Hey I'm a grad student. Clinical Psychology. And yes, I have to carry a lot of sh*t! I have a medium timbuk2 messenger bag that I've more than occassionally overstuffed with books, clothes, a computer, etc. I've tried my best to limit what I carry to only what I absolutely need that day. I got a hand-me-down PDA that I carry instead of my laptop and went back to using old fashioned notebooks to take notes. I do an inventory every time I go in to make sure I'm only taking what I need, but it's still usually a lot. So some sort of panniers are probably a good idea for him since the bag on the back is painful. Since I don't use them, I can't be of much assistance there. But I can understand the whole conundrum

Hope he finds a solution.