Insight 1: Majoring in materials science means flexibility in a field of your choice
Professor Dionne discovered her love for physics when she discovered the physics sections at the bookstore. Later, she decided to double majored in system science and mathematics, then got her PhD at Caltech, where she did applied physics and learned what materials science was. She is now a Professor at Stanford for materials science.
About materials science, she said “I think it’s such a great fit because it’s such a foundational technology for… energy, information, [and] health care.”
Prof. Dionne wasn’t confined to one specific field of science. She ended up tackling a bunch of problems. She works with cancer immunotherapy, proteins, quantum information science, and chemical manufacturing. Chemical manufacturing is where she makes the biggest impact on climate change (more on that below!).
Materials science is so special because it can be applied to many fields of science – and multiple at the same time, like for Prof. Dionne. It allows you “to think deeply about the science but then work broadly across applications.”
Compared to other science majors like computer science, neuroscience, or astronomy that confine you more or less to one area of science, material science frees you to explore much of the science the world has to offer.
Insight 2: Materials science gives you the power to shape the world
Prof. Dionne’s lab has recently been working with ammonia, which is used in fertilizer to feed about half of the world. To synthesize ammonia, it takes a lot of energy and greenhouse gases, because you normally need very high pressure and temperatures. Dionne’s lab discovered a nanoparticle catalyst that takes sunlight and converts nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia at room temperature and pressure. The hope is to enable much more sustainable chemical manufacturing.
This is just one of many examples of materials science in action. In fact, “one of the biggest benefits [of materials science] is that it’s a field that can have a huge impact on the world,” said Prof. Dionne. “I think materials science is probably one of the most application driven and translatable fields of science broadly defined.”
Meaning, materials science is often used to solve specific, real-world problems. It therefore has huge impacts on medicine, clean energy, aerospace, computing and more.
“As a materials scientist, you have an incredible opportunity to shape the future of the world.”
Insight 3: It’s a surprisingly broad major, so getting a PhD is a good idea
Materials science is a surprisingly broad major with many applications. But as much as that’s a benefit, it can also be a challenge. “I think probably one of the risks of the field, especially for younger people, is that it may almost be too broad and you don’t get the chance to go deep enough.”
Prof. Dionne noted that it would likely be very helpful to do a PhD in materials science beyond just undergraduate studies. Especially if you want to “deeply understand the science and be able to create the next generation invention.”
Because of this, materials science “has a bigger potential energy barrier to make a big impact than something like coding… or AI,” she said.
Bonus:
As a piece of advice specifically for high school students, Prof. Dionne told us, “As much as maybe it’s challenging to get a summer internship as a high school student, it’s not impossible. So I would say don’t be shy reaching out to potential lab members or professors.”
And: “If you’re extra interested and they don’t respond, don’t be shy to follow up multiple times… As my mom used to say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” It never hurts to send a follow up email, and, oftentimes, one follow up can make all the difference.
