Tag Archives: Michelle Dolgos

Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2017 – Matt Clark

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Matt Clark has been awarded with the title of Spring 2017 Undergraduate of the Quarter and we couldn’t be happier for him. Although he plans to graduate by the end of this term, his experiences at Oregon State have left a lasting impact on him.

During Matt’s undergraduate career at Oregon State, he has been a part of an integrative lab which has helped him define his career path. After joining Michelle Dolgos’s lab during his sophomore year, he has been immersing himself with research dealing with lead free piezoelectric materials. After winning the URISC grant for his summer research and working with graduate students and Michelle, he is finally at the end of his project and is looking forward to a publication about his work.

However, even though it seems like he was destined to pursue Chemistry, that wasn’t always the case for Matt. When he first came to OSU, he was majoring in Mechanical Engineering because he liked to build and be hands-on with his work. All of that changed once he started to become fascinated with Chemistry and soon he switched his major to Chemistry with a Materials option.

Being a part of an integrated lab has helped Matt to gain a deeper understanding of concepts and he recommends other undergraduates to become a part of an integrated lab because it really increases the proficiency and understanding of the course. Some of Matt’s favorite courses were the graduate courses, CH 513 and CH 616, he was able to take because he enjoyed the applied concepts and also really enjoyed both the instructors, Dr. Subramanian and Dr. Dolgos.

After he graduates, he is planning on pursuing one of the opportunities that have been offered to him in hopes of continuing to apply his knowledge in his field of work. He has been offered opportunities from all over the country such as California & Virginia just to name a few. He is excited to get into the industry and hopes to continue his path in working on leading us to a better world.

When Matt’s not working long hours at the lab, he likes to unwind by watching one of his favorite classic movies, Star Wars: New Hope. He enjoys watching the movie multiple times and fondly remembers the times when he watched it on VHS tapes.

Students like Matt Clark are a major part of what makes our Department so great! We wish him well for all of his future endeavors and cannot wait to hear about all of his accomplishments.

Who Am I? Wednesday – Michelle Dolgos

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Name: Michelle Dolgos

Area of study / position title:  Materials Chemistry, Assistant Professor

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you, etc.)  My path to chemistry was fairly long.  I always loved science and my first career choice as a child was an astronomer, then a pathologist, then a geologist, then a marine biologist (even though I had never seen the ocean or been on a boat).  When I started college, I wanted to go to medical school like everyone else who is interested in science, but I got bored with all the biology classes.  I loved my general chemistry class, so decided to switch majors.  Then, my sophomore year, I almost left the chemistry profession because of Organic Chemistry, but decided to stick it out for one more semester and just get a minor if I decided it wasn’t my thing.   I ended up taking P-chem next and fell back in love with chemistry.  I decided to stay in the field, and I’m happy that I did.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties?  My research focus is trying to understand how the structure of a material relates to the properties.  Then once we gain that knowledge for a particular system, we can rationally design new materials with improved properties. I consider myself a solid state chemist, but I have been known to work with thin films or amorphous materials on occasion.

One thing that you truly love about your job?  Writing grant proposals.  Just kidding.  I love working with grad students and watching them develop from student to scientist.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself.  I am a loyal watcher of a certain daytime soap opera, which people are surprised by for some reason.   Also, I enjoy torturing myself doing Shawn T’s Insanity workouts every morning.