The image that scientific research conjures is that of a lab coat-clad scientist hunched over cell cultures or mixing unknown chemicals in a fume hood. I bet you wouldn’t believe it if I told you my summer research experience was more like a 9-to-5 desk job — running Excel formulas across five spreadsheets and refilling my coffee mug every two hours.
Coming into Princeton, I was undecided about my academic and research interests. I had done wet-lab chemistry research in high school and enjoyed it, but I also liked computer science and wasn’t ready to leave it behind either. Thus, early on, I set out to gain both experimental and computational research experience. A first-year seminar on computational molecular modelling led me to continue this work over the summer through a High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) internship. This semester, I am turning to the experimental side, conducting independent work on making porous materials called zeolites for natural gas purification and carbon capture. Working on both theory and experiments has given me a clearer picture of what research looks like from either side, and I hope my experience helps if you’re also drawn to both.