Rock Your Research with Chris Jones

005: Oliver Meyers rocked a job, his family, AND his PhD as a graduate student


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With young children and a job during graduate school, work life balance was a challenge, to say the least.  But Oliver managed to not only finish his dissertation, but to feel like a peer to his professors during his defense. Listen to Oliver share his best and worst grad school moments, and how he ultimately became an associate professor at Clemson University. 

Oliver is an associate professor at Clemson University in the Mechanical Engineering department. His research focuses on the characterization of smart materials and smart structure mechanics of systems ranging from nano- to micro-scales. He received his PhD for the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2007.

Biggest Struggle
  •  Having a family while doing his PhD
  • Worst Moment
    • Having the professor in charge of his qualifying exam not respond and keep postponing his exam for many many months
    • Best Moment
      • His defense and feeling that he was finally a peer to professors he had looked up to.
      • Mindful Minutes Segment
        • Habit: Time management
        • Book: The Art of War by Sun Tzu and The Bible
        • Productivity Tool: Apply iPhone or iPad combined with Dragon Dictation  app
        • Best Advice: Be true to yourself.
        • Hobbies: Working out, fishing, playing golf, chasing after wife and kids
        • Alternative PhD study: Oceanography or Archaeology
        • Contact and links to resources mentioned
          • Meyerhoff Scholars Program
          • Intro and Outro Musichttp://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

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            Rock Your Research with Chris JonesBy Chris Jones interviews PhDs about graduate school and careers to provide advice to graduate students!