Research at NC State: A summer’s insight is worth a life’s experience
Soon after I arrived at North Carolina State University (NCSU) for my third-year research internship, I remember embracing a new-found independence with my bubbling excitement for taking up challenging problems that demanded creative solutions.
Finding a suitable advisor, according to me, plays a big role while pursuing a research internship. As I went through Professor Michael Dickey’s research (website and TEDx talk) in detail, I got extremely fascinated with the Group’s projects and that ascertained me of their willingness to invest in big ideas. Additionally, the compact structure of NCSU’s Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department facilitated by interdisciplinary research groups is quite impressive; designed in a way that people intermingle, exchange ideas, challenge each other, so that great ideas rise to the surface. Discussing innovative concepts with students from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds at the Dickey Group enabled me to perceive abundant and unique ideas. I was intrigued by NCSU’s learning environment that encourages students to take up developments from totally different fields and inculcate those into their own independent research. In those three months, I learned bucketloads and bucketloads not only about the science but also about how to go from ‘Gee! I don’t know nothing about this, but I’m interested’ to actually performing valuable research along with a resulting in a talk and presentations of professional scientific quality.
At Dr. Dickey’s lab, I was given responsibilities and was positioned in a place where I was the intellectual leader of what I was doing. I was allowed to explore and learn from my own mistakes. This undergraduate research as a whole, gave me an opportunity explore what kind of an environment, I work best in. Every group and individual meeting with prof Dickey would stimulate open discussion in a room involving description of ideas on a white board where my mentors would ask me, ‘what would you like to do next? Where do you think this research would go?’ Even though it seemed taxing in the beginning, I eventually fell in love with the detective work that goes into figuring out things in the lab. The attitude of working hard, while I was not sure of success and still keeping at it, boosted my confidence to take up challenges and turn them into opportunities.
My project was based on harnessing the principles of materials science and chemical engineering for developing inventive applications, by applying insight from interfacial phenomena and thin film technology. The opportunity of working in a renowned lab that has pioneered liquid metal study, taught me the structured practice of conducting experimental research. It also nurtured my passion towards working in a small, robust team with a knack for collaborative effort in terms of intra and interdisciplinary fields, for achieving sustainable solutions. This internship at Prof Dickey’s lab imparted me the critical hands-on experience in studying liquid metal (EGaIn: Eutectic Gallium-Indium) behavior for patterning, pumping, and reconfiguring the shape of these fluids to develop actuators and sensors.
A demanding goal and constant challenges in the execution of my projects piqued my interest and persistence towards the intricacies involved at the interfacial interactions of EGaIn with different materials and their surface treatments. This made me realize its applications in the fields of microfluidics and 3-D printing to enable the next generation of soft and stretchable electronics. The research experience was so enriching that I found myself in the lab working until late nights and many weekends. The state-of-the-art facilities such as the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) enabled me to delve deeper to enhance my skill set and exposed me to real challenges of conducting research for converting scientific conceptualization into valuable technology. Working with TEM and EDX at the AIF introduced me to some of the advanced analytical techniques and fostered an awareness of advanced technologies for impactful developments. I also had the opportunity to explore conductive fibers from the Wilson College of Textiles to enable them as flexible grippers. I learned that it is greatly satisfying when someone can pick-up working on an idea where I left and take it forward from there, and vice versa. This instilled in me the discipline to document my work and data in a responsible way.
To end the summer on a high note, my participation in the 18th NC State University Annual Summer Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium enabled me to indulge in an exciting exchange of concepts with world-class faculty and passionate peers, molding me into a stronger communicator. I learned to convey my findings effectively to a broad audience by utilizing my data as the key to my presentation in the right context. It was an exciting enterprise to explore the ‘Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network’ established at NCSU for nurturing concerted effort and addressing contemporary challenges of the industry. Expansive facilities like the James Hunt Jr. Library and an all-embracing mix of student population on campus were instrumental in gaining an enriching exposure.
Being on your own could involve a lot of anxiety; a journey oscillating between highs and lows, yet it can be the most rewarding experience anyone could ask for. Raleigh welcomed me with its serene landscape, diverse cuisine and charmed me with its art galleries and educational heritage of the ‘Triangle Universities’. Adapting to a new environment, schedule, work culture etc brought out the best in me. It began with never-have-I-ever-cooked-a-complete-dish-in-the-kitchen’ to indulging in a plethora of culinary adventures that resulted in scrumptious meals that made me realize therapeutic power of cooking. It still fills me with nostalgia when I think about the times when my lab mates Lan Nguyen and Keisuke Nakakubo eagerly asked me to bring more of my Indian gravies to lunch. I was amused as Keisuke (from Japan) prepared his Chhole (chickpeas) masala with my Indian spices and sent me picture saying, ‘I found the spice on Amazon and now I can make more of it!’
I am sincerely grateful to Professor Michael Dickey for this opportunity along with his constant feedback and guidance that has positively refined my skills as well as my personality. I would also like to thank Woojin Jung, Lan Nguyen, Alex Persson, Veena Vallem, Adam Bachmann, Taylor Neumann, Tamoghna Saha, Dr. Ishan Joshipura and Dr. Dishit Parekh for their constant guidance throughout my project. Many thanks to Mr. Nitin Kundeshwar and family for hearty memories that I will cherish forever. Special mention to my amazing seniors Jay Patel and Hardil Shah for their kind guidance with my internship paperwork.
Just like exploring in the woods, I now perceive research as an enthralling journey towards the unknown right from hypothesizing, experimenting to evaluating outcomes, which I feel has gotten even better when after getting on board with the NC State ‘Wolfpack’ last summer (2019).
