PERSONIFYING THE ELEMENTS AND OTHER NON-TRADITIONAL WAYS TO SHARE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
Esther Posner | April 2025
As a geology student gazing out at the vast ocean of information, I often found myself personifying certain scientific concepts and processes. Albeit end member nerdy, I still to this day find myself envisioning the elements of the periodic table to have humanlike personalities—introverts, extroverts, and each with a range of comfort levels and associated behaviors depending on (1) other nearby element personalities (i.e., who else is in the room) and (2) their surroundings, similar to how people with different personality types might respond to, for example, being packed in a highenergy dance party versus isolated in a lowenergy library. In my imagination, the ways in which the elements interact resemble a whole gamut of human relationships—passionate love affairs, enemies that actively avoid each other, clingy or hyperactive children, and let us not forget the “plagioclase love triangle,” with Ca2+ and K+ both biding for the affection of Na+.
NUCLEATING IDEAS AND CRYSTALS—TO DO OR NOT TO DO
Sumit Chakraborty | February 2025
As a faculty member, a question one often encounters from students is: should I do a PhD? I find this a very difficult one to answer. The set of skills that makes one a good student is not necessarily the same as that which makes a good researcher. Some basics are common— knowledge, intelligence, application, discipline, and work ethic are essential for both. But beyond that, there are fundamental differences. Knowing and understanding well what has been taught makes a good student. When studying for exams to get good grades, one can look up the answers in a book or ask the teacher for explanations when one does not understand a topic.