I’ve been curious how many working researchers we’ve got in this community, and what you all do!
If you’re working in science (physical or social), engineering, etc in a research capacity, give a shout in the comments and let us know what you work on! Same goes for students and amateur scientists at any level. (And by amateur I mean those of you who are working on your own experiments but just not being paid for it / not working on a degree; I’m upset that “amateur” has a negative connotation, it shouldn’t.)
I’m currently a PhD candidate, working on transmission electron microscopy and electronic materials (mainly ferroelectrics). In the past I’ve been involved in research / product development in a few different industries, including medical devices, aerogels, and materials for RF devices.
I’m a research professor of neurology, and my research focuses on developing novel cognitive assessments for measuring early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
That’s a field where it seems (to an outsider) like a lot has been happening recently! Glad to have you here!
You’d be correct! The new anti-amyloid drugs are very exciting, and it makes my work on preclinical Alzheimer’s even more fulfilling as it can have a real impact on getting people tested and treated as early as possible.
I’m a PhD candidate too - my contract is finished now, but I am still writing my thesis. So I am currently at the awkward intersection of finishing a thesis and looking for a job.
My PhD focus is in applying time-resolved spectroscopic techniques to study the excited state dynamics of molecules. Basically, these are experiments in which a pulsed laser is used to excite the sample and a second probe light is used to measure a change in the absorption in response to the light. By measuring these changes in the absorption as a function of time, and applying quantum chemical methods to calculate the spectra of potential intermediates, one can sort of recreate a molecular movie of what the molecule is doing after it absorbs light with a time resolution of femto to picoseconds. The materials that I study are organic dyes that are useful for microscopy, as well as molecules that respond to EUV light for applications in photonanolithography (for making the very small transistors in computer chips).
I am also an “amateur” scientist when it comes to biology, as many of my hobbies are nature-based and it’s not like I can turn off the science bug when it comes to hobbies.
Well that’s fascinating! The technique sounds a little bit like a cross between Raman and EXAFS/XANES? (Probably just because those are two techniques I happen to be familiar with though.)
Raman and EXAFS/XANES are techniques to probe different types of molecular transitions. Vibrational raman probes molecular vibrations, and XANES probes electronic transitions due to excitation of core electrons. Each technique will help you obtain different molecular properties. The standard approach is to apply these methods to do “static” absorption studies, meaning that one studies the transitions induced by these light sources in order to obtain molecular information of a given sample. The time-resolved techniques expand these measurements along the time dimension, so you can measure these properties but in a sample that is changing extremely quickly in response to a trigger (usually light).
So, it is not that the technique is a cross between these, but rather an approach to take Raman, or XANES, or IR-spectroscopy, or UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, and then apply it in a time-resolved manner. You can usually take any spectroscopy technique and add “time-resolved” at the beginning and you will find someone doing that. Of course, some techniques are easier to perform in practice than others. I have done some time-resolved XANES experiments, and for those we need to go a synchrotron and the experiment is really tricky. A time-resolved UV/Vis can be done in many university labs. I don’t have practical experience with Raman experiments.
That’s a really clear explanation, thank you!
I’m a professor of chemistry, I mainly do organometallic research but we’ve been branching out into other areas.
@sensibilidades @realChem MOFs are hot
Very cool! My only experience with organometallics is with CVD and related technologies (like we’ve got one machine we use called a FIB – focused ion beam – that uses an organometallic as a carrier for platinum deposited as part of the process). Mainly I think of them as “probably toxic, probably pyrophoric, treat with extreme caution” sorts of chemicals.
It’s science-y enough but I’m definitely not considered a scientist so much as a technologist. I work as a MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Technologist. Previously a X-Ray Technologist.
My machine does all the science for me but it’s a pretty neat concept. Using magnetic gradients and RF pulses at hydrogen protons to acquire accurate digital imaging.
Happy to have you! The science behind MRI is fascinating, and the machines themselves are really cool. Have you ever seen a magnet quench? I don’t think they’re really supposed to happen during normal operation, but some of the videos I’ve seen have been rather dramatic.
It is pretty crazy people were able to figure that all out and we are able obtain crazy detailed pictures without radiation.
No I haven’t seen it! Hoping to see a controlled quench someday but also hoping to avoid needing to use it in any emergency situations; it’ll have to be a damn near life/death situation to hit that button. Very costly decision. I guess there’s also a dwindling supply of helium in the world so that could get interesting as time goes on.
Yeah, helium being a finite resource was something that really surprised me when I first learned about it! Better to keep it inside the MRI as much as possible for sure
helium recovery and recycling has come a long way, and the costs of helium are now justifying the extra expense of the hardware, so I think that problem should abate somewhat in the coming years.
PhD in Geology. Now am a research scientist working in more general materials science/chemistry/gas adsorption. My thesis was on lunar petrology where I studied Apollo 16 samples. My current research is much less exciting. Haven’t touched a rock in ages and my geologist heart hurts from it haha
Dang we gotta get you some cool rocks!
(I’ve always kinda wanted to thinly section some rocks with nice big grains and put them in the TEM; so many natural minerals have really interesting crystal structures!)
@realChem I retired from being a chemical engineer in the environmental remediation of hazardous wastes and petroleum. Went sailboat cruising, and stopped along the way to teach high school chemistry four years. Now I volunteer with OpenAir Collective working on CO2 removal (from atmosphere, not point sources - later is called “capture” instead of “removal” for some reason). Without chemicals, nothing would exist!
I actually did chemical engineering as my undergrad degree! I didn’t work directly on any remediation projects, but one of the first jobs I had involved making sure all the waste our plant produced was properly treated. It was a slurry, I was helping to separate all of the solids and then neutralize the remaining liquid, and then it went on to Clean Harbors for final treatment.
Your whole post-career honestly sounds ideal, I hope to do something similar. I’ve always wanted to teach, but after I retire and don’t need the money.
I’m working on my Astrophysics PhD. I study “galactic cannibalism” aka how galaxies grow and change by eating smaller galaxies. My big focus is on teaching and outreach though rather than research.
Cool! Is this the kind of thing that’s going to happen between Andromeda and the Milky-way, or is that fundamentally different because they’re more similar in size?
Yep, MW and Andromeda merger will be a “major merger” that will have huge effects on both galaxies. The ones I work with are small (“dwarf”) galaxies that have a much smaller effect on the big one that eats them.
I work in mine closure. I create plans to re-integrate them back into the surrounding landscape, and provide valuable end land uses (not just those centred around ecosystem re-establishment).
That’s so cool! Sounds like an incredibly rewarding job. (Also I love visiting old mines that are no longer working but are open to the public for viewing. Always a cool experience.)
I work at a company that makes large and small rocket engines (e.g., the ones on SLS/Artemis, and solids for a number of defense programs), and various electrical power systems (e.g., for the ISS and some of the Mars rovers). I manage the space software engineering organization.
Look at this rocket surgeon, over here. SMDH.
I’m just a software/systems guy; I work with a lot of genuine rocket scientists - they’re fun to work with.
Oh wow, that’s fascinating! I imagine you have to be very careful with software reliability for that kind of project?
It looks like you’ve already found the space community as well! (But for anyone else who might not have: https://beehaw.org/c/space)
I’m a postdoc, working on laser-plasma/ interactions and electron accelerators. My PhD work was on ultrafast electron diffraction.
ultrafast electron diffraction
That’s pretty fascinating stuff! I know a lot about electron diffraction in general (in the context of TEM/STEM/4D-STEM), but not ultrafast. What kind of processes were you studying with that method?
Our beamline is still very new (my main focus was actually on building/commissioning it), so for now, we’ve just been looking at relatively simple processes like the Debye-Waller effect, where the diffraction spots become weaker as the temperature rises.
The ultrafast capability comes from the electron beam having a sub-picosecond duration, which essentially corresponds to the shutter speed of a camera. By varying the delay between a pump laser and the electron probe and observing the change in intensity of the diffraction spots, we can figure out how the heat deposited by the laser diffuses through the sample, and make a “molecular movie” of this process. It’s in the same spirit as other pump-probe experiments, like what @Salamander does.
I work a day job in IT, have a side business doing IT, work an occasional shift at my buddy’s liquor store, and sell furniture on the side.
Glad to have you 'round!
I’m a PhD candidate in inorganic and biochemistry! Loving the chem representation here, and loving OP’s username.
I’ve got a PhD in nonlinear vibrations. I’ve left academia for the space industry though.
That definitely sounds like something that could be useful in a lot of different ways - including in the space industry!
Yeah well most industries pray that everything stays all good and linear, but sadly it isn’t always the case haha. The next level is to design a structure with nonlinearities on purpose.
I studied Biology and Computer Science, have a PhD in Neuroscience and now work in an Engineering department for medical devices, where I am still in contact with Academia through students working for us in different capacities. My main occupation is Software Tester, though. :)
I’m an associate professor in computer science, currently working on stochastic algorithms (like genetic algorithms).
Until now, I’ve been working on quite abstract optimization problems, but I’d like to switch to more useful applications, like social inequalities or climate change.
I get that. Working on a more abstract problem should, in theory, help solve more practical problems down the line, but sometimes it just feels less satisfying that working on something where you can see the real world application and (hopefully) results. I’m definitely looking to do something practical with my experience once I’m finished with my PhD.
