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Meet a Scientist: Eileen Wong and Michael Polen
All of the researchers featured on our Meet a Scientist Saturdays have been trained through Phipps’ science communication workshops. If you are young professional or graduate student in any field of STEM and you are interested in the workshop or participating in a Meet a Scientist Saturday, check out our website.
This Saturday, come chat with two scientists from excitingly different fields as a part of February’s Meet a Scientist Saturday! This month will feature Eileen Wong, a doctoral candidate in the University of Pittsburgh’s Molecular Virology and Microbiology program, and Michael Polen, a fifth-year PhD student in the Chemistry Department at Carnegie Mellon University. On the surface, their fields sound worlds apart; Eileen studies the immune system’s reaction to the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis while Mike studies the chemistry behind cloud formation in the presence of air pollution. Both researchers, though, cite their early fascination with puzzles and problem-solving, that fascination continues today, but now it drives them both as they seek new solutions to problems like disease and poor air quality in our world. Best of all, both of them are excited to share their passion for learning and exploration this Saturday, and maybe even inspire the next generation. As Mike firmly notes: “I believe anyone can become a scientist. You simply require a love of learning science and a willingness to persist and accept new opportunities.”
How did you decide to become a scientist?
Eileen: I decided to become a scientist because I was always curious about how things worked and how the human body worked. While in college, I really wanted to understand how everyday things in your environment, like pesticides and water contaminants, could affect your health. Nowadays, I study how your body responds to infections, and how to protect people from disease. I like the large-scale, real-world impact that science can have on people. So many improvements to people’s lives have come from science experiments!
Mike: High school was the point that I realized I wanted to be a scientist. The physical sciences, chemistry and physics, were my favorite subjects in high school. I decided I wanted to go to college and ended up attending Widener University, outside of Philadelphia. I started my time at Widener without a major, so I was free to take classes in many different departments. In particular I took psychology classes and found learning about the human brain and how people interact to be incredibly fascinating.
What is the most exciting thing you have done at work?
Eileen: A lot of research is about forming a question and hypothesis, designing an experiment to test that hypothesis, and correctly carrying out that experiment. Perhaps because hypotheses are often wrong, it is incredibly exciting when an experiment actually works the way you expect it the first time. It’s also always changing, with new information and techniques to learn all the time. The experiments that cause color changes are always neat to see too, of course!
What were some of the steps along the way of your career?
Mike: Throughout college, I was afforded opportunities to do research and learning within my university and outside of it. I did research in Arizona in astronomy, I took a class in nuclear chemistry in California, I spent time in Illinois doing research on metallo-proteins, and performed chemistry research with several different faculty members in my own university. I earned each of these amazing opportunities thanks to my science faculty and mentors at Widener. I couldn’t have achieved all I have done without them, but they like to remind me that I was the one who chose to accept the opportunities. After Widener, I applied to graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University to study analytical and environmental chemistry.
What skills do you use in your job?
Eileen: I spend most of my time problem solving. Each part of a larger research question needs to be broken down into smaller problems that can be tackled to answer the original question. And oftentimes, the first attempt at anything does not work the way I expect it to, so there is a lot of troubleshooting and trying again. Science requires a lot of patience!
If you weren’t a scientist, what would be?
Eileen: I love to travel, experience different cultures, and try different foods. I would definitely be a flight attendant and travel the world.
Mike: If I weren’t a chemist today I would probably have studied psychology, or maybe pursued a career in creating video games, my lifelong pastime.
What is exciting to you about your field?
Mike: At Carnegie Mellon University, I have researched numerous topics in environmental and atmospheric science and the most amazing part about it is learning about how far we have come in understanding the environment and trying to get it back to the way it was before we started industrializing. I love to hear about the history of Pittsburgh and other industrial areas that saw some of the worst environmental disasters and about figures like Rachel Carson fighting to protect our world. Most importantly, I love teaching others about these topics. In modern times we take advantage of the natural world and we pay little mind, but if I can use my knowledge and understanding of how the world works to help one person fight to protect it, then I am doing my job. This is why I am motivated to continue to learn and teach science to everyone. Additionally, I believe anyone can become a scientist. You simply require a love of learning science and a willingness to persist and accept new opportunities.
Why is science education important to you?
Eileen: Science education is important because science is a vital part of everyone’s everyday life. The medications you take to prevent serious illness, the technology powering your cell phone, and the agricultural capacity to feed the world are all the result of years of scientific research. Additionally, science provides the framework for everyone to learn to critically think, solve problems, and make decisions in rational, reasonable ways. Investing in science education is investing in the future!
Both Eileen and Mike will be in the Tropical Forest in Palm Circle from 1:30-3:30 p.m., this Saturday, February 17. Be sure to stop by!
