In this episode, I sat down with my former labmate, Paul Bracher, now assistant professor of chemistry at St. Louis University, to chat about a variety of topics. Paul is known in the chemistry community as the writer of the ChemBark blog, which had a ubiquitous presence in grad student lounges around the world from the '00s to the early '10s. We discussed his interest in writing and community building, investigative journalism in science, toxic culture in labs, and how to navigate difficult relationships between PIs and graduate students.

Experiences as both an applicant and as a reviewer of faculty job  applications.

Hints for teaching assistants (and professors). Please consult with your  course instructor before adopting any of these suggestions as policies :)

Advice on getting into graduate school in science and engineering. My  take on the importance (or lack thereof) of GPA, GRE, letters of  recommendation, personal statement, and fellowships. I hope something  here is useful.

Hopefully this 50-minute episode pays itself back in time saved.

My thoughts on promoting your research, working with journalists, and  posting your work on social media. I also cover some controversies I've  been involved with.

Advice on giving effective presentations for scientists and engineers.

This is a conversation with my colleague, astrophysicist Dr. Brian Keating, made for the Into the Impossible Podcast and associated YouTube channel. (You should definitely check out and subscribe to his channel, where he interviews people way more famous and interesting than me https://youtu.be/En2wjpzv464.) I cover a lot of previously untrodden ground, including my scientific biography, books that have influenced me, and the importance of soft skills in research.

This is a cross-posting of my conversation with Marwa ElDiwiny on her  IEEE RAS Soft Robotics Podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard, please  subscribe to the Soft Robotics Podcast. It is the best way to support  the great work she is doing. Available on all platforms. 

https://open.spotify.com/show/3f19OvcbN05f9r9DUY15tk 

https://soundcloud.com/ieeeras-softrobotics

My take on working with people in professional and personal environments with allusions to Dale Carnegie, The Simpsons, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars.