There’s a certain kind of joy that emanates from someone who’s found their passion.

Dr. Mohammed Noor, Professor of Biology at Duke and Interim Dean of Trinity College, certainly radiates that joy. But there’s not one thing that defines his “passion.” He’s someone fascinated by genetics and evolution, educational reform, and Star Trek. And remarkably, Dr. Noor has combined those diverse interests and found ways to overlap the things he loves to learn about.

As a technical advisor for CBS’s “Star Trek,” Dr. Noor is responsible for integrating evolutionary science within the television franchise: providing feedback on scripts, suggesting ideas for how certain characters should look or act. But the funny thing is that Dr. Noor didn’t proceed through his career with the intention of getting this insanely cool job. A series of serendipitous friendships, comic panels, and emails led him to where he is now. Yes, Dr. Noor’s love of Star Trek guided his journey, but he told us that the whole process of finding his current position was totally unpredictable.

That was my first lesson from his talk. Sometimes, the best experiences in life are those that you simply can’t plan.

The nature of Dr. Noor’s sci-fi consulting also means that he gets to speak at conventions, using Star Trek as a medium to teach audiences about genetics and evolution. While this seems like just another awesome bonus of his job, Dr. Noor said that those experiences taught him a lot about science communication. His audiences would be a mix of Nobel laureates and Star Trek enthusiasts (or both). With science jargon as complex as it is, Dr. Noor was basically teaching people who spoke totally different languages. The information he conveys, then, had to be both approachable and informative for people from widely different backgrounds.

“But what happens,” one of us asked,“ if you meet someone who doesn’t believe in evolution at all? What happens if they’re totally unreceptive to what you have to say?”

Dr. Noor paused. He’d definitely encountered this problem before, he told us, but the most important thing to do was to listen. Listen to what others have to say- not with the intention of finding holes in their argument, but with the goal of understanding their perspective. Sometimes, he admitted, you’re not going to win everyone over. And that’s okay. But it’s important to not attack- or feel attacked by- stances that differ from your own.

And his experience with science communication has informed the way he teaches science to students at Duke. Dr. Noor started a class called “Genetics, Evolution and Star Trek” to make introductory biology more accessible. He’s written a book called “Live Long and Evolve” that uses scenes in Star Trek to teach the fundamentals of genetics and evolution. He even has a Youtube channel called “BioTrekkies” where he shows audiences that science fiction is built off of actual science.

It exemplifies why Dr. Noor’s career story was so fascinating. He engages with so many different industries, but actively applies the insights of one field to another. His story emphasizes that you don’t have to sacrifice an interest for another. You don’t have to have everything planned out. You just have to stay true to your interests, stay persistent, and pursue opportunities that genuinely fascinate you.

To me, that seems like the best way to truly live long and prosper.