1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,240
Hi everyone, welcome to STEM from's podcast, where does your journey stem from, hosted
2
00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:20,200
by myself, Dr. Karina Menardi.
3
00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:24,840
Today we are joined by a lovely scientist and guest, Megan, who is currently a graduate
4
00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,440
student at Harvard University.
5
00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,440
Let's welcome to the stage, Megan.
6
00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:30,960
Hey, Megan, how are you?
7
00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:31,960
Hi, I'm great.
8
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:33,960
Thank you so much for having me.
9
00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:34,960
Yeah, of course.
10
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,680
We're excited to have you along today.
11
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:42,400
Megan recently earned her BS in chemistry from the University at Buffalo, where she
12
00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:47,960
synthesized new porous inorganic materials under the guidance of Professor Timothy Cook.
13
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:53,040
She is currently a first year PhD student and National Science Foundation graduate research
14
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,480
fellow at Harvard University.
15
00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:02,440
In the group of Professor Daniel Nocera, she studies photo catalysis and other energy relevant
16
00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:03,840
reactions.
17
00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,760
She is an advocate for equity, diversity, inclusion in STEM, and loves to explore new
18
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:14,560
ways to engage general audiences in chemistry and support the next generation of scientists,
19
00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,960
which I think is a shared mutual interest, obviously, in us at STEM from.
20
00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:21,760
So Megan, let's start off with our very first question.
21
00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,600
Tell us a little bit about your background and you as a person.
22
00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,680
Yeah, so thanks again so much for having me.
23
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,480
I'll give you a little, I guess, backstory.
24
00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,640
So I moved around quite a bit when I grew up.
25
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:43,240
So I lived in Delaware for several years and then moved into upstate New York right outside
26
00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:44,840
of Rochester.
27
00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:49,000
And then I moved down to Mississippi for a few of my high school years.
28
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:56,880
So I think that was a pretty tough experience just moving around so much, but in retrospect
29
00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:04,080
being thrown into the new environments and cultures really taught me how to be adaptable.
30
00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,240
And it also taught me kind of how to take full advantage of whatever opportunities are
31
00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,840
presented, even if they aren't necessarily what you expect.
32
00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:21,080
So I also grew up with two older brothers and they really taught me how to have a thick
33
00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:29,720
skin and likely also contributed to my kind of competitive nature.
34
00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:36,520
But I didn't have much of an awareness of what a PhD was or how research really worked.
35
00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:44,960
But I knew I had an interest in helping others and trying to make an impact on a large scale.
36
00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,080
I also really enjoyed my science classes.
37
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:53,720
So I kind of paired these two interests together and thought that I wanted to be a medical
38
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:55,320
doctor.
39
00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:01,600
So when I entered undergrad at the University of Buffalo, I was on a pre-med track.
40
00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:08,080
But quite quickly I realized that I loved chemistry actually in my first semester of
41
00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,360
taking Gen Chem.
42
00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:16,240
So I started doing undergraduate research that first semester with my Gen Chem professor,
43
00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,800
Dr. Tim Cook.
44
00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:26,920
And I had a great experience in his lab and it very quickly became my happy place to get
45
00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:32,920
to synthesize new molecules and just constantly be learning new things.
46
00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:37,160
It was especially impactful that I could kind of connect what I was doing in lab to the
47
00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:43,400
really at the time they didn't feel simple, but the simple concepts that I was learning
48
00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,920
in general chemistry.
49
00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,040
That was a really powerful experience for me.
50
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:56,200
So once I came to understand what a PhD consists of and with the help of a plethora of really
51
00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:02,920
wonderful mentors who supported me along the way, I tried to position myself for PhD programs.
52
00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:09,120
And I did that by applying for some scholarships and fellowships like the Goldwater Scholarship
53
00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:14,360
and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
54
00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:21,440
And then I applied to PhD programs and I'm really enjoying my first semester at Harvard.
55
00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:22,440
That's wonderful to hear.
56
00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,320
And I think we have a mutual story.
57
00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:31,280
I actually joined my first semester in my general chemistry lab professors research and
58
00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:33,040
that was my introduction to chemistry.
59
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,560
So I totally understand.
60
00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,640
And I think you mentioned two things that I want to mention.
61
00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:47,080
One is we have this, I found that our guests have this consistent theme of embracing randomness.
62
00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,640
And I think that I hope that you could touch on that a little bit, especially with all
63
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,040
of your moving and adaptability.
64
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:56,440
Can you speak a little bit to them?
65
00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,960
How do you have embraced randomness?
66
00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:05,280
I think sometimes it can be a little difficult at first to embrace randomness.
67
00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:13,200
I know for me growing up I had always envisioned that I would be a medical doctor.
68
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:21,200
So when I kind of fell in love with chemistry and being in the lab, I struggled for several
69
00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,600
months thinking about, you know, is a PhD what I want?
70
00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,760
Should I stick with kind of this career that I had planned out in my mind?
71
00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:34,520
Or should I follow what I'm more passionate about?
72
00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:40,080
And I think generally following your passions is important.
73
00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:45,200
And I think what really helped me embrace the randomness was having mentors that I could
74
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:46,200
talk to.
75
00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:52,120
I can't underscore the importance of being able to, you know, go into a professor's
76
00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:58,480
office and just tell them where you're at and what you're thinking.
77
00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:03,280
And also having the opportunity to talk to graduate students about kind of their journeys
78
00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:08,400
and looking at resources, you know, like this podcast and hearing about how other people
79
00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:09,920
ended up where they are.
80
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:18,720
I think some of the most inspiring career stories are the ones that the person in the
81
00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,000
position there and now didn't expect to be in.
82
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,400
And I think that's one of the exciting parts of life.
83
00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,320
So I've come to really embrace it.
84
00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:35,000
And anytime I see a challenge or an opportunity that I think would help me grow as either
85
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:42,520
a person or a scientist, I always try to get involved as quickly as possible and do what
86
00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,360
I can to, you know, further myself through those sorts of opportunities.
87
00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:55,560
What I appreciate most in your answer is also the second point that I wanted to make, which
88
00:06:55,560 --> 00:07:01,120
you touched on quite heavily, which is it takes a village and it takes a village of
89
00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:09,680
mentors, colleagues, cohorts, family members, friends.
90
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,280
You are not alone in this.
91
00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:17,960
And you are not alone throughout your STEM career, let alone your STEM studies, right?
92
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:18,960
Yes.
93
00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:28,480
I think another, I guess, thing that I found to be to help make science inclusive for me
94
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:36,320
personally is kind of taking those risks and opening up to people who you might want to
95
00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,840
be your mentor.
96
00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:45,640
So for example, when I started working with my Gen Chem Professor, Tim Cook, it was very
97
00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,160
much he was my research advisor.
98
00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:54,640
But over the years, working with him, you know, I realized the value and also learning from
99
00:07:54,640 --> 00:08:00,960
his experiences, taking the time to go and just talk with him about life and about how
100
00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,160
he got to where he is.
101
00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:10,240
And I took advantage of so many wonderful faculty members and what they had to offer
102
00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,120
in terms of mentorship.
103
00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:19,360
Even though I wasn't as interested in organic chemistry, I still took the time to go to
104
00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:20,560
office hours.
105
00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:26,320
And even if you don't have questions, just chat about what the field looks like, what
106
00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,640
you can do as a scientist.
107
00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:33,360
It's really been fruitful to spend time building those relationships.
108
00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,160
Yeah, building relationships and leveraging to networks.
109
00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:39,120
I think that is huge.
110
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:46,960
And something that students don't necessarily think about at first is the thought of a network
111
00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:53,120
really opens up a lot of doors and, you know, parking back to embracing randomness.
112
00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,920
That is the epitome of randomness.
113
00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,040
So we've focused a little bit about your past.
114
00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,360
So let's actually switch gears and think a little bit about your future.
115
00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:08,840
When you think about goals, life goals and aspirations, you know, what first comes to
116
00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,200
mind and how to stem a line with that?
117
00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:21,120
Yeah, so I'm currently really interested in going into academics and becoming a professor.
118
00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:25,800
And I think there are two big reasons for this.
119
00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:33,880
First of all, it kind of fulfills my intellectual aspirations to be able to do impactful research
120
00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:41,040
and to contribute to making scientific advances that truly can reach, you know, thousands
121
00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,080
or millions or billions of people.
122
00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:52,000
So I'm interested in addressing kind of issues of equitable energy access and climate change
123
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:57,400
through my science in the future, because I see those as areas where I can contribute
124
00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,400
to making an impact on a global scale.
125
00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,200
So that's one side of it.
126
00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:06,880
And then I think the other side of it is very connected to these great relationships I've
127
00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:14,920
had with professors throughout my career thus far is I see, you know, being a professor
128
00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:22,600
as a position where you can build those personal relationships and you can impact people on
129
00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,920
a very deep level.
130
00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:31,960
So I think I wouldn't be where I am today without the support of some of those peoples.
131
00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:37,680
And I also want to be somebody who can kind of embolden the people around me to pursue
132
00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:43,000
their dreams and to have the confidence to try to tackle challenges that they're interested
133
00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,960
in in the same way that my mentors have done for me.
134
00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:51,360
So being a professor has both breadth and depth that really attracts me to that career
135
00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,360
path.
136
00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:57,960
But I'm still very open-minded and I have five years to go, so we'll see.
137
00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:05,080
Well, at least five years, maybe a little bit more, but we won't talk about that.
138
00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,000
So when I think of a professor, you know, when I think of the career of a professor,
139
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,080
I think of it in a couple of different ways, one of which is obviously is the mentorship
140
00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,080
of students.
141
00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:18,880
The second is being a subject matter expert in your respective field.
142
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:25,400
Then the other piece is, which I think that you touched on a little bit about sort of
143
00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:32,080
general aspirations, solving big world, big picture problems, is that you're constantly
144
00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:39,680
invited to be a subject matter expert in policymaking, in management, in advocacy, and all of those
145
00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:40,680
different things.
146
00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:45,200
Is that maybe part of the professorial sort of allure?
147
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,200
Absolutely it is.
148
00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,640
For me, because I really do enjoy meeting new people and sharing experiences, I think
149
00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,080
there's a lot of power in that.
150
00:11:56,080 --> 00:12:02,800
And when you're a professor who truly is the expert on what they're working on and can
151
00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:08,240
collaborate with other scientists through having that strong network, I think that's
152
00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,360
really an attractive part of the job as well.
153
00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,560
And I also really enjoy public speaking.
154
00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:19,240
It's something that initially was a very big fear of mine.
155
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,840
And of course, I mean, right, to some degree it still is, it's always scary to get up in
156
00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:30,400
front of a group of people, but I think I've really enjoyed watching myself improve in
157
00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:31,400
that way.
158
00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:40,600
So I look forward to being able to share my science with different audiences through public
159
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:48,440
speaking, through personal connections, as well as I've really been enjoying doing STEM
160
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:54,840
outreach and bringing kind of science or chemistry concepts to the public through like hands-on
161
00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:55,840
experiences.
162
00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:05,120
So that's a fun opportunity that I can continue into a career in academics for sure.
163
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:10,920
So let's talk a little bit now about your current expertise or maybe your most recent
164
00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,080
past scientific expertise, if you will.
165
00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:20,760
When you talk about inorganic materials and you talk about sort of their impetus in the
166
00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:26,600
world, what is the big picture of your research, of your undergraduate research, and then we'll
167
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,440
obviously talk a little bit more about your graduate research?
168
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,160
Sure.
169
00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:39,560
So in my undergraduate years, I really spent a full three and a half years working on research
170
00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,480
that I truly loved and I'm still wrapping up.
171
00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:49,440
So all of my work utilized inorganic self-assembly to make porous materials.
172
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:54,600
So the idea behind self-assembly is really quite simple.
173
00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,960
It's almost like using Lincoln log toys to build a structure.
174
00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:07,080
You can use really simple components and make something relatively complicated just by taking
175
00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,240
advantage of different geometries.
176
00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:15,880
In most of my work, I use different dicarboxyl ligands.
177
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:22,520
So those are organic components and they connect to each other through inorganic components.
178
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:28,640
In my case, these inorganic components were zirconium oxo clusters.
179
00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:36,520
And when you combine, for example, six bridging ligands and four of these inorganic clusters,
180
00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,600
you can make a tetrahedron.
181
00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,640
So you can think about a tetrahedron and there's an internal cavity.
182
00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,440
There's a space within that molecule.
183
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:51,400
And that's what gives rise to the porosity and the high surface area that these materials
184
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:52,960
have.
185
00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:59,120
High surface area materials have been used for gas separation, gas storage, drug delivery
186
00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,080
and things like that.
187
00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:07,880
But most of my work was relatively fundamental, kind of on the side of how can we make these
188
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,840
systems more tunable?
189
00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:16,760
So if you want to use them for some application, you can get your desired properties from your
190
00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,600
material through many different routes.
191
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:28,680
So one thing I explored was adding functionality off of those zirconium oxo clusters by functionalizing
192
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,760
those cyclopentadienyl capping ligands.
193
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:38,400
And then another project that I'm still in the process of wrapping up, kind of, is exploring
194
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:43,880
how we can use different building blocks, so different starting materials, but end up
195
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:48,360
with the same product, but with better phase purity.
196
00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:56,920
So sometimes when you're making these self-assembled structures, you might get, in my case, a tetrahedron
197
00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:58,680
and one that we call the lantern.
198
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:05,120
So instead of four node components and six bridging ligands, you get half of that.
199
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,160
You get three bridging ligands and two node components.
200
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:13,720
So to avoid that, we can start with different starting materials that will help us favor
201
00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,920
the desired product.
202
00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:23,240
So when you talk a little bit about the gas storage that is enabled through these sort
203
00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:34,520
of tetrahedron surfaces or porous materials, how do you identify the quantity quality of
204
00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,480
the gas that's actually stored in there?
205
00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,080
Yeah, that's an awesome question.
206
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:49,280
So I think something that's always important to keep in mind is sometimes in academic research,
207
00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:56,560
we're a little disconnected from the actual application, so I'll kind of add those caveats
208
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:57,560
in.
209
00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:05,800
So what we do in the lab is we measure what we call a surface area using a surface area
210
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,040
analyzer.
211
00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:16,440
And what these do is they, you put your sample in and in principle, they remove all of the
212
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,920
gas from your sample.
213
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,720
So you should have an empty pour.
214
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:29,080
And then it very, very slowly starts to add nitrogen molecules in until it forms a monolayer
215
00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,600
on the surface of your material.
216
00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:37,600
And from the amount of nitrogen that you can add to form a monolayer, you can then do some
217
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:42,640
math to figure out what the effective surface area is.
218
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,000
But as you can imagine, this would be a little bit different depending on what molecule you
219
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,720
use to measure that surface area.
220
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:58,160
So in our lab, and with my work, we use nitrogen molecules, but there's a lot of interest in
221
00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,640
capturing CO2 molecules, for example.
222
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:08,400
So for things like that, you could then do the same thing with CO2.
223
00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:13,800
And there are lots of groups out there that use either materials similar to mine or what
224
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:18,360
we call metal organic frameworks, which are instead of having a discrete molecule, you
225
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:22,600
extend it in three dimensions.
226
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:27,560
And they can have surface areas on the order of the surface area of a football field in
227
00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:29,800
one gram of material.
228
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,400
So they're very impressive in that way.
229
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:38,720
But of course, there's still room for improvement because while you can have high surface areas,
230
00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:45,040
you might be plagued with low stability or issues with instability around water and things
231
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:46,040
like that.
232
00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,680
So definitely still work to be done to make these applicable.
233
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,280
What kind of instrumentation then do you use?
234
00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:59,040
Because I would assume that once you synthesize these materials, then you have to look at
235
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:00,040
their purity.
236
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:01,040
You would have to look at the yield.
237
00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:02,040
You would look at that.
238
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,840
I mean, you already talked a little bit about the surface analyzer.
239
00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,400
So what can you give us an idea about what else you have, actually?
240
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,400
What are the things you use in analyzing them?
241
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:12,400
Absolutely.
242
00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,680
And that was one of my favorite parts of my undergraduate research is that because these
243
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:22,000
porous materials are molecular and they're not the extended solid materials, I was able
244
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,760
to use traditional solution state characterization methods.
245
00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:35,120
So I use nuclear magnetic resonance to see all of the protons on the molecule and what
246
00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:36,720
environments they were in.
247
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:45,080
So my tetrahedra are quite symmetric, which means if they are pure materials, they should
248
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,120
only have a few peaks in their NMR spectra.
249
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:55,840
I also used diffusion-ordered spectroscopy, which is another NMR technique.
250
00:19:55,840 --> 00:20:04,800
But it basically gives you an idea of how your molecule is moving in solution and how
251
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,440
quickly it is diffusing in solution.
252
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:15,000
So that can also give us an idea if, for example, our proton NMR is not super convincing, we
253
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,880
can do that to see, do we just have one species or do we have something that's also moving
254
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,680
faster?
255
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:26,160
On top of that, I used a lot of mass spectrometry.
256
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:33,080
And that's where we basically inject the solution of our molecules into a mass spec.
257
00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,600
And we bombard it with a bunch of electrons.
258
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:43,000
And after that, we can see how those electrons basically ionize our molecule and we can see
259
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,400
what the mass of our molecule is.
260
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,840
And that confirms phase purity.
261
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:54,760
And then infrared spectroscopy, I also did thermogravometric analysis.
262
00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:59,440
That gives us an idea of at what temperature do they decompose.
263
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:05,000
I've done single crystal X-ray diffraction work, as well as powder X-ray diffraction
264
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:12,360
in those cases where we might want to evaluate the bulk purity, not just a single crystallite.
265
00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:15,960
And then as you mentioned, the surface area analyzer.
266
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:16,960
Yeah.
267
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:23,040
And thank you for, I think, calling out the solution state versus the solid state.
268
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:28,760
Because that was going to be actually my next question of, you know, how do you do solid
269
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,720
state metrics or not?
270
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:35,200
And so let's actually move on, though, because you're not doing the same thing at Harvard
271
00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,200
as you did at the University of Buffalo.
272
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:43,920
So talk a little bit about photocatalysis and why you're kind of deviating and pivoting.
273
00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,560
Yeah, of course.
274
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,960
So I think something important to me when I was entering graduate school and choosing
275
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:57,400
a graduate program was exploring science that I was less familiar with.
276
00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:05,520
I think that's always a scary experience to kind of enter a new field or a new subfield.
277
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,400
But a PhD is really the time to learn new things.
278
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:14,520
So I wanted to kind of maximize my experience here by throwing myself into some new chemistry.
279
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:21,120
So I had relatively little experience in undergrad, studying things like reactivity.
280
00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:26,640
I had no experience with photochemistry or catalysis.
281
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:32,480
So the NoCera Lab here at Harvard was really a perfect fit for me to explore these new
282
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,280
topics.
283
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:40,800
And then I also chose this group because we have a lot of freedom and we're able to kind
284
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,200
of forge our own path and do whatever chemistry we're interested in.
285
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:49,960
So the topics that our grad students and postdocs are working on right now range from studying
286
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,720
ribonucleotide reductase to making quantum spin liquids.
287
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,920
Like we really run the gamut.
288
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:03,640
So I have the chance to kind of make a project that speaks to whatever my interests are.
289
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:09,520
So I plan on continuing to do synthetic chemistry just because I love the feeling of making
290
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,680
new molecules.
291
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,280
But now I'm going to be making molecules that can interact with light.
292
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,080
And hopefully when they interact with light, they'll drive important chemistry.
293
00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:27,080
So for example, the oxidation of like feedstock natural gases into useful fuel products.
294
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:32,480
So an example of this would be turning methane into methanol.
295
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:40,040
And that's, it may seem simple, but it's a pretty difficult transformation because methanol
296
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,120
is going to be easier to oxidize than methane.
297
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:48,320
So as soon as you turn some methane over to methanol, a lot of times your catalyst will
298
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:53,240
then just continue to oxidize that methanol into other products that we might not be as
299
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:54,240
interested in.
300
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,760
So it's a balance of trying to figure out how can we turn methane into methanol without
301
00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,760
making an abundance of other over oxidized products.
302
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:09,120
So I'm also looking forward to getting into the details of reactivity and electron transfer
303
00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:12,040
and photocatalytic systems.
304
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,960
In this group, we have femtosecond and nanosecond lasers.
305
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:21,520
And we can use these to help us understand like the rates of electron transfer and what
306
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:29,040
excited state species we have when we're exciting these molecules with different light sources.
307
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:35,600
So I'm really excited to really learn these techniques and see how they can help me become
308
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,640
more creative when I'm thinking about my future projects too.
309
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,920
I think you touched on that.
310
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:49,040
I mean, the research and photocatalysis is obviously not only critical, but it's also
311
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,000
interesting, obviously.
312
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,400
But I think that you touched on a subject that I'm curious if you could elucidate about
313
00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:00,960
the ability that you have a wide range of sort of opportunities within the lab to explore
314
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:09,560
sort of different science, that your PI is actually, it sounds like he is very purposeful
315
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,680
in doing that and allowing his students in his postdocs to do that.
316
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,720
So can you talk a little bit about that?
317
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:16,920
Yeah.
318
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,680
I think he is definitely purposeful in doing it.
319
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:26,160
As I mentioned, I really enjoy getting insight from other students, whether they be my peers
320
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,400
or possibly mentors.
321
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,360
And what I've heard from a lot of the group members is it can be tough at first when
322
00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:36,240
you're trying to figure out what you want to work on because there are so many options.
323
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:42,360
And I think there are some groups where you might be kind of handed a project or really
324
00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:46,520
given a path to walk down.
325
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:51,120
But I think especially because I'm interested in going into academics, there's going to
326
00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:55,920
be a great benefit for me to figure out what is a good idea?
327
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:57,600
What is a bad idea?
328
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,240
When do you push to continue a project?
329
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:05,720
And when is it time to set it down and maybe try something different?
330
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:12,560
And I think that is why Dan does it this way is because it really helps us see the whole
331
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:18,880
picture of what it takes to be a scientist because chemistry doesn't always work.
332
00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:27,920
In terms of the breadth of research that goes on in the group, I think that was super important
333
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:37,000
to me when joining because I want to be able to come up with creative new ideas and we're
334
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,240
kind of a product of our environment.
335
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:45,960
So it's very interesting to hear some of our group members talking about ribonucleotide
336
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,160
reductase, which I know very little about.
337
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:55,560
And they're looking at this very complicated radical transport mechanism that people have
338
00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,320
been studying for decades.
339
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,600
But that's kind of a source of inspiration.
340
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:06,120
How can I relate that to photocatalysis?
341
00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:10,080
How can I learn just general things about radicals from something like that?
342
00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:17,040
So I think there's a lot of value in having a group where maybe you're not all experts
343
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:22,040
on the same thing, but you're all experts on something.
344
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:26,600
And it's been a really exciting experience being a new member in the group because I
345
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,720
can kind of just walk up to anyone and ask, you know, what are you working on?
346
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,280
And I most of the time don't really know what they're talking about, but there's just so
347
00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:36,480
much to learn.
348
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,480
And I think that's kind of a great place to be.
349
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,680
Well, it's a tremendous place to be.
350
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:48,240
And I love that answer because I think while you, I have this term about growth mindset,
351
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:49,240
right?
352
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:50,240
And it's not just my term.
353
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,600
It's a lot of people's terms, but I think it's also the fact that you're around just
354
00:27:54,600 --> 00:28:01,080
wicked smart people who are doing some really wicked smart science and how you learn from
355
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:07,720
them and learn from their successes and learn from their failures too.
356
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,920
Because even though you do fail, it's still learning.
357
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,800
And I can't describe how many times I have failed experiments in my past.
358
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,080
But you know what, it always actually contributed to learning.
359
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,320
Yes, exactly.
360
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:24,520
Exactly.
361
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:33,320
So I think we're about that time, but I wanted you to reflect a little bit about, you know,
362
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:34,960
your career thus far.
363
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:43,400
And if you were to, you know, run into Megan 10 years ago, what kind of wisdom would you
364
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,200
impart in her?
365
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,280
I don't think I'd say much to be honest.
366
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:53,280
I think, you know, part of life is figuring it out.
367
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,960
And I'm very happy with where I am now.
368
00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,920
I'm happy with the decisions I've made.
369
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:06,480
And not only the decisions I've made, but I think whatever decision you make and whatever
370
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:11,640
the outcome may be, it's always about making the best of it, you know?
371
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:17,520
So I don't think I'd have too much advice for my younger self other than, you know, keep
372
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,120
taking risks.
373
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:28,920
And I think it, I didn't really start taking risks until I was in college.
374
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:34,520
And I definitely could have started that earlier and kind of explored my career options a bit
375
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:35,520
earlier.
376
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,320
But at the time, like I said, I had no idea what a PhD was.
377
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:46,560
So I guess maybe I would have, you know, told myself what a PhD is.
378
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,960
But other than that, you know, I'm pretty happy with how things have turned out.
379
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,840
And I'm excited to see where things go from here.
380
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:54,840
That's wonderful.
381
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:56,040
And that's, that's pretty good wisdom.
382
00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:57,760
I'm not going to lie.
383
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,280
To be reflective in that and not have any regrets or that very few.
384
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,400
I think that's, that's great.
385
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:10,160
And with that Megan, I want to say, you know, how appreciative I am of your time, I'm enjoying
386
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:15,840
us today and walking us through not only your background, but your research, both past and
387
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:16,840
future.
388
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:17,840
I think it's exciting.
389
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,160
You're doing some really wonderful work.
390
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,160
So thank you again for being on our podcast.
391
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,440
Well thank you so much for having me.
392
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,840
Of course, of course.
393
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,320
And for our listeners, always remember to ask yourself, where did you see your journey
394
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:32,320
stem from?
395
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:33,320
Bye everyone.
396
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:34,320
Bye.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,240
Hi everyone, welcome to STEM from's podcast, where does your journey stem from, hosted
2
00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:20,200
by myself, Dr. Karina Menardi.
3
00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:24,840
Today we are joined by a lovely scientist and guest, Megan, who is currently a graduate
4
00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,440
student at Harvard University.
5
00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,440
Let's welcome to the stage, Megan.
6
00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:30,960
Hey, Megan, how are you?
7
00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:31,960
Hi, I'm great.
8
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:33,960
Thank you so much for having me.
9
00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:34,960
Yeah, of course.
10
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,680
We're excited to have you along today.
11
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:42,400
Megan recently earned her BS in chemistry from the University at Buffalo, where she
12
00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:47,960
synthesized new porous inorganic materials under the guidance of Professor Timothy Cook.
13
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:53,040
She is currently a first year PhD student and National Science Foundation graduate research
14
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,480
fellow at Harvard University.
15
00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:02,440
In the group of Professor Daniel Nocera, she studies photo catalysis and other energy relevant
16
00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:03,840
reactions.
17
00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,760
She is an advocate for equity, diversity, inclusion in STEM, and loves to explore new
18
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:14,560
ways to engage general audiences in chemistry and support the next generation of scientists,
19
00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,960
which I think is a shared mutual interest, obviously, in us at STEM from.
20
00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:21,760
So Megan, let's start off with our very first question.
21
00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,600
Tell us a little bit about your background and you as a person.
22
00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,680
Yeah, so thanks again so much for having me.
23
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,480
I'll give you a little, I guess, backstory.
24
00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,640
So I moved around quite a bit when I grew up.
25
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:43,240
So I lived in Delaware for several years and then moved into upstate New York right outside
26
00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:44,840
of Rochester.
27
00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:49,000
And then I moved down to Mississippi for a few of my high school years.
28
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:56,880
So I think that was a pretty tough experience just moving around so much, but in retrospect
29
00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:04,080
being thrown into the new environments and cultures really taught me how to be adaptable.
30
00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,240
And it also taught me kind of how to take full advantage of whatever opportunities are
31
00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,840
presented, even if they aren't necessarily what you expect.
32
00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:21,080
So I also grew up with two older brothers and they really taught me how to have a thick
33
00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:29,720
skin and likely also contributed to my kind of competitive nature.
34
00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:36,520
But I didn't have much of an awareness of what a PhD was or how research really worked.
35
00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:44,960
But I knew I had an interest in helping others and trying to make an impact on a large scale.
36
00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,080
I also really enjoyed my science classes.
37
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:53,720
So I kind of paired these two interests together and thought that I wanted to be a medical
38
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:55,320
doctor.
39
00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:01,600
So when I entered undergrad at the University of Buffalo, I was on a pre-med track.
40
00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:08,080
But quite quickly I realized that I loved chemistry actually in my first semester of
41
00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,360
taking Gen Chem.
42
00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:16,240
So I started doing undergraduate research that first semester with my Gen Chem professor,
43
00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,800
Dr. Tim Cook.
44
00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:26,920
And I had a great experience in his lab and it very quickly became my happy place to get
45
00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:32,920
to synthesize new molecules and just constantly be learning new things.
46
00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:37,160
It was especially impactful that I could kind of connect what I was doing in lab to the
47
00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:43,400
really at the time they didn't feel simple, but the simple concepts that I was learning
48
00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,920
in general chemistry.
49
00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,040
That was a really powerful experience for me.
50
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:56,200
So once I came to understand what a PhD consists of and with the help of a plethora of really
51
00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:02,920
wonderful mentors who supported me along the way, I tried to position myself for PhD programs.
52
00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:09,120
And I did that by applying for some scholarships and fellowships like the Goldwater Scholarship
53
00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:14,360
and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
54
00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:21,440
And then I applied to PhD programs and I'm really enjoying my first semester at Harvard.
55
00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:22,440
That's wonderful to hear.
56
00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,320
And I think we have a mutual story.
57
00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:31,280
I actually joined my first semester in my general chemistry lab professors research and
58
00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:33,040
that was my introduction to chemistry.
59
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,560
So I totally understand.
60
00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,640
And I think you mentioned two things that I want to mention.
61
00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:47,080
One is we have this, I found that our guests have this consistent theme of embracing randomness.
62
00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,640
And I think that I hope that you could touch on that a little bit, especially with all
63
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,040
of your moving and adaptability.
64
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:56,440
Can you speak a little bit to them?
65
00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,960
How do you have embraced randomness?
66
00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:05,280
I think sometimes it can be a little difficult at first to embrace randomness.
67
00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:13,200
I know for me growing up I had always envisioned that I would be a medical doctor.
68
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:21,200
So when I kind of fell in love with chemistry and being in the lab, I struggled for several
69
00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,600
months thinking about, you know, is a PhD what I want?
70
00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,760
Should I stick with kind of this career that I had planned out in my mind?
71
00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:34,520
Or should I follow what I'm more passionate about?
72
00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:40,080
And I think generally following your passions is important.
73
00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:45,200
And I think what really helped me embrace the randomness was having mentors that I could
74
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:46,200
talk to.
75
00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:52,120
I can't underscore the importance of being able to, you know, go into a professor's
76
00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:58,480
office and just tell them where you're at and what you're thinking.
77
00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:03,280
And also having the opportunity to talk to graduate students about kind of their journeys
78
00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:08,400
and looking at resources, you know, like this podcast and hearing about how other people
79
00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:09,920
ended up where they are.
80
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:18,720
I think some of the most inspiring career stories are the ones that the person in the
81
00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,000
position there and now didn't expect to be in.
82
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,400
And I think that's one of the exciting parts of life.
83
00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,320
So I've come to really embrace it.
84
00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:35,000
And anytime I see a challenge or an opportunity that I think would help me grow as either
85
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:42,520
a person or a scientist, I always try to get involved as quickly as possible and do what
86
00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,360
I can to, you know, further myself through those sorts of opportunities.
87
00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:55,560
What I appreciate most in your answer is also the second point that I wanted to make, which
88
00:06:55,560 --> 00:07:01,120
you touched on quite heavily, which is it takes a village and it takes a village of
89
00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:09,680
mentors, colleagues, cohorts, family members, friends.
90
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,280
You are not alone in this.
91
00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:17,960
And you are not alone throughout your STEM career, let alone your STEM studies, right?
92
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:18,960
Yes.
93
00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:28,480
I think another, I guess, thing that I found to be to help make science inclusive for me
94
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:36,320
personally is kind of taking those risks and opening up to people who you might want to
95
00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,840
be your mentor.
96
00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:45,640
So for example, when I started working with my Gen Chem Professor, Tim Cook, it was very
97
00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,160
much he was my research advisor.
98
00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:54,640
But over the years, working with him, you know, I realized the value and also learning from
99
00:07:54,640 --> 00:08:00,960
his experiences, taking the time to go and just talk with him about life and about how
100
00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,160
he got to where he is.
101
00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:10,240
And I took advantage of so many wonderful faculty members and what they had to offer
102
00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,120
in terms of mentorship.
103
00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:19,360
Even though I wasn't as interested in organic chemistry, I still took the time to go to
104
00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:20,560
office hours.
105
00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:26,320
And even if you don't have questions, just chat about what the field looks like, what
106
00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,640
you can do as a scientist.
107
00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:33,360
It's really been fruitful to spend time building those relationships.
108
00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,160
Yeah, building relationships and leveraging to networks.
109
00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:39,120
I think that is huge.
110
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:46,960
And something that students don't necessarily think about at first is the thought of a network
111
00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:53,120
really opens up a lot of doors and, you know, parking back to embracing randomness.
112
00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,920
That is the epitome of randomness.
113
00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,040
So we've focused a little bit about your past.
114
00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,360
So let's actually switch gears and think a little bit about your future.
115
00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:08,840
When you think about goals, life goals and aspirations, you know, what first comes to
116
00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,200
mind and how to stem a line with that?
117
00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:21,120
Yeah, so I'm currently really interested in going into academics and becoming a professor.
118
00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:25,800
And I think there are two big reasons for this.
119
00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:33,880
First of all, it kind of fulfills my intellectual aspirations to be able to do impactful research
120
00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:41,040
and to contribute to making scientific advances that truly can reach, you know, thousands
121
00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,080
or millions or billions of people.
122
00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:52,000
So I'm interested in addressing kind of issues of equitable energy access and climate change
123
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:57,400
through my science in the future, because I see those as areas where I can contribute
124
00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,400
to making an impact on a global scale.
125
00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,200
So that's one side of it.
126
00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:06,880
And then I think the other side of it is very connected to these great relationships I've
127
00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:14,920
had with professors throughout my career thus far is I see, you know, being a professor
128
00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:22,600
as a position where you can build those personal relationships and you can impact people on
129
00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,920
a very deep level.
130
00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:31,960
So I think I wouldn't be where I am today without the support of some of those peoples.
131
00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:37,680
And I also want to be somebody who can kind of embolden the people around me to pursue
132
00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:43,000
their dreams and to have the confidence to try to tackle challenges that they're interested
133
00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,960
in in the same way that my mentors have done for me.
134
00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:51,360
So being a professor has both breadth and depth that really attracts me to that career
135
00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,360
path.
136
00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:57,960
But I'm still very open-minded and I have five years to go, so we'll see.
137
00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:05,080
Well, at least five years, maybe a little bit more, but we won't talk about that.
138
00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,000
So when I think of a professor, you know, when I think of the career of a professor,
139
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,080
I think of it in a couple of different ways, one of which is obviously is the mentorship
140
00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,080
of students.
141
00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:18,880
The second is being a subject matter expert in your respective field.
142
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:25,400
Then the other piece is, which I think that you touched on a little bit about sort of
143
00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:32,080
general aspirations, solving big world, big picture problems, is that you're constantly
144
00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:39,680
invited to be a subject matter expert in policymaking, in management, in advocacy, and all of those
145
00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:40,680
different things.
146
00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:45,200
Is that maybe part of the professorial sort of allure?
147
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,200
Absolutely it is.
148
00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,640
For me, because I really do enjoy meeting new people and sharing experiences, I think
149
00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,080
there's a lot of power in that.
150
00:11:56,080 --> 00:12:02,800
And when you're a professor who truly is the expert on what they're working on and can
151
00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:08,240
collaborate with other scientists through having that strong network, I think that's
152
00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,360
really an attractive part of the job as well.
153
00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,560
And I also really enjoy public speaking.
154
00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:19,240
It's something that initially was a very big fear of mine.
155
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,840
And of course, I mean, right, to some degree it still is, it's always scary to get up in
156
00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:30,400
front of a group of people, but I think I've really enjoyed watching myself improve in
157
00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:31,400
that way.
158
00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:40,600
So I look forward to being able to share my science with different audiences through public
159
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:48,440
speaking, through personal connections, as well as I've really been enjoying doing STEM
160
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:54,840
outreach and bringing kind of science or chemistry concepts to the public through like hands-on
161
00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:55,840
experiences.
162
00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:05,120
So that's a fun opportunity that I can continue into a career in academics for sure.
163
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:10,920
So let's talk a little bit now about your current expertise or maybe your most recent
164
00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,080
past scientific expertise, if you will.
165
00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:20,760
When you talk about inorganic materials and you talk about sort of their impetus in the
166
00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:26,600
world, what is the big picture of your research, of your undergraduate research, and then we'll
167
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,440
obviously talk a little bit more about your graduate research?
168
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,160
Sure.
169
00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:39,560
So in my undergraduate years, I really spent a full three and a half years working on research
170
00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,480
that I truly loved and I'm still wrapping up.
171
00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:49,440
So all of my work utilized inorganic self-assembly to make porous materials.
172
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:54,600
So the idea behind self-assembly is really quite simple.
173
00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,960
It's almost like using Lincoln log toys to build a structure.
174
00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:07,080
You can use really simple components and make something relatively complicated just by taking
175
00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,240
advantage of different geometries.
176
00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:15,880
In most of my work, I use different dicarboxyl ligands.
177
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:22,520
So those are organic components and they connect to each other through inorganic components.
178
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:28,640
In my case, these inorganic components were zirconium oxo clusters.
179
00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:36,520
And when you combine, for example, six bridging ligands and four of these inorganic clusters,
180
00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,600
you can make a tetrahedron.
181
00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,640
So you can think about a tetrahedron and there's an internal cavity.
182
00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,440
There's a space within that molecule.
183
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:51,400
And that's what gives rise to the porosity and the high surface area that these materials
184
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:52,960
have.
185
00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:59,120
High surface area materials have been used for gas separation, gas storage, drug delivery
186
00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,080
and things like that.
187
00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:07,880
But most of my work was relatively fundamental, kind of on the side of how can we make these
188
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,840
systems more tunable?
189
00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:16,760
So if you want to use them for some application, you can get your desired properties from your
190
00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,600
material through many different routes.
191
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:28,680
So one thing I explored was adding functionality off of those zirconium oxo clusters by functionalizing
192
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,760
those cyclopentadienyl capping ligands.
193
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:38,400
And then another project that I'm still in the process of wrapping up, kind of, is exploring
194
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:43,880
how we can use different building blocks, so different starting materials, but end up
195
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:48,360
with the same product, but with better phase purity.
196
00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:56,920
So sometimes when you're making these self-assembled structures, you might get, in my case, a tetrahedron
197
00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:58,680
and one that we call the lantern.
198
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:05,120
So instead of four node components and six bridging ligands, you get half of that.
199
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,160
You get three bridging ligands and two node components.
200
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:13,720
So to avoid that, we can start with different starting materials that will help us favor
201
00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,920
the desired product.
202
00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:23,240
So when you talk a little bit about the gas storage that is enabled through these sort
203
00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:34,520
of tetrahedron surfaces or porous materials, how do you identify the quantity quality of
204
00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,480
the gas that's actually stored in there?
205
00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,080
Yeah, that's an awesome question.
206
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:49,280
So I think something that's always important to keep in mind is sometimes in academic research,
207
00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:56,560
we're a little disconnected from the actual application, so I'll kind of add those caveats
208
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:57,560
in.
209
00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:05,800
So what we do in the lab is we measure what we call a surface area using a surface area
210
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,040
analyzer.
211
00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:16,440
And what these do is they, you put your sample in and in principle, they remove all of the
212
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,920
gas from your sample.
213
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,720
So you should have an empty pour.
214
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:29,080
And then it very, very slowly starts to add nitrogen molecules in until it forms a monolayer
215
00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,600
on the surface of your material.
216
00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:37,600
And from the amount of nitrogen that you can add to form a monolayer, you can then do some
217
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:42,640
math to figure out what the effective surface area is.
218
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,000
But as you can imagine, this would be a little bit different depending on what molecule you
219
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,720
use to measure that surface area.
220
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:58,160
So in our lab, and with my work, we use nitrogen molecules, but there's a lot of interest in
221
00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,640
capturing CO2 molecules, for example.
222
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:08,400
So for things like that, you could then do the same thing with CO2.
223
00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:13,800
And there are lots of groups out there that use either materials similar to mine or what
224
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:18,360
we call metal organic frameworks, which are instead of having a discrete molecule, you
225
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:22,600
extend it in three dimensions.
226
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:27,560
And they can have surface areas on the order of the surface area of a football field in
227
00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:29,800
one gram of material.
228
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,400
So they're very impressive in that way.
229
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:38,720
But of course, there's still room for improvement because while you can have high surface areas,
230
00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:45,040
you might be plagued with low stability or issues with instability around water and things
231
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:46,040
like that.
232
00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,680
So definitely still work to be done to make these applicable.
233
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,280
What kind of instrumentation then do you use?
234
00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:59,040
Because I would assume that once you synthesize these materials, then you have to look at
235
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:00,040
their purity.
236
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:01,040
You would have to look at the yield.
237
00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:02,040
You would look at that.
238
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,840
I mean, you already talked a little bit about the surface analyzer.
239
00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,400
So what can you give us an idea about what else you have, actually?
240
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,400
What are the things you use in analyzing them?
241
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:12,400
Absolutely.
242
00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,680
And that was one of my favorite parts of my undergraduate research is that because these
243
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:22,000
porous materials are molecular and they're not the extended solid materials, I was able
244
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,760
to use traditional solution state characterization methods.
245
00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:35,120
So I use nuclear magnetic resonance to see all of the protons on the molecule and what
246
00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:36,720
environments they were in.
247
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:45,080
So my tetrahedra are quite symmetric, which means if they are pure materials, they should
248
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,120
only have a few peaks in their NMR spectra.
249
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:55,840
I also used diffusion-ordered spectroscopy, which is another NMR technique.
250
00:19:55,840 --> 00:20:04,800
But it basically gives you an idea of how your molecule is moving in solution and how
251
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,440
quickly it is diffusing in solution.
252
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:15,000
So that can also give us an idea if, for example, our proton NMR is not super convincing, we
253
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,880
can do that to see, do we just have one species or do we have something that's also moving
254
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,680
faster?
255
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:26,160
On top of that, I used a lot of mass spectrometry.
256
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:33,080
And that's where we basically inject the solution of our molecules into a mass spec.
257
00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,600
And we bombard it with a bunch of electrons.
258
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:43,000
And after that, we can see how those electrons basically ionize our molecule and we can see
259
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,400
what the mass of our molecule is.
260
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,840
And that confirms phase purity.
261
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:54,760
And then infrared spectroscopy, I also did thermogravometric analysis.
262
00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:59,440
That gives us an idea of at what temperature do they decompose.
263
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:05,000
I've done single crystal X-ray diffraction work, as well as powder X-ray diffraction
264
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:12,360
in those cases where we might want to evaluate the bulk purity, not just a single crystallite.
265
00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:15,960
And then as you mentioned, the surface area analyzer.
266
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:16,960
Yeah.
267
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:23,040
And thank you for, I think, calling out the solution state versus the solid state.
268
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:28,760
Because that was going to be actually my next question of, you know, how do you do solid
269
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,720
state metrics or not?
270
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:35,200
And so let's actually move on, though, because you're not doing the same thing at Harvard
271
00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,200
as you did at the University of Buffalo.
272
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:43,920
So talk a little bit about photocatalysis and why you're kind of deviating and pivoting.
273
00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,560
Yeah, of course.
274
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,960
So I think something important to me when I was entering graduate school and choosing
275
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:57,400
a graduate program was exploring science that I was less familiar with.
276
00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:05,520
I think that's always a scary experience to kind of enter a new field or a new subfield.
277
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,400
But a PhD is really the time to learn new things.
278
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:14,520
So I wanted to kind of maximize my experience here by throwing myself into some new chemistry.
279
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:21,120
So I had relatively little experience in undergrad, studying things like reactivity.
280
00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:26,640
I had no experience with photochemistry or catalysis.
281
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:32,480
So the NoCera Lab here at Harvard was really a perfect fit for me to explore these new
282
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,280
topics.
283
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:40,800
And then I also chose this group because we have a lot of freedom and we're able to kind
284
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,200
of forge our own path and do whatever chemistry we're interested in.
285
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:49,960
So the topics that our grad students and postdocs are working on right now range from studying
286
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,720
ribonucleotide reductase to making quantum spin liquids.
287
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,920
Like we really run the gamut.
288
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:03,640
So I have the chance to kind of make a project that speaks to whatever my interests are.
289
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:09,520
So I plan on continuing to do synthetic chemistry just because I love the feeling of making
290
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,680
new molecules.
291
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,280
But now I'm going to be making molecules that can interact with light.
292
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,080
And hopefully when they interact with light, they'll drive important chemistry.
293
00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:27,080
So for example, the oxidation of like feedstock natural gases into useful fuel products.
294
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:32,480
So an example of this would be turning methane into methanol.
295
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:40,040
And that's, it may seem simple, but it's a pretty difficult transformation because methanol
296
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,120
is going to be easier to oxidize than methane.
297
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:48,320
So as soon as you turn some methane over to methanol, a lot of times your catalyst will
298
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:53,240
then just continue to oxidize that methanol into other products that we might not be as
299
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:54,240
interested in.
300
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,760
So it's a balance of trying to figure out how can we turn methane into methanol without
301
00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,760
making an abundance of other over oxidized products.
302
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:09,120
So I'm also looking forward to getting into the details of reactivity and electron transfer
303
00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:12,040
and photocatalytic systems.
304
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,960
In this group, we have femtosecond and nanosecond lasers.
305
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:21,520
And we can use these to help us understand like the rates of electron transfer and what
306
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:29,040
excited state species we have when we're exciting these molecules with different light sources.
307
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:35,600
So I'm really excited to really learn these techniques and see how they can help me become
308
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,640
more creative when I'm thinking about my future projects too.
309
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,920
I think you touched on that.
310
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:49,040
I mean, the research and photocatalysis is obviously not only critical, but it's also
311
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,000
interesting, obviously.
312
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,400
But I think that you touched on a subject that I'm curious if you could elucidate about
313
00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:00,960
the ability that you have a wide range of sort of opportunities within the lab to explore
314
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:09,560
sort of different science, that your PI is actually, it sounds like he is very purposeful
315
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,680
in doing that and allowing his students in his postdocs to do that.
316
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,720
So can you talk a little bit about that?
317
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:16,920
Yeah.
318
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,680
I think he is definitely purposeful in doing it.
319
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:26,160
As I mentioned, I really enjoy getting insight from other students, whether they be my peers
320
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,400
or possibly mentors.
321
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,360
And what I've heard from a lot of the group members is it can be tough at first when
322
00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:36,240
you're trying to figure out what you want to work on because there are so many options.
323
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:42,360
And I think there are some groups where you might be kind of handed a project or really
324
00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:46,520
given a path to walk down.
325
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:51,120
But I think especially because I'm interested in going into academics, there's going to
326
00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:55,920
be a great benefit for me to figure out what is a good idea?
327
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:57,600
What is a bad idea?
328
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,240
When do you push to continue a project?
329
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:05,720
And when is it time to set it down and maybe try something different?
330
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:12,560
And I think that is why Dan does it this way is because it really helps us see the whole
331
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:18,880
picture of what it takes to be a scientist because chemistry doesn't always work.
332
00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:27,920
In terms of the breadth of research that goes on in the group, I think that was super important
333
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:37,000
to me when joining because I want to be able to come up with creative new ideas and we're
334
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,240
kind of a product of our environment.
335
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:45,960
So it's very interesting to hear some of our group members talking about ribonucleotide
336
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,160
reductase, which I know very little about.
337
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:55,560
And they're looking at this very complicated radical transport mechanism that people have
338
00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,320
been studying for decades.
339
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,600
But that's kind of a source of inspiration.
340
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:06,120
How can I relate that to photocatalysis?
341
00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:10,080
How can I learn just general things about radicals from something like that?
342
00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:17,040
So I think there's a lot of value in having a group where maybe you're not all experts
343
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:22,040
on the same thing, but you're all experts on something.
344
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:26,600
And it's been a really exciting experience being a new member in the group because I
345
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,720
can kind of just walk up to anyone and ask, you know, what are you working on?
346
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,280
And I most of the time don't really know what they're talking about, but there's just so
347
00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:36,480
much to learn.
348
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,480
And I think that's kind of a great place to be.
349
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,680
Well, it's a tremendous place to be.
350
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:48,240
And I love that answer because I think while you, I have this term about growth mindset,
351
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:49,240
right?
352
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:50,240
And it's not just my term.
353
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,600
It's a lot of people's terms, but I think it's also the fact that you're around just
354
00:27:54,600 --> 00:28:01,080
wicked smart people who are doing some really wicked smart science and how you learn from
355
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:07,720
them and learn from their successes and learn from their failures too.
356
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,920
Because even though you do fail, it's still learning.
357
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,800
And I can't describe how many times I have failed experiments in my past.
358
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,080
But you know what, it always actually contributed to learning.
359
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,320
Yes, exactly.
360
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:24,520
Exactly.
361
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:33,320
So I think we're about that time, but I wanted you to reflect a little bit about, you know,
362
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:34,960
your career thus far.
363
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:43,400
And if you were to, you know, run into Megan 10 years ago, what kind of wisdom would you
364
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,200
impart in her?
365
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,280
I don't think I'd say much to be honest.
366
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:53,280
I think, you know, part of life is figuring it out.
367
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,960
And I'm very happy with where I am now.
368
00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,920
I'm happy with the decisions I've made.
369
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:06,480
And not only the decisions I've made, but I think whatever decision you make and whatever
370
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:11,640
the outcome may be, it's always about making the best of it, you know?
371
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:17,520
So I don't think I'd have too much advice for my younger self other than, you know, keep
372
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,120
taking risks.
373
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:28,920
And I think it, I didn't really start taking risks until I was in college.
374
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:34,520
And I definitely could have started that earlier and kind of explored my career options a bit
375
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:35,520
earlier.
376
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,320
But at the time, like I said, I had no idea what a PhD was.
377
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:46,560
So I guess maybe I would have, you know, told myself what a PhD is.
378
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,960
But other than that, you know, I'm pretty happy with how things have turned out.
379
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,840
And I'm excited to see where things go from here.
380
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:54,840
That's wonderful.
381
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:56,040
And that's, that's pretty good wisdom.
382
00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:57,760
I'm not going to lie.
383
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,280
To be reflective in that and not have any regrets or that very few.
384
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,400
I think that's, that's great.
385
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:10,160
And with that Megan, I want to say, you know, how appreciative I am of your time, I'm enjoying
386
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:15,840
us today and walking us through not only your background, but your research, both past and
387
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:16,840
future.
388
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:17,840
I think it's exciting.
389
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,160
You're doing some really wonderful work.
390
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,160
So thank you again for being on our podcast.
391
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,440
Well thank you so much for having me.
392
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,840
Of course, of course.
393
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,320
And for our listeners, always remember to ask yourself, where did you see your journey
394
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:32,320
stem from?
395
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:33,320
Bye everyone.
396
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:34,320
Bye.
