One of the faculty talks that stood out the most to me was Dr. Charles Gerbasch’s talk. After his talk I realized that his name had sounded pretty familiar. It then hit me that back when I was researching universities to attend, Dr. Gerbasch’s lab had struck my interest back then as well. Research like his had been one of the reasons I later decided to attend Duke.
One thing that really stood out to me about Gerbasch is that he places a strong emphasis on the overlap of the various fields of science. Gerbasch emphasized that as science becomes more advanced, the more intermixed the various disciplines of science become with each other. Thus while Gerbasch majored in chemical engineering, he is also well versed in other fields of science such as genetics and molecular biology. Seeing how various fields of science intermingle with each other is something I find very interesting and hope to find in a career.
Cutting-edge research is currently being conducted at the Gerbasch lab. The lab is using various genetic-engineering methods to research ways to improve treatment for patients of an abundance of diseases and disabilities. I really enjoyed hearing how open-minded the Gerbasch lab is to experimenting with various methods.
Overall, I really enjoyed the faculty seminars. Being an undergraduate who has little idea what type of career I want to pursue, it was interesting seeing the journey these various faculty members took to end up in their careers. I also enjoyed hearing all of the life lessons and perspectives on science the various faculty members shared and I learned a lot from the insights they had to share.