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.