Staff Profile: Dane Scarff
“If it’s broken and/or dirty, I know the students are using the equipment,” he says. “I repair anything, and you’d be surprised at what professors bring to me.” Mr. Scarff has worked at Augusta State for six years and says that at the young age of 12, he already knew exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life—wear a white lab coat, look through a microscope, and grow cultures. Five years later, at 17 years old, the Vietnam War changed things for a lot of young men, and Mr. Scarff joined the United States Army. He worked as a Nuclear Weapons Specialist, Satellite Communications Electronics Repairer, and military instructor. “I found out that I liked being in the Army, and I was pretty good at it,” he says. “After 25 years, I retired and went after my boyhood dream.” Mr. Scarff attended Augusta State for two years and then transferred to the Medical College of Georgia where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology. Upon graduation, he supervised the Outpatient Phlebotomy Laboratory that serviced 40,000 patients per year. “I heard about a position here at ASU, as I was often on campus because of my wife Dar, who works in Reese Library” he says. “So I worked real hard to get an interview, and I did. Finally, this became my third and final career.” Mr. Scarff is responsible for the procurement of all scientific things pertaining to the needs of faculty and students for both departments. He manages the living and preserved specimens, maintenance of more than 300 microscopes, and general operation of all labs for the biology department. The receiving, disposition, and disposal of chemicals take most of his efforts for the chemistry department. Supporting the physics department is mostly keeping ahead of items needed for laboratories. He also supports all internal and external faculty and student grants. When he’s not working, he’s still working. He mentors young students about the techniques of the microscope and the joys of science at local schools. In his spare time, Mr. Scarff is a rock hound. He and his wife collect a wide variety rocks and minerals. He also is a volunteer and the university’s liaison at the Southeastern National Sciences Academy of Phinizy Swamp Nature Park where he participates in many functions including activities for the Creek Freaks, a group of young students who love the study of nature. “I went out with the Creek Freaks last Tuesday, and we did chemical monitoring of our Adopt-A-Stream site. Once per quarter, we go out on a Saturday and do our biological monitoring by catching and counting macroinvertebrates,” Mr. Scarff says. “It’s very rewarding to work with these students.” Who: Dane Scarff Position: Laboratory technician III in the Department of Biology and the Department of Chemistry and Physics Family: Wife, Dar, circulation and interlibrary loan manager in Reese Library; three sons; one granddaughter. What do you like about working at ASU? “I like my job because it’s so unique. No other laboratory technician in the University System of Georgia works for two separate departments. It increases how interesting the job is because they are not related.” Fun fact: Mr. Scarff does lapidary, the cutting of stones.
March 2007 |
It is evident that Dane Scarff loves his job as the laboratory technician for the biology and chemistry and physics departments. During this interview, Russell Stullken, associate professor of biology, brings him a model of a knee with muscles. It is broken, a byproduct of an eager biology student who was bending and twisting it too hard. However, Mr. Scarff doesn’t mind the repair—he sees an upside to the damaged model.
