It’s been 1.5 years now, I started grad school at the University of Houston. So here I am, jotting down my experience as a grad student, and life in the US. Houston is a wonderful city to live in. Also known as Space City, I love the diversity in culture, friendly people, and food and bar scene. 😉 Outside India, I would highly recommend one to visit: Houston and Berlin. Berlin, because that city has a rich and diverse culture. Geographically it is placed in such a manner that travel across the EU is efficient and the city is beautiful. That city deserves an independent article (soon).
Grad school can be overwhelming for many students, mainly juggling coursework, research, and life outside the lab. One might fall out from work-life balance easily if not managed properly. The key to maintaining the balance, in my opinion, is having a routine and sticking to it. You’ll be amazed by what this country has to offer to you in your best interests.
Moving to a new country to me felt more comforting than alienating. It felt like the pieces of a puzzle have just started to fall into their place. It all started in May 2020, when I accepted the Ph.D. offer from the University of Houston. While the world was under lockdown, I started the most exciting journey of my life, right from my home in India. It was so far the most rigorous semester I had, working on 3 courses and a challenge to get visa slots for the USA. The positive thing is, I spent the fall semester with my parents and family by my side. Later, I moved to the US in 1st week of January 2021 to the city, which has changed my life, HOUSTON. ❤
A smooth transition from Vadodara to Houston would have been impossible without my seniors who played an invaluable role in setting up things for me before my arrival and always being there to guide me. As grad students, we are required to finish 7 courses, 4 core, and 3 electives besides our thesis. Since I already had taken 3 courses in the Fall semester, I decided to take 1 core course in the spring semester and take a head start with my research. Post that, I am taking one course each semester, to keep the involvement with coursework as minimum as possible allowing me to leverage the research at the same time. Hence, I expect to finish my course requirements in Fall 2022. This decision felt right to me, as I can work full time in the lab without worrying about taking time out for the coursework and pacing through my projects.
Let’s talk about what I do in my research. I work in Prof. Jeffrey Rimer’s group, Crystal Engineering (Rimer Group) in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Houston. Our group works in two sub-groups: 1. Catalysis: Here we deal with the design of zeolites and interfacial studies in zeolite crystallization and 2. Biomineralization, where we study crystal growth, inhibition, and now dissolution of crystals for pathological diseases like kidney stones, cholesterol, and atherosclerosis.
My overarching objective is to understand stone pathogenesis at the molecular scale. The crystals of my interests are Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate, Struvite, and Ammonium Urates. Crystal Engineering to me has been an exciting field of study, to develop a better understanding of the kinetics and interaction of various modifiers on a crystal surface. We employ techniques like microfluidics and Atomic Force microscopy to understand the surface interactions and various other techniques like Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, Ion-selective electrode, Conductivity meter to name a few. My experience working with an amazing group and advisor has helped me develop an aptitude to undertake rigorous research.
The experience of working on different systems at an early stage in my Ph.D. has worked as a catalyst for developing an aptitude and an exciting line of projects for my qualifiers exam, which I will have in Spring 2022. My usual working day starts between 8-9:30am and ends around 4-7pm. Weekends are usually off, except for some experiments which I prefer to schedule over the weekend. Looking at the group dynamics and relation with the advisor goes, I am really blessed to have an amazing group of people in the lab and an even amazing advisor. So far, we have explored numerous places, to eat, grab a drink or just hang out and everyone is enjoying their work and life outside work. One thing that many people don’t know is, you are paid a good amount of stipend in the US as a Ph.D. student, so money is the last thing you should worry about if you are to pursue Ph.D. in the US.
When you have the right people in your life, you realize how blissful life becomes and effortless to achieve things. I am grateful to my parents for their endless support and faith in my capabilities. When I started with my dream of pursuing a Ph.D. there was a lot of resistance I had to come across, but there were two constants, my parents, by my side who motivated me to give one more try. So always be grateful for what you have, and stay strong when times are challenging.
A few tips I would like to give to students aspiring to pursue PhD or pursue higher education in general.
- Make sure you understand the level of research in your domain well. Research about the program, timeline and the cost of living in various cities before you finalize your university.
- Your advisor matters a lot. Don’t blindly follow the reputation of university during selection. I did that mistake while shortlisting, but I was fortunate enough to get redirected. Make sure, you learn about the expectations the advisor has from his/her students, work culture of lab and work-life balance outside work.
- Try to connect with as many seniors as possible from the research group/department specifically to get a taste of the scenario. It won’t be an accurate description, but its always better than coming in blind folded.
- If you face a rejection from a particular university several times, don’t restrict yourself to that place and be open to explore other places and groups. Because sometimes, those are the signs which we should take as a redirection to something better.
- Always be humble, patient and open to learn new things. You never know where these qualities will pay off in life.
So many of our dreams at first seem impossible. Then they seem improbable. And then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. – Nelson Mandela.
Cheers!
Vraj Chauhan 