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A Day in the Life of an Undergrad Researcher

Christina working in the glovebox.
Christina working in the glovebox.

9:10 am: Drop off my lunch in our refrigerator outside the lab and then let myself in. Normally the first thing I do when I enter the lab is head to my little corner in our office where I will plug in my computer and write a list of tasks on my whiteboard about what I want to accomplish for the day. I also have to make sure to “check-in” on an online Google Form for contact tracing purposes. 

9:30 am: The work I’m doing involves the design of immiscible electrolytes for lithium-based batteries. I throw on my lab coat, grab my notebook, and head to the glovebox. I check on my electrolytes and notice that most of the salt has dissolved in some of the vials. I quickly run some calculations on an Excel spreadsheet and then go into the glovebox to increase the salt concentration. When I am using the glovebox, I put on small gloves first, enter the glovebox with the black glovebox gloves, and then also put on size large gloves—three layers! 

The view from our balcony!
The view from our balcony!

1:00 pm: I head outside to our balcony to eat lunch. I admire the view from our location on the 6th floor and also try to avoid the falcon that has a nest on the roof of the building next door. He likes to “attack” us when we are out on the balcony eating. 

1:30 pm: I head back inside and make a couple coin cells with Priya. We go into the battery testing room and run new impedance. 

Submitted by Christina P. on Friday, September 11, 2020