What field do you work in?
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 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'm a Mechanical Engineer who designs automation equipment. Basically lots of 3-6 axis robots, multi-axis gantries, various conveyance mechanisms, and other specialized automation equipment integration. Its fun because it is a job all about things moving from point A to point B.
That sounds like a pretty fun job, yeah! A bit like a real-world puzzle game, maybe? But presumably with more freedom to do what needs to be done to get things from A to B efficiently.
100%.
It's kind of like designing Lego but with weldments, extruded aluminum, cylinders, servos, and any other number of components.
working in a cultivated meat startup, msc in biotechnology, but now disillusioned and wanting to do something academic/more down to earth and helpful
That doesn't feel helpful to you?
no, the technology is underdeveloped, and very resource intensive. I don't think it is a viable alternative at all. Better to just eat what grows from the ground than spend so much time, money, energy forcing cells that don't want to grow in such an artificial environment. I've also started to notice how it seems to be quite tied to EA and longtermism crowd, who are investing in it a lot.
True. It could still have benefits from a vegetarian or conservation perspective, though.
Have you thought about trying to get into genetically modified plant crops, then?
I did consider it yes, but those companies are evil too, they make a farmer reliant on a super crop that can't produce its own seeds, and then make a mint by selling them seeds every year.
If it's not too personal, may I ask what lead to your disillusionment with the field? "Lab grown" meat (assuming that's what you mean by cultivated) has seemed like a promising idea to me for a while, in terms of environmental impact and the ethical consideration of animals.
I'm a Data Scientist (physics PhD) for a large enterprise company. I've been in this field for the last decade and I'm kinda bored with it. I'm not exactly sure what to do next though....
Mmm yeah, I can imagine things might get a bit stale after a decade working on similar things. What was your physics PhD in, something you'd be interested in pursuing again maybe?
My thesis covered optoelectronic measurements of nanomaterials for novel photovoltaics. Even as a kid, I wanted some sort of career researching alternative energy, but those jobs sadly don't exist.
Researching alternative sources of energy would certainly be a rewarding career. I'm a bit surprised to hear nobody's doing it, I'd think there'd be companies trying to commercialize on the pretty massive progress we've seen in PV efficiency at the lab scale. I remember in my undergrad people were really excited about roll-to-roll manufacturing for flexible organic perovskite solar cells, but come to think of it I haven't heard much about them in the last five years. I wonder what happened. Maybe just still to expensive to compete commercially with silicon PV?
Regardless, I hope you find a direction that's fulfilling for you!
I'm a PhD in chemical engineering and work in a testing laboratory for electrical engineering insulating materials. My dissertation was using predictive modelling (some data mining and machine learning, some more classical statistical methods) to estimate material properties from spectral data. I'm trying to combine a full-day engineering job with writing more journal articles in my spare time. Currently not going well but at least I'm not lacking for data!
Haha that sounds like it must be keeping you real busy! I'm currently spending most of my days writing and it takes up so much time on its own I can't imagine trying to combine that with a full time job. More power to you!
I see from elsewhere in the thread that you did chemical engineering as an undergrad so -- hi, colleague! :) My PhD took a very long time to finish and I would never ever recommend combining industry with academia. I'm a masochist I guess.
Have you done any work with liquid ferroelectrics (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-8853(99)00066-9)? Those were all the rage in my field because they were expected to enhance convection cooling and the dielectric properties of liquid-cooled equipment significantly. Then they just... fizzled out.
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.
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 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.
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.
PhD student working in reinforcement learning (the branch of machine learning, not the neuroscience kind). Trying to figure out how to make more general agents, and I'm hypothesizing that making things bigger is a key ingredient.
Bigger seems to have helped so far, yeah, with things like GPT3.5 being based m some really massive models iirc? Happy to have you around!
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
I’m a staff bioinformatics scientist at an academic institution, got my PhD a few years ago and wasn’t interested in a postdoc. I get to work on a huge range of research questions and lots of different technologies. It’s great!
Sounds cool, do you have any tips on what kinds of skills you need for a bioinformatics position? I have a background in biology, but some CS knowledge I have learnt myself, programming (unfortunately mainly python for now), linux, deploying stuff with docker, etc.
This all sounds like a solid start tbh, if you learn pandas and bio python i feel like you are basically there
I am a welding Engineer working in a mixed role of failure analysis and research. Most of my projects are sustainability based.
Very cool! From the small bit I learned about welding in my classes it really seems like a topic with a lot of depth and nuance to it (that maybe sometimes goes unappreciated). Happy to have you 'round!
Honestly it's one of my favorite things about welding engineering- it's materials, physics, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, automation, chemical... you get a bit of a lot of disciplines!