistency rather than prestige, and I encourage would-be researchers to strive to always keep an open mind,” she said.

An underlying theme from several of the professors was the power of measured creativity.

“Good research usually comes from asking careful questions, seeking answers from reputable sources, being willing to revise your ideas when the data disagree with you…persistence matters a great deal, too,” she added.

It seems another part of being a great scientist is being excited about coming to work every day, even when one is working around the sorts of problems that would keep most people tucked in bed.

There is a sort of bravery to research.

“I have been fortunate to build a career around questions that I am genuinely curious about,” Professor Virgil Ziegler-Hill said.

Professor Ziegler-Hill oversees studies focusing on narcissism – one of the most often misunderstood personality traits studied by psychologists.

“Doing so helps keep me intellectually engaged and also gives me opportunities to step away from certain topics for brief periods and later return to them with a fresher perspective,” he said.

Professor Ziegler-Hill also takes pride in having, together with the Oakland community, helped form a true academic and scientific understanding of narcissism.

“The work that I am most proud of at this point is probably my research emphasizing the importance of status pursuit for understanding narcissism. That work has helped shed light on why individuals with narcissistic personality traits often think, feel and behave the way they do, and it has provided a basic framework that some other researchers have been able to use in their own studies.”

Doing the best science is not always easy, however.

“I think the biggest challenge is in convincing funders that the work is worth financial support,” Professor Jennifer Vonk said.

Professor Vonk leads research in developmental psychology, animal cognition and the unique and cutting-edge ways the two focus.

“It doesn’t fit neatly into the existing categories for funding, and it does not take priority over more transparently human-relevant fields,” she said.

Professor Todd Shackleford of the psychology department was also recognized on the list for his work in the Evolutionary Psychology Lab. The lab itself focuses on several subjects, such as human mate selection behavior, the drives behind homicide and the evolutionary drives that push religion forward.

His work, and the work of the psychology department, teach an important lesson.

Research does not have to be “safe.” The best research isn’t. It must be well planned, ethical, coordinated, replicable and disprovable. None of those words means conventional or boring.

Oakland does more than just psychology, and the natural canopy blanketing the campus, once used to ride horses and hunt foxes, also lends itself naturally to other scientific pursuits.

It’s not just the psychology department that keeps it real.

Professor Meir Shillor of the mathematics department was recognized for his work in applied mathematics. His work explores friction, contact mechanics, differential equations and other areas where mathematics intersects with the physical world.

The sorts of things one might want their pilot, architect or chemical engineer to be truly intimate with. They are systems that have to be well researched in order to hold society together.

“I grew up in Colorado, where water is relatively scarce,” Professor Scott Tiegs said when speaking of the university’s freshwater ecology lab in the biological sciences department. “And I still marvel at the tremendous abundance of freshwater in Michigan. Southeast Michigan has freshwater ecosystems that are in a nearly natural state, and no shortage of those that suffer from a lot of different human activities.”

Professor Tiegs’ work is built on understanding every sort of imaginable freshwater ecosystem.

It is hard (and rare) to find such an expert opinion on a compliment.

Professor Tiegs mentioned that he was especially appreciative of where the passion of the programs and the layout of the school grounds intersected.

“I love that we have lots of green spaces on our campus.  The OU Biological Preserve is of note; it’s wonderful (and so convenient) to be able to use it for field-based teaching,” he said.

The physics department got some praise from the Research.com list as well.

Professor Gopalan Srinivasan of the physics department was recognized for his work with magnetoelectric materials, which are materials that, when placed in the presence of a magnetic field, create a small electrical signal. These materials thereby present unique benefits in medical sensors, communication and potentially computing.

“It is incredibly humbling to realize that the research we do in our lab today could become the foundation for the quantum computers, clean energy systems or next-generation technology of tomorrow. It’s a mix of profound responsibility and immense excitement,” Professor Srinivasan said.

In a recurring motif from the other researchers, he also stressed the importance of one of the finest skills a researcher can have.

Knowing they do not know.

“While I understand the mathematical equations and the physical mechanisms that dictate how materials behave, reality still retains its mystery,” Professor Srinivasan said. “That lack of absolute certainty isn’t frustrating— it’s exactly what keeps me coming back to the lab every morning.”

Professor Andrei Slavin also received attention from within the physics department for his work with magnons, or spin waves. Spin waves focus on the movement of a magnetic disturbance through various materials and how these capabilities can transmit information.

Spin waves are uniquely interesting in the current problem landscape. They represent a potential method for transmitting information more efficiently than some conventional electronic approaches.

Professor Ishwar Sethi was contacted for comment after being recognized by Research.com, largely for his work in machine learning, teaching computers to identify patterns in data and studying computer vision. Rather than providing comments, he instead demonstrated the long history of nobility within Oakland’s staff.

He directed the other great work by young hires within his computer sciences and engineering department.

This is the final lesson of being a great researcher — nurturing the next generation of better researchers.