There haven't been very many stories in which actual working scientists are portrayed in a particularly realistic manner. Benford's Timescape comes to mind. I've been thinking about sometime trying to write something that's a bit in that direction. Another thing that has influenced my writing is the fact that, as a experimental scientist, I have a much better feel for the fact that, in general, things don't work the way they're supposed to. Equipment doesn't work.
Rockets blow up.
One of the cliches of SF is the way that some theorist has an great idea, and puts together an gadget the next day that goes and does something. Well, heck, the average theorist couldn't tell a transistor from an electrolytic capacitor. It probably won't work. A moderate amount. You could look at my bibliography .