Karthish Manthiram
@KManthiram
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Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering @Caltech | Electrifying Chemical Synthesis and Living Cells | Member of @manthiramlab
Pasadena, CA
Joined March 2012
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“A day in the library could save you a year in the lab.”
Easily the most important lesson my own advisor taught me, that as tempting as experiments may be on any given day, there is no substitute for thought, understanding, and context.
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I have been thinking a lot about what John Goodenough stood for in his life and the things we will remember him by.
He had a knack for engaging folks with contagious enthusiasm on any subject. He found everything to be a source of humor, be it batteries or death. As kids, my
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6 years ago today
@AmritaSaigal
and I went on a dream first date that included a college tour of MIT and Harvard. 😂 Today our daughter joined us as we retraced our steps ❤️ What an adventure with the spontaneous
@amritasaigal
and our adorable third wheel Avni!!!
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Fun to be in the audience with my mom to watch my dad
@Manthiram_UT
win the John B. Goodenough Award
@ECSorg
! Inspirational to hear how his invention of polyanion cathodes in the 1980s went from science in the lab to now having 1/3 (!) of the market share for li-ion batteries🔋
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Growing up in America, many traditions of our ancestors are at risk of being lost - but my wife
@AmritaSaigal
are I are lucky to have had the opportunity to do a Seemantham, a traditional South Indian baby shower, to bless the mother and coming child, and ward away evil.
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Happy Birthday to Bob Grubbs! An inspiring advisor who showed by example how we are not defined merely by the science we do but for the values we stand for as the human behind it.
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1 COVID infection. 30 days on a ventilator. Countless amazing family, friends, and
@bethisraellahey
nurses, doctors, & staff. And 1 determined father-in-law, Anil Saigal, who conquered
#COVID
. Thankful today he is recovering with us at home, solving a donut puzzle.🍩
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Two years ago, I told my then girlfriend (now wife)
@AmritaSaigal
that I was working on a proposal. She thought it was to
@NSF
or
@DOE
, but really, it was to her. Beyond thankful that this flash mob engagement proposal was accepted!
@MIT
@MIT_alumni
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Humbled to receive a DOE Early Career Award - our group is excited to embark on understanding how to sustainably synthesize epoxides from water and olefins. Thank you
@doescience
for support and
@manthiramlab
students and postdocs for building up this new area in our group.
“Supporting talented researchers early in their career is key to fostering scientific creativity" -
@SecBrouillette
76 scientists from across the nation will receive significant funding as part of the
@ENERGY
Early Career Research Program
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Feeling fortunate to receive my father
@Manthiram_UT
's blessings on the sacred banks of the Ganges River. Just as the Ganges gracefully flows yet powerfully shapes its course, may we too navigate life with a blend of resilience and tranquil insight, leaving a trail of nurture and
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Excited for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry Lecture by John B. Goodenough, which will be delivered on his behalf by my dad Arumugam Manthiram - inspired by the work they have done on lithium ion batteries since before I was born!
#NobelPrize
#UTaustin
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Propylene + H2O -> propylene oxide + H2
Electrified at room temprature, ambient pressure, aqueous electrolyte, and with fast rates. Overcomes longstanding safety and environmental challenges. Check it out!
@ScienceMagazine
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A new adventure awaits…
@AmritaSaigal
and I are excited to welcome a baby girl in June!
Excited to transition from our virtual meet ups on ultrasounds to meeting face to face in June 😍
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As a mentor, I have found that it is most important to not judge a student by my own “standards” but by their own - to understand what it is that they are passionate about and want to excel at, and to help them bring that out, so that they succeed on their own terms.
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Happy Halloween from our vertically integrated cow, milk, and cookie! I come from a family that has milked cows for generations and generations, so this costume meant a lot personally ❤️
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One of the most touching moments when I was an Assistant Prof. was when my own student checked in on me to make sure I was taking care of myself and taking time off.
I learned that compassion isn’t just top-down or bottom-up in a healthy group - it comes from every member.
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To all my students, who taught me how to teach and showed me new research frontiers, you define for me what it means to be not just a teacher-scholar, but a teacher-student, now and always. Thank you to the
@dreyfusfndn
for supporting our team's vision!
The Dreyfus Foundation announces the selection of 16 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars for 2021. These young faculty have each created an outstanding independent body of scholarship, and are deeply committed to education. For details on the awardees, see
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Father’s Day serves as a reminder to strive to do for my daughter all that my father
@Manthiram_UT
did for me. My dad taught me by example the sacrifices one can undertake to make life for the next generation better than for the last, not just as a father but as a mentor.
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Deciding to join a research group in grad school is a tough decision.
How do you know you have found the right advisor? Is this someone you can work with for the next few years?
Here is some simple advice. 🧵 👇
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Humbled to think of all my dad has done to develop Li-ion batteries despite life challenges- his dad passed away when he was just 2 mo. old and he initially decided to not go to college to instead support his family. Read his story here in
@Bloomberg
!
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As a PI, I have gradually erred away from believing that I know what is best for the group, instead believing the group knows what is best for the group. This has led to making more and more decisions by consensus, empowering us to harness our collective wisdom.
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Bob Grubbs, I miss you and promise to strive to live in a way that upholds all that you taught me during my time in your lab.
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Deuterium oxide is now a part of the democratic platform. Heavy water enters the mainstream, enabling kinetic isotope studies galore! 😂
#dreamsfor2021
#chemtwitter
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n=1: I often tell my students, it's your first time being a graduate student and it's my first time being an Assistant Professor, so let's learn from each other and support each other on this journey. Life is full of n=1 (first time) experiences.
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I used to think the gift of knowledge was the greatest, but I now treasure the gift of unconditional love that my baby girl has shown me even more - thank you Avni Saigal Manthiram, who was born this summer, for showing me this love.
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We run evaluations twice yearly in which students/postdocs reflect on what I am doing well as an advisor and what I can do better. It takes a while to build enough trust for group members to communicate to me my shortcomings, but it has been critical for my growth as an advisor.
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Over time, I’ve realized that running a research group, leading a startup, or managing a team in industry are more similar than they seem - all involve recruiting the best talent, getting folks to see a vision, and finding money to get the work done.
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Congratulations to our final
@manthiramlab
Ph.D. graduates from MIT, Joseph Maalouf, Joy Zeng, and Minju Chung! What fun adventures at the frontiers of science as we built up our early group at MIT - thankful to these three stellar students for teaching me so much!!
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Happy 1 Year Anniversary
@AmritaSaigal
! I am glad to be married to the happiest person I know, who has lit up my life. I have seen in our 1st yr, with all the curveballs thrown by the world, how that optimism has carried us. I am lucky to learn from you everyday
@AmritaSaigal
. ❤️
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Happy Mothers Day to my Amma (அம்மா)
@RManthiram
! We made countless trips to Home Depot when I was a kid as we took on home improvement projects - my mom has always believed we can tackle anything together. She showed me by example hard work, dedication, and can-do spirit!😍
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One of the values stressed in our group is to strip away hierarchy - that a postdoc can be mentored by a grad student and a faculty member learn from an undergrad. Even the newest and youngest members of a group have so much they can teach us in unfamiliar areas.
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This week, we did an experiment:
Meetings with no slides, just whiteboarding.
We had more engagement from team members, better comprehension, and deeper discussions.
We covered less content but it was completely worth it.
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My favorite moments in science are when my students reveal that something that I thought must be true is not - these moments are simultaneously humbling and empowering. Science relies on building and displacing knowledge at the frontiers.
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Catch my wife
@amritasaigal
as she pitches
@KudosToBaby
on Shark Tank on ABC on Jan 6 at 8 PM ET/PT! She filmed this 12 weeks after our daughter Avni was born, and I could not have been more wowed by the way she poured her heart and soul into getting ready for it.❤️
@ABCSharkTank
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I sometimes end group meetings by asking each person to say one thing that they would like to change about our group. It is awesome to see our students take something which they think isn’t working well and transform that into an idea for improving our scientific collective.
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On my 1st day as a new faculty in 2017, I was excited to have my own office.
Little did I realize that having my own office would drive my intellectual isolation.
I now spend more time sitting at a desk in the student office, happier surrounded by my students.
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The same freedom that makes grad school attractive is also what makes it so hard - the thrill of pursuing an idea you came up with is unparalleled, and yet a vast universe of possibilities to choose from is paralyzing.
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Thanks Mom! 😁 It meant a lot to have you there.
Congratulations to my son
@KManthiram
for winning the 2020 C. Michael Mohr Outstanding Faculty Award
@MITChemE
! It was fun to attend the ceremony and commencement via Zoom.
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I hear often that collaboration is important because it leads to better science - I think it actually leads to better *scientists*. We are social beings who thrive on connection (in varying degrees!) - working together is uplifting and helps us push through challenges together.
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A decade ago, I started grad school in the wake of the Great Recession, thinking we were living through difficult times. To all 1st years starting grad school in these even more challenging times, you will persevere. Let your optimism carry you on this new intellectual journey!
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Electrochemistry is essential for making the material world, including the extraction of Li, B, F, Na, Ca, Al, Cl, Ni, Cu, Ga, Sr, In, Tl, Br, I + others. We can build on this foundation in electrified elemental extraction to electrify the downstream manufacturing of molecules.
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Congratulations to Dr. Nik Lazouski on defending his thesis today! Nik, as a member of our 1st cohort of graduate students, established the area of lithium-mediated nitrogen reduction in our group, including achieving record-high rates of ammonia synthesis at ambient conditions.
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It’s never too early to think about what you dream about doing after grad school - I usually ask new grad students about these dreams, knowing it may change substantially, but wanting to understand what connections I can help them make even in the early days of grad school.
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I remember the shivers up my spine as I ran my 1st CO2 reduction expts ~8 yrs ago. I was struggling to obtain reproducible results but reached out to Kendra Kuhl who generously taught us how to make the chemistry work. It's this community+generosity that make science what it is.
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1st year grad students - now that many of you are weeks into grad school, this is a good time to ask: could I keep up this pattern for the rest of my life? Good time to set sustainable habits by spending time with friends, exercising, and following ALL your interests.
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Excited to roll out our new
@manthiramlab
website! We spend a lot of time engaged in Socratic dialogue at the whiteboard, which inspired our website’s design.
@mitcheme
@mitenergy
@mit
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It’s not uncommon to feel frustrated during graduate school. But if we understand that this is really a reflection of trying to reveal nature’s deepest secrets rather than a reflection of our own capability, we can channel this frustration in a positive way.
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There are many institutes of technology, but one with a
@dominos
pizza on campus wins!
@iitbombay
🍕🍕🍕
What a delightful visit to this storied campus!
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Four years ago, I married the love of my life
@AmritaSaigal
who transformed every aspect of my life 😍 - a moment to celebrate our new companion in this adventure called life, Baby Shark! 🦈❤️
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Best of luck to everyone competing in Science Olympiad Nationals today
@Caltech
! I remember vividly coming in last place in the competition I had prepared the most for, when a contact to a motor snapped off - learned to persevere and be optimistic despite this failure.
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Please RT - looking for talented postdocs!
Interested in electrifying and decarbonizing chemical synthesis? Our team is innovating at the interface of organic synthesis, catalysis, and electrochemistry.
Check out to learn more.
@MITChemE
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Amazing advances on electrified ammonia synthesis by the
@DRMacFarlane
and
@simonav_a_n
groups!
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Seeds of ideas from anyone new to a field can always be easily crushed before they have time to grow. We have to embrace ideas in these early moments to watch them grow into transformative concepts, showering them with cultivating questions instead of debilitating criticisms.
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Inexperience and experience can be equally powerful in science - inexperience means we are unblinded by things we assume we “know” and experience means that we have a reservoir of knowledge amassed over time to build on. Effective teams in science need both.
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My Mom inspired me from a young age to dive with all my heart into anything that needed fixing - I treasured being her sidekick as we built shelves, refinished cabinets, fixed VCRs, etc. Thank you Mom for teaching me to be fearless, persistent, and optimistic. Happy Mother's Day!
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Congratulations to Dr. Zack Schiffer on his thesis defense! Zack was a member of our 1st cohort of students - he established a clear vision for electrification of synthesis with a thermodynamic basis and new methods of generating C-N bonds, always blending theory and experiment.
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Filled with gratitude on
#InternationalWomensDay
to my mom and sister for being my first teachers, who together inspired me through their love of knowledge, endless optimism, and can-do approach to life.
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Interested in driving forward sustainability research
@Caltech
? We encourage you to apply for the Pioneer Postdoctoral Fellowship as part of the
@caltechRSI
!
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While I am happy that Avni has taken a liking to transport, I was kinda hoping it would be kinetics.
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Golf outing with our research group! What a multidimensionally talented team - we got some really good golfers in the group, and luckily they were willing to teach me some new tricks. Thankful for this group and all they patiently teach me in science and beyond everyday!⛳️
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To the girl that literally completely changed my life, happy birthday! My life is neatly divided into two periods of time: Before Amrita and After Amrita (B.A. and A.A.). Love you for all the joy, spontaneity, and inspiration you have brought into my life!
@amritasaigal
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All these years we’ve been trying to make CO2 into alcohols using electricity ... maybe it should have been for hand sanitizer instead of energy storage.
#coronavirus
#chemtwitter
#COVID19
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When I was a grad student, my advisor asked me to write my own "manifesto" outlining a possible revolution in science. My advisor's words took what could be a smaller step if phrased as a "proposal" and instead forced it to become riskier & bolder as a "manifesto."
#mentorship
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This teacher completely changed my life.
Mr. Bertucci, my high school robotics coach, is proof of the impact that a dedicated, passionate, and principled teacher can have.
Mr Bertucci showed up every morning at 6:30 AM to open up the doors to our robotics workshop and
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Just celebrated our lab's Pi Anniversary - what an exhilarating 3.14 years since the
@ManthiramLab
started
@MIT
! How many examples of Pi can you find in this photo? And yes, we got photobombed by Warren K. Lewis.
@MITChemE
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Grad student = faculty = undergrad = postdoc. Level playing-field organizations harness everyone's creativity and wisdom to push the frontiers of science and make the world a better place. We must strive for all voices to be heard equally to accelerate change in our world.
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Happy Birthday Wilson Smith
@SmithElectroLab
! Here is a picture we took when you visited us almost a year ago here at
@MIT
- hard to believe how different the world looked back then!
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If you are interested in graduate studies in Chemical Engineering, then please join us for this info session! We are excited to take your questions on graduate school in general as well as on what makes Caltech a special place to work at the frontiers of science + engineering.
Do you have questions about applying to our chemical engineering program? Join us on Nov. 9 @ 4pm PST for a program overview, meet our admissions committee and talk to current grad students.
Register:
Submit a question:
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Fun putting our engineering skills to use building a gingerbread house with
@AmritaSaigal
, inspired by the triangular building
@MITChemE
I work in - hoping 2021 brings us all back together to share experiences within these walls.
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This is really a recognition of YOU
@ManthiramLab
students and postdocs - your creativity and determination in solving tough problems, from which I have learned so much. Thankful everyday to be a part of this team.
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Dreams come true. My group got to meet Santa (guess who??) at the
@MITChemE
Holiday Party. I think the graduate students got more of a kick out of meeting Santa than the kids at the party 🎄 🎉
@MIT
@MITEngineering
#guesswho
#santa
#holidayparty
#gradschool
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Rising tide lifts all boats - no better way to capture the way in which my Dad has been an uplifting force for all around him. Thank you dad for quite literally lifting me up at a young age to appreciate the power of perseverance to overcome all obstacles in life.
@Manthiram_UT
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It's easy to think that the point of mentoring is to nurture in someone else the same traits that contributed to your own success - there are so many different modes of success among my students and mentoring has often been about nurturing patience for their approach in myself.
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How do you electrify and decarbonize the production of chemicals and materials? A big thank you to
@johnkwerner
for making this
@TEDxMIT
talk happen!
@MIT
@MITChemE
@mitenergy
@MITEngineering
@TEDtalks
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Ready to be among the first to put a genuinely sustainable diaper on your baby's tush? Congratulations to my wife
@AmritaSaigal
on launching her new eco-friendly, leak-defying diaper today- check it out!
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My wife
@AmritaSaigal
and
@KudosToBaby
are featured in
@BostonGlobe
!
Their mission to make baby diapers good for the planet, baby, and, yes, your couch, is upending the diaper industry.
To all babies out there: check it out, your tush will thank you.
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Was shocked that even Pinky (of Pinky and the Brain fame) was thinking about mass balances when he posed this question: "If I ate myself, would I become twice as big or completely disappear?" Pinky, if you major in ChemE, you will have the tools to answer this!
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For our last Transport class in
@MITChemE
, my students became one with the Boundary Layer. What an engaged, talented, and committed group of students - wish them all the best as they move forward!
#MIT
@MITEngineering
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Made corn pizza inspired by Berkeley’s Cheeseboard! Roll out pizza dough, spread garlic olive oil, add low moisture mozzarella, air fried corn & cilantro, bake, throw sliced limes on top, and drizzle cilantro chutney. Memories of eating pizza in the median in grad school!
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So much of education is learning to see things from a different angle - this giant dinner table reminded me of the way a toddler perceives the world!
#broadmuseum
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Scientific breakthroughs occur at a convergence of divergent perspectives - this requires bringing together diverse scientists from all over the world to be a part of the melting pot of science.
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After years of looking for external validation (i.e. grades), grad school is really about learning to listen to that voice inside your head, that is telling you what to value and what to do next, giving voice to your internal validation.
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I can’t describe how much I look forward to picking up a whiteboard marker and sketching through research topics with my students - we ask each other questions and use Socratic dialogue to sketch our way collaboratively to knowledge that is often new to both of us.
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From a prime (31), to a power of 2 (32), and now to a palindrome (33), happy birthday to Amrita
@AmritaSaigal
! Thankful for all the happiness and spontaneity (Gibbs be approvin’) she has brought into my life ❤️
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We do our very best in science to study a real-world phenomena🌎in a laboratory setting.🥼
Sometimes we believe with all our heart that what we are observing in the lab is true, but here is why we should be careful, by analogy to the automotive industry.🚗
A thread ...🧵👇
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One of the first pieces of advice I give to folks applying for faculty jobs is to ensure they pass the “inverse test.”
If someone says a name of a candidate on the job market, it may not be too hard to describe what they are proposing to work on.
The “inverse test” is the
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I have finally found my spirit animal… chocolate covered Oreos.
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And my wife
@amritasaigal
reminded me this morning... "An hour at a party could save you a day in the lab."
Gotta live life, in all its manifestations, both inside and outside lab, to the fullest!
“A day in the library could save you a year in the lab.”
Easily the most important lesson my own advisor taught me, that as tempting as experiments may be on any given day, there is no substitute for thought, understanding, and context.
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Great to see our students playing a strong role in shaping policy through this new journal!
We are excited to welcome
@KManthiram
, Asst. Professor of Chemical Engineering at
@MIT
, to the Advisory Board of the Review.
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Didn't account for the temperature-dependent mechanical properties of this structured fluid. Luckily, birthdays aren't like science, as I could tell myself, "it's the thought that counts, right?" 😅 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WIFE AMRITA!
@saigal88
#cookies
#navierstokes
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Research is about resonance.
Resonance with one's project.
Resonance with one's fellow lab members.
It’s normal in grad school to feel out of resonance at times, but we should always work towards, and help those around us, rediscover it.
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When we both stared at pizza with loving eyes, I knew she passed the paternity test.
Thank you Twitter fam for the pizza recs! We went to L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele for
@KManthiram
’s bday and it did not disappoint!
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My very first grant as a new PI was from J-WAFS - I am so thankful they took a risk on our new lab to fund our ammonia synthesis efforts. A big thanks to the whole team at J-WAFS!
🎉J-WAFS PI Karthish Manthiram is concluding his appointment as an assistant professor of
@MITChemE
but not before being honored for his compassionate mentorship for his students! Read more about
@KManthiram
in this MIT News feature:
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I had a stimulating conversation with
@DaniellaLSilva
@NBCNews
on my thoughts on the tragedy in Beirut, including the hazards associated with ammonium nitrate.
@MIT
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"Why spend a day in the library when you can learn the same thing by working in the laboratory for a month?"
Witty words of Frank Westheimer conveyed to me by my advisor
@PaulAlivisatos
while I was a grad student. In the era of COVID, the words carry a different meaning.
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AI and electrochemistry join forces to advance the frontiers of ... cleaning toilets
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One of my favorite aspects of running a consensus-based research group is that it gives every student and postdoc a say in how we push the frontiers of science - collectively, we are more likely to create a healthy environment for achieving our most audacious goals.
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