SAMUEL MERCER

Samuel Mercer

Sometimes you may wonder, why am I studying a topic in the first place? What is its piece in the larger puzzle of solving a specific problem? Certain topics seem so abstract and far-removed from everyday life that it’s very difficult to easily identify their greater purpose. Fortunately, the opening few sentences of many scientific articles or book chapters outline why the research described is important, but they do not always easily demonstrate when or how the reported findings will be implemented for real-world applications. In time, maybe they will or maybe they won’t, it is hard to say. So, why conduct research?

Sam Mercer

Research is about having the training to do something potentially new, perhaps unprecedented, that can make the world a little bit better. The technological advancements in the past two centuries must credit the remarkable achievements attained by researchers in all disciplines worldwide. It may not be revolutionary overnight, but it may eventually become the missing piece needed to accelerate new discoveries for other researchers.

When I started college, I knew that I wanted to work in the energy sector. Energy is an incredibly complex topic that has wide-ranging implications. Think about the past year. In 2022, there have been many discussions about high oil prices, energy shortages in different parts of the world, record high temperatures due to climate change, and an increasing push for electric cars. Some say that energy is quantifiably the tail-end of the economy, some debate that it is the global calculus of nations, and some argue that it is a mathematical concept existing due to thermodynamics. From economics to political science to statistical mechanics, understanding energy is important for many different reasons.

For me, I was drawn to engineering solutions that could support a transition from the traditional use of energy sources through catalysis. The research and development of famous processes like Fischer-Tropscha novel route to synthesize hydrocarbons that could yield synthetic fuels – had remarkable economic impact due to the unprecedented technological advances that it made. I began my research in developing gold catalysts to reutilize natural gas and, concordantly with the plethora of applications energy research has on informing policymakers and stakeholders in industry, I found that there were a plethora of techniques and skills that could potentially be used to solve this research problem. For example, many researchers in catalysis are transitioning from standard statistical models to simulate chemical reactions (based on quantum mechanics) to more adaptable models using machine learning and artificial intelligence-based algorithms, creating cutting-edge methods that may be more efficient but presently unreliable. Researchers must validate these models with traditional experiments by comparing predicted values from simulation to those observed in the laboratory. The mix between experiment and computation continues to fascinate me as someone who is deeply interested in the science, motivating me to dive deeper into my research every day.

Although I enjoy the technical details, it is equally important to fully understand how my research fits in to the larger purpose: building a novel energy solution. The research that I conducted focused on understanding the properties of the catalyst, which would be considered basic research because it seeks to expand knowledge in my field. This differs from research that would traditionally be conducted in startups or major companies called applied research, which seeks to develop practical solutions based on previous knowledge. In my case, if a catalyst with optimal properties was found, researchers in industry might attempt to scale the catalyst for usage in a factory or processing facility. These two types of research work hand-in-hand and knowing which type of research your work falls under allows you to realize how far your work is from being implemented. In the energy sector, many new technologies necessitate new materials that are not yet fully understood. Once they are, which may be years or decades later, they may be applied to develop new products for commercial implementation. My research has been at the very beginning of that long timeline. Future researchers may use my findings to embark on their own contributions to building energy solutions, which may eventually be adopted in industry, patented, and commercialized. Nonetheless, it is only one piece of a larger puzzle.

I find my fascination in energy, but there are just as many reasons to embark on research that could be the catalyst for designing the first manned rocket to Mars, synthesizing the first cure to an infectious disease, or uncovering a piece of history frozen in time. Whatever your interest may be, embrace a larger perspective that considers how your work fits into the larger puzzle, ones that achieves specific project goals that may eventually have a broad impact.