Fed is currently a fourth-year graduate student at The Scripps Research Institute. He works in the laboratories of Professor K. C. Nicolaou, and his research interests include the chemical synthesis of marine natural products and the study of their biological properties. He has been part of JYI since its inception in 1997. He started out as an Associate Editor for the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Section, and he is currently a member of the Board of Advisors..


I cannot believe it has been nearly four years since I started graduate school. Lately, I have concentrated immensely on finishing my dissertation. It is a total synthesis project that will help me determine what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. Nonetheless, many times I look back to see what has led me to this point.

Preparing for Graduate School

I started my undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall of 1993. My plan was to graduate from MIT with a degree in Chemical Engineering and, in the process, to do research where I would discover and exploit new forms of energy (whatever that may be). Of course, in the beginning these were only dreams, and, as it turns out, I did not become an engineer. Halfway through my undergraduate career, I decided to get rid of the "engineering" component and stick to the chemistry part. There were many things I needed to consider before making that change. With a degree in engineering, I could probably get away without going to graduate school, and it was likely that I could get a fairly decent job. If, however, I decided to go through with that change, a bachelor's degree in chemistry would not be sufficient for employment. I would have to get a Ph. D. in order to pursue my research interests.

I set up a meeting with my academic advisor, and everything he said made sense. From a practical point of view, it would be extremely easy to land a job in industry with a degree in engineering. On the other hand, it would probably be a bit more difficult to find a job with a bachelor's degree in the pure sciences unless my goal was to be a lab tech. From a more philosophical point of view, there are consequences that I needed to consider. The premise behind a doctoral degree has always been to make a contribution to society by doing original research on a specific topic. It would require an enormous amount of dedication, perseverance, patience, and time. Above all, one needs the desire and motivation to go through such an endeavor. I decided to take up that challenge and to go to graduate school.

Applying to graduate school requires particular preparation. There are some obvious things one must take care of during the undergraduate years. One important consideration is getting good grades in the classes related to the major field of study and/or getting decent scores on the GREs. One of the toughest parts, though, is figuring out where to do one's doctoral work. Since graduate school is a huge commitment, this one item requires careful consideration. While looking at that, I accounted for several requirements to successful graduate studies. The current Dean of Science at MIT once told me, "The most important person in your life will be your Ph.D. advisor. He will teach you how to do original research and will have lots of say in what you will eventually do with your life." With that in mind, I selected institutions where there were professors whose work I liked. Tied in to this, I considered places that had some prestige and that had the facilities to make my research flow more smoothly. After piling up all the information, I applied to several schools. I got some interviews, checked out some places, and talked to some professors, and that led me to The Scripps Research Institute.

In the Beginning. . .

The real adventure begins with the first year of graduate school. At most schools, one has to take a set of graduate courses which can last anywhere from two quarters to two years. There are also several other pieces of graduate school bureaucracy that require attention such as placement examinations or cumulative exams. These are really no big deal because they are mostly based on what one learns at the undergraduate level. The biggest and more important thing is to select the Ph.D. advisor (and that's when the Dean's words were brought back to life). I first had to pick someone that was doing research akin to my interests.

Once the list is narrowed down, other factors come into play. Group size is an issue. The benefit of a small research group being in close contact with the principal investigator (P.I.). The drawback is precisely the same one. I have found that having the P.I.'s undivided attention can be somewhat distracting, especially when they are itching for results. In a large group, one sees the opposite effect. The professor has to pay attention to many people at the same time, and this becomes increasingly difficult if the professor also holds a high-ranking administrative position. In a large group, most of the learning will take place by talking to one's peers as well by one's own motivation (especially by keeping good track of the literature). Selecting the group size is all a matter of taste. If you want undivided attention, pick a small group. If you think you can handle learning on your own, go for the large group.

Another important factor is the age of the P.I. Young professors are usually extremely motivated and driven. Their minds are full of bright (and sometimes not so bright) ideas for projects. By the same token, they will also demand a lot from their students because they need to produce good work in order to achieve tenure. Older faculty members tend to be more stable. They have established their niche, and they probably have ongoing exciting projects. Sometimes, though, they will depend on the students to come up with the ideas for research projects. Moreover, there are times in which older faculty members tend to seem less enthusiastic about research, especially if the professor in question has an administrative position or is part of school committees and the like.

Finally, one has to see what's life going to be like after graduation. This correlates quite well with the prestige and experience of the P.I. Students from young labs will most likely have to do postdoctoral work, whereas students from labs with history may be able to get away without doing a postdoc. The particular training in each lab influences whether the students go on to academic or to industrial careers. The best source of information is the graduate students from the lab in consideration.

The "During" Part

So What's Next?