The Making of a Researcher: Mentor First, Scientist Second

Posted on by Angel Toasakul
Professor Casey Lew-Williams playing with a toddler visiting the Baby lab.
Professor Casey Lew-Williams at the Princeton Baby Lab. Photo Credit: Princeton Office of Communications.

What does it take to become a researcher?

The Making of a Researcher is a new mini-series exploring the paths scientists take to reach where they are today, highlighting their growth from beginners to experts. 

Through interviews with faculty members in various fields, we’ll explore the necessary steps to becoming a researcher and how Princeton professors play a part in that process.

In this first feature, Professor Casey Lew-Williams, Chair of the Psychology Department and Director of the Princeton Baby Lab, reflects on his journey in developmental psychology and his role as a mentor to aspiring students in the field.

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Doha Diaries: Zara’s Internship at QCRI

Posted on by Aishah Shahid

This summer, Zara Hommez traveled from Princeton to Doha, Qatar, for an internship at the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), where she worked in the Humanitarian AI division. As a sophomore majoring in Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE), she was drawn to the placement through Princeton’s International Internship Program (IIP) because it offered a rare blend of quantitative modeling, computer vision, and real-world impact, which is the exact intersection she hopes to pursue.

When browsing IIP opportunities, QCRI immediately stood out. Its mission to use data and AI to address global humanitarian challenges aligned perfectly with her academic interests in optimization, systems thinking, and applied machine learning. The chance to live in Doha, a rapidly growing, modern city at the heart of the Middle East, added an exciting cultural dimension she was eager to explore.

Zara on a sand buggie
Zara on a sand buggie! Photo credit: Zara Hommez.
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Making the Most of Conferences

Posted on by Shannon Yeow
Showing a photo of the conference
“Welcome to SWE23” sign at the Annual Society of Women Engineers National Conference

When I attended my first conference, I was overwhelmed by the number of events—from keynote speakers and lightning talks, to career fairs and research presentations. Over time, through attending several conferences, I learned how to navigate these spaces strategically and make the most of the few days I had at each one. Conferences are an opportunity to connect your academic interests to real-world communities and open doors for future opportunities. From resume databases to poster sessions, conferences can open doors to new research and career opportunities. 

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The Role of Struggle in Research

Posted on by Gabriel Ascoli
Roman copy of a Greek bronze bust of Aristotle by Lysippos (c. 330 BC).
Roman copy of a Greek bronze bust of Aristotle by Lysippos (c. 330 BC).

Aristotle’s Metaphysics begin with an oft-quoted adage:  πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει (Aristotle, Metaphysics A.1 980a). “All humans, by their nature, strive to understand.”

With some spare time over fall break, I decided to brush up on my Greek philosophy. My upcoming junior independent work will focus on Lucretius’ philosophical poem De Rerum Natura, and he engages with so many ideas from ancient Greek thinkers – Epicurus, Democritus, Plato, and Aristotle, to name a few – I thought it prudent to be familiar with them. Given that the very purpose of their works is to explain their ideas, I didn’t expect to run into serious trouble as I began reading them. Instead, as I started making my way through Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Plato’s Timaeus, I found myself entangled with ideas of identity, causation, and substance. My overwhelming reaction was… “wait, what?” 

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Who Guides the Guardrails?

Posted on by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.
Image of interview subject, Katya Grygorenko in front a stone wall with artictic carvings.
ORFE major Katya Grygorenko (’27) over the summer. Photo credit; Katya Grygorenko.

There’s no doubt that the summer is one of the most promising times to experiment with your research interests, and the International Internship Program (IIP) can provide awesome opportunities for Princeton students to explore those curiosities. From creating theoretical frameworks to engaging with lab-based experimentation, there’s a wide range of ways to explore research through the summer program.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Katya Grygorenko (‘27), who spent her summer doing research on artificial intelligence (AI) for the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), a public policy institute based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The rise of Large Language Learning Models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI systems has inspired uncertainty, and even fear. The idea of a “black box where people don’t really know what’s going on”, as Grygorenko put it, can feel daunting to think about. But the idea of tackling the ethical challenges of implementing these complex digital systems didn’t scare Grygorenko at all— it excited her.

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Expect the Unexpected: Exploration in Archival Research

Posted on by Alison Fortenberry
A picture of the art installation "Rivers," which depicts river lines flowing out of a blue oval and intersecting with various words and symbols.
This cosmogram, “Rivers,” is in the Schomburg Center’s lobby, and contains the poet Langston Hughes’ ashes. Photo credit: Candace Wegner.

This summer, I had the opportunity to do a fellowship at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The Schomburg is one of the largest archives of Black History in the world, and as part of my fellowship, I got to use their collections to craft an independent research project. Coming into the program, I had a very specific idea of what I wanted to find in the collections. I had found a disagreement in the scholarly literature about the historical relationship between two church denominations. Some scholars argued that the two denominations were historically one, while others argued that they had always been separate organizations. In the Schomburg’s research catalogue, I saw that there was a collection of personal papers belonging to one of the denominations’ founders, which I saw as an opportunity to add a new perspective to this debate.

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In Defense of Core Lab

Posted on by Haya Elamir
this image is to represent the kind of group environment that core lab represents, even if this isn't an actual core lab class depicted
A classroom of students reading at Princeton (not core lab). Photo credit: Ryan Halbe.

Many STEM majors here have the same rite of passage: core lab. For non-lab majors, core lab is a class that is purely to teach you about lab techniques and critical thinking skills that are useful for writing our theses. They usually involve a bit of a simulated lab experience where you discover new findings while the teachers guide you through the motions of a lab research experience. 

Molecular biology’s core lab meets twice a week for 3 hours and then a small 50 minute lecture/precept on Fridays for half the semester. Other majors have similar constraints. However, while at first it may seem a bit overwhelming and even redundant if you’ve already done these procedures in a lab or are in a lab that definitely will not be using any procedures you learn, core lab goes beyond just teaching you technical skills. 

I too was confused as to why I was here and why this mattered, but over time, I began to internalize one of the real skills this class is meant to teach you, something that pipetting will never give you: asking the right questions. 

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Facilitating a Research Discussion in COS 436

Posted on by Shannon Yeow
An example of human computer interaction
A student writes on a tablet using a stylus, an everyday example of human-computer interaction

Having facilitated a precept discussion in COS 436: Human-Computer Interaction, I was able to reflect on what it means not just to thoroughly read a research paper, but also to guide my peers through a structured discussion based on common threads reflecting their thoughts and insights. COS 436 explores how technology and design shape human behavior and counts towards computer science degree progress as a fulfillment of the breadth category. Engagement with foundational research papers in the field and a semester-long research project are the core components of the course. Each week, students are responsible for writing discussion posts on assigned research papers and take turns facilitating precept discussions.

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Jumping Back In!

Posted on by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.
Stanley Stoutamire standing in front of a university sign.
A picture from the end of my internship!

The summer is always a great time to get involved in research, whether on campus or off campus. One common challenge, however, is figuring out how to actually become a part of those research opportunities. At the end of this summer, I was fortunate enough to be able to return to the research team I worked with last year. While it was exciting to once again be working on the study (an investigation into the effectiveness of peer coaching on high blood pressure) it was a different experience the second time around. Jumping back into any project can introduce new challenges, and research is no different.

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“My Summer in Kuala Lumpur”: Iman’s Internship Journey

Posted on by Aishah Shahid

This summer, Iman Bedru ’28 traveled from Woodbury, Minnesota, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for an internship with Chumbaka, an organization dedicated to empowering youth through technology and education. As a rising sophomore in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iman went to Malaysia through Princeton’s International Internship Program (IIP), drawn by the opportunity to connect her technical background with her passion for education and community engagement.

When browsing through IIP’s opportunities, Chumbaka stood out immediately. Its mission, which is to equip students and teachers with the tools to explore and innovate through STEM, aligned perfectly with Iman’s vision of using engineering knowledge to create meaningful social impact. The fact that the internship was based in Malaysia only added to the appeal. A country rich in cultural and ethnic diversity, Malaysia promised not just professional growth, but also immersion in a vibrant new environment.

Picture of Iman Bedru at Kuala Lumpur temple.
Picture of Iman at a Kuala Lumpur temple.
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