OFFICIAL9 Why does the professor mention his previous jobs?

[00:00.00]Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and her professor.
[00:06.66]MALE PROFESSOR: Before we get started, I...I just wanted to say I'm glad you chose food science for your major course of study.
[00:13.79]FEMALE STUDENT: Yeah, it seems like a great industry to get involved with. [00:16.88]I mean, with a four-year degree in food science, I’ll always be able to find a job.
[00:20.84]MALE PROFESSOR: You're absolutely right. [00:22.67]Eh, before entering academia, I worked as a scientist for several food manufacturers and for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. [00:30.93]I even worked on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska a couple of summers while I was an undergraduate. [00:36.68]We’d, we’d bring in the day’s catch to a floating processor boat, where the fish got cleaned, packaged, and frozen—right at sea.
[00:45.51]FEMALE STUDENT: That's amazing. [00:46.99]As a matter of fact, I'm sort of interested in food packaging.
[00:50.89]MALE PROFESSOR: Well, for that, you'll need a strong background in physics, math, and chemistry.
[00:56.32]FEMALE STUDENT: Those are my best subjects— [00:58.38]for a long time I was leaning toward getting my degree in engineering.
[01:01.78]MALE PROFESSOR: Well, then you shouldn't have a, a problem. [01:04.68]And fortunately, at this university, the Department of Food Science offers a program in food packaging. [01:11.68]Elsewhere, you might have to hammer courses together on your own.
[01:15.55]FEMALE STUDENT: I guess I lucked out, then! [01:18.26]Um, so since my appointment today’s to discuss my, my term paper topic…I wanted to ask, could I write about food packaging? [01:27.72]I realize we're supposed to research food-borne bacteria, but food packaging must play a role in all of that, right?
[01:33.57]MALE PROFESSOR: Absolutely. Maybe you should do some preliminary research on that…
[01:37.38]FEMALE STUDENT: I have! That's the problem.[01:39.89]I’m overwhelmed!
[01:41.56]MALE PROFESSOR: Well, in your reading, did anything interest you in particular, [01:45.12]I, I mean something you'd like to investigate?
[01:48.41]FEMALE STUDENT: Well, I was surprised about the different types of packaging used for milk.  [01:53.53]Y’know, clear plastic bottles, opaque bottles, cardboard containers…
[01:57.98]MALE PROFESSOR: True! In fact, the type of packaging has something to do with the way milk's treated against bacteria.
[02:05.26]FEMALE STUDENT: Yeah, and I read a study that showed how light can give milk a funny flavor and decrease its nutritional value. [02:11.61]And yet, most milk bottles are clear. [02:13.93]What’s up with that?
[02:15.18]MALE PROFESSOR: Well, consumers like being able to visually examine the color of the milk. [02:19.94]That might be one reason that opaque bottles haven't really caught on. [02:23.99]But that study…I'm sure there’re more studies on the subject…[02:28.19]uh, you shouldn’t base your paper on, on only one study.
[02:32.79]FEMALE STUDENT: Maybe I should write about those opaque plastic bottles…[02:36.03]find out if there's any scientific reasons they aren't used more widely. [02:40.37]Maybe opaque bottles aren’t as good at keeping bacteria from growing in milk after the bottle's been opened or something. But where to begin researching this,  [02:50.50]I don't…
[02:51.91]MALE PROFESSOR: Y'know, there's a dairy not far from here, in Chelsea. [02:55.10]It was one of the first dairies to bottle milk in opaque plastic, but now they're using clear plastic again…[03:01.79]And they’re always very supportive of the university and our students, so if you wanted…
[03:07.19]FEMALE STUDENT: Hmm…Yeah, I like that idea.