"Ron Mittler always thought he would be a veterinarian, until he was exposed to the lab. 'I went to school to be a vet,' Mittler said. 'I made the mistake of working in the lab to make money in the summer and I got hooked on research. I worked with plants and I realized it is the best job to have for me.' That 'mistake' has turned into a career of research and teaching in academia. The...