My next three guest bloggers for this year's #WomenInSTEM series join us from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Currently, all three of these inspirational women are graduate students in the Bredesen Center's interdisciplinary doctoral program in Energy Science and Engineering, but each started their journey on a different continent from one another, come from different scientific backgrounds, and have distinctly different plans for their futures in STEM as well. First up... Kristine Cabugao joined the Bredesen Program last fall after she graduated with her undergraduate degree in Molecular Environmental Biology from the University of California, Berkeley in the spring. Originally from a village in the Philippines, Kristine has been drawn to the sciences from a young age. Here, she describes what first sparked that interest, and how even as a student at one of the top universities in the country, she has battled fears and doubts that I'm sure are probably familiar to many of us, men and women alike, in all fields of STEM. She shares with us how she overcame adversity and the various challenges she has faced. Kristine is currently working with Dr. Neal Stewart on root-specific promoter expression for switchgrass modification in relation to biofuel development. In the upcoming year, she hopes to transition to the Climate Change Science Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study plant stress response due to climate change in terrestrial ecosystems. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, running, and landscape photography.
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Yikes! It's not seriously almost the middle of February is it? Happy New Year readers! 12 new non-science books for my resolution this year. How about you? Another semester has come and gone, final grades are in, and sadly, the winter holiday season is officially over. Which probably also means senioritis has officially set in, emails from graduate schools are piling up in your inbox, and you're wondering, "Can I graduate and get out of here already?!" Whether you're preparing for the grad school interview, or narrowing in on a decision about which lab and adviser you want to work with for the next ~4+ years, there are a few questions you should ask first, before you make your decision.
Welcome back Vols!
It's football season in Tennessee! Which also means... back to classes, homework, and exams. Blerg. Okay, okay, classes aren't that bad I guess. To help you get a leg up though, check out the 15 and 16 tips for undergrads I posted last year around this time, or if you're a graduate student, the 10 things I learned during my first semester as a graduate student. And then add your advice in the comments! Vincent Kandagor, one of the first graduates of the Energy Science and Engineering program in the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Education at the University of Tennessee, opens up about his experiences as one of the "guinea pigs" in a new doctoral program 8,000 miles from home. Read about how he made the decision to pursue graduate school, what getting a doctoral degree has taught him about work-life balance, and his advice for future graduate students interested in the program. To wrap up Women's History Month and our women-in-science guest blogging series, I've invited two stellar students from the Bredesen Center PhD program in Energy Science and Engineering to share each of their unique experiences. First up, Melissa Allen has a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering, but started out with an undergrad degree in Music Education before making the switch to science! After working for a bit, she decided to come back to graduate school, and her current work includes global climate modeling and impacts of climate change on the electrical grid. Then, we'll hear from Maria Fernanda Campa; originally from Mexico, she studied Nanomedicine during her undergrad, and after working at Oak Ridge National Lab for a year, she decided grad school was the next step for her too! She is currently working on developing a project that will combine the fields of bioenergy and policy for a truly interdisciplinary research experience. After hearing from a post-doc in academia, an engineer in industry, and two graduate students, I hope this first women-in-science panel has offered a set of diverse experiences and advice. Let me know who you'd like to hear from next year! |
Hello!Welcome to Think Like a Postdoc. If you're a fan of science as much as I am, and/or are curious about getting a degree in a STEM field, or pursuing an interdisciplinary graduate degree (all from the perspective of a graduate student), then you're in the right place. Think Like a Postdoc also includes posts about my current lab and field research, including analytical chemistry, Arctic biogeochemistry, and energy & environmental policy. Comments and questions are always welcomed. And please tell me what you want to hear about next! Top PostsQuestions to Ask Before Choosing Grad Program
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