Michael Walters on Undergraduate Research

Who is your PI? – Sandra Loesgen

How did you learn about the position? – I emailed everyone I could, basically. I emailed Dr. Christopher Beaudry for a position at first, then he referred me to Dr. Sandra Loesgen & I emailed her as soon as I could & began setting up appointments. Once I learned what her research was about, I decided I wanted in immediately.

Why did you get into Undergraduate Research? – I got into UG research for a few reasons; one of them was that I want to gain experience now & have some understanding of what a potential future career may be like for me in the field of Chemistry. Another was so I could go to Grad School; research is mandatory in that regard, so I decided to get into it now. The last is that I want to surround myself with like-minded people & to me, a great way to do that is by research.

What advice might you have for other Undergraduate students thinking of pursuing research or just getting started? – Students getting into research should expect to be smothered with knowledge that they aren’t familiar with. Already being in Dr. Loesgen’s research team, there is plenty that I’ve encountered that I’m not familiar with & that I need to do some reading up on. You’ll have to do some reporting also, but that’s a 6-week sort of thing so it’s not that big of a deal. On top of that, you will be around equipment that you may or may not have used before, so it is a great idea to become acquainted with as much as you can with regards to lab equipment & lab safety.