Is there a tried-and-true formula to drive achievement in the corporate world? For many College of Sciences alumni, the surprising answer lies in science fundamentals — particularly the scientific method.

We spoke to three alumni about the benefits of applying a scientific approach to business.

 Navigating the Startup Landscape

Thomas Kim graduated from Georgia Tech in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, intending to pursue a career in academia. Instead, after earning a master’s in biochemistry and a law degree, then working as a biotech attorney, he is now president and CEO of two life science startups.

“The entire startup company process can be construed as an exercise in the scientific method,” says Kim. “In the early stage, you start with preclinical data and a thesis on how that translates to human disease. Next, you pressure test everything. Depending on confidence in your results, you continue to invest and move the program forward to translate your initial idea into a potential human therapeutic, or you pivot to a different application or drug in the pipeline.”

One of his current companies, Epivario aims to develop treatments for preventing relapse in drug and alcohol addiction and PTSD.  

“We’re in the preclinical development stage, requiring constant testing – and retesting. It’s an arduous, ongoing task where not everything works the first time – or the 50th.”

In the fast-moving start-up world, decisions must be made quickly and, most importantly, accurately to stay ahead of the competition. Kim points to a background in the scientific method as foundational to making crucial business decisions. “Whether you’re responsible for research and development or company strategy, it’s a key skill to take deep analysis and translate it into quality decision making.”

On a broader level, Kim admits he sees his work more as a mission than a job.

“I feel fortunate to work in a field where our efforts can improve human lives.”

From Lab to Leadership

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Washington State University, Maureen Metcalfe (M.S. BIO 2014) scored her dream job as a CDC electron microscopist in 2007, then enrolled part-time at Georgia Tech to earn a master’s in biology. As part of her master’s requirements, she also conducted research in Professor Ingeborg Schmidt-Krey’s laboratory, where she attempted to create conditions to crystallize a protein involved in Alzheimer's pathogenesis. Between her full-time job, academic studies, and work in the laboratory, she averaged more than 70 hours of work each week.

“I lived the scientific method – especially the test your hypothesis part,” says Metcalfe. “Over four years, I had 600 failures.”

Those failures taught her resilience and time management – skills vital to her current consulting career.

“It’s more ingrained than step by step, but almost every time there is a problem on a client project, I rely on certain aspects of the scientific method,” says Metcalfe. "I first observe, research, and analyze the data, re-tool if necessary, and then apply that data to make an informed recommendation to the client.”

Over the years, the perseverance she developed in the laboratory has helped her push on to complete complicated client projects. 

“I think the scientific process and what it gives us is unique,” says Metcalfe. “Science gives you the skill set to keep asking questions and not accept a failure or setback.”

Metcalfe can even apply aspects of her career trajectory to principles inherent in the scientific method.

“Building on what you learn and changing course is inherent in the scientific method. I realized I wanted different challenges in my life, and I left a career in government to find them. Taking my science degree into new work situations has been very gratifying. The foundation I built in science serves me well in the challenging, fast-paced, and exciting world of consulting.”

Building Career Success

A night out with friends upended and redirected Christa Sobon’s carefully constructed career plans. After earning psychology and history degrees with a minor in French from Emory University, Sobon, (M.S. PSY 1996) came to Georgia Tech to build a career in academia. Those plans changed when she talked to a friend’s wife at a party who told her that Accenture liked to hire smart people who could solve problems.

After two years at Tech in a quantitative program focused on methodology and research seeped in the scientific method, Sobon was confident of her problem-solving abilities. Forgoing academia, she accepted a job at Accenture and has spent more than 29 years leading programs that drive business success at companies including All Connect, Netspend, and Jabian Consulting. Currently, she is operations management senior director at Cox Automotive.

“I’ve been able to use elements of the scientific method in every place I’ve worked,” says Sobon. “The scientific method equips you with critical thinking skills and promotes a methodical approach to tackling challenges that works well in the corporate world.”

As a program manager for most of her career, she cites forming a hypothesis and analyzing the data as the most critical steps when figuring out how to get a product to market.

“We gather data in terms of understanding the customer pain points, then form the hypothesis (or in our case a new product) designed to solve that particular problem. When we believe we have a workable solution, we bring that product to market,” says Sobon.

She explains that they rarely stick the landing on the first try.

“I’ve led teams where we were convinced the customer would love our product…when the customer did NOT love our product, we would then refine, test in the market again, and continue to iterate until we launched a successful product – basically a mini-version of the scientific method.”

Sobon is a strong believer in a scientific education – and Georgia Tech.

“The rigor that you learn at Georgia Tech about approaching problem-solving through the scientific method has so many applications. These skills are transferable across a variety of fields and enable individuals to analyze complex problems, develop innovative solutions, and make data-driven decisions, all of which are essential in business today.”