In this episode, I chat with Prof. Laure Kayser of the University of Delaware on her experiences being an outsider, starting a new laboratory as a PI, her values in creating a lab culture, applying for jobs, running an interdisciplinary lab, the two-body problem in academia, and other topics.

Tips and tricks for finding a lab, getting your way in, and success once  you arrive. Also motivation for why (or why not) you might want to do  undergraduate research in the first place.

My approach to scientific writing with guidance inspired by Steven Pinker, George Whitesides, and Anne Lamott. I hope you find something in here useful or interesting!

This episode is a deeply personal reflection on coping with issues surrounding mental health as a student in STEM, particularly as a PhD student in a research lab. I identify several sources of anxiety and depression which are often felt by students in research laboratories, whether or not the PI is actively promoting a toxic work environment. I then discuss my own struggles with anxiety, which manifested in many physiological forms, some of which required intervention. These included cardiac arrhythmias, temporomandibular joint disorder, hyperhydrosis, and high blood pressure. While I offer some words of encouragement and concrete strategies one can use to cope with anxiety and depression, I urge any listener or viewer to seek the services of professionals on or off campus.

In this episode, I chat with Prof. Graham Sazama of Lawrence University in  Appleton, Wisconsin. Graham discusses the process of applying to  faculty positions at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) and  teaching and mentoring once there. We also discuss active learning,  remote teaching during COVID-19, and what we would change about the way  chemistry is taught.

This is a short talk I gave to entering freshmen at UC San Diego on how  to make the most of a bad situation. Namely, trying to learn in college  while at home during a pandemic.

My former student, Brandon Marin, and his incredible journey from science nerd in East Los Angeles, to addiction, jail, and multiple arrests, to obtaining a PhD in chemical engineering and becoming a prolific inventor in semiconductor processing.

My former student, Brandon Marin, and his incredible journey from  science nerd in East Los Angeles, to addiction, jail, and multiple  arrests, to obtaining a PhD in chemical engineering and becoming a  prolific inventor in semiconductor processing.

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.