Tom Platt, Boardman High School Class of 1967, who later went on to earn his PhD in Parasitoloy, has just had a book, ‘Small Science,’ published. The book chronicles his
personal life, as well as his travels around the world in furtherance of his research. Platt’s road to success was not initially smooth.
Faced with a brutal tenure rejection at the start of his career, he was told that “You are not the type of person we want to invest in for the next 30 years.” After a brief stint in the business world, Platt bounced back in spectacular fashion by embarking on a successful 28-year career at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Ind. He traveled extensively in search of new species of parasitic worms, from Costa Rica to the far-flung reaches of Australia and Malaysia. His love of turtles and their parasites led to the discovery of 30 new species, 11 new genera, and international recognition. He provides perspectives on the places and people encountered along the way, details of interactions with wildlife, as well as interesting and accessible insights into parasite behavior in the external environment and with their hosts. The link to his book is https/worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12339
