Science is trial and error.
Boil down the lessons painstakingly learned by Mackenzie Hoffman, a second-year biochemistry major, during her summer research experience at The Ohio State University's Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBEC) Lab, and the most humbling was one she learned each day about the scientific method.
"It was so much trial and error," said Hoffman, one of the participants in the Stem Emerging Leaders Fellow (SELF) program. "I didn't get a solid product until a month and half in, and I didn't get what I wanted until the end of my research."
At the CBEC lab, Hoffman's job was to use inorganic crystals to create rare chemical compounds. Those compounds, in turn, can be used as the hosts to create thin films that help modern technology like cellphones, satellites, and radar systems operate more efficiently and effectively.
While Hoffman said she felt "imposter syndrome" initially in her first lab environment, she grew more confident as she gained experience doing the solid-state chemistry experiment. "The actions weren't as scary as I thought they were going to be," she said. "It was more basic calculations and a lot of grinding and reheating and just using different instruments. I felt more comfortable as the summer went on."
Hoffman's summer research experience was just one aspect of the SELF Scholars program housed in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The program is aimed at cultivating the next generation of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) leaders by strengthening pipelines through and into careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for students who have experience living or working in diverse environments or who have overcome substantial educational challenges.
Hoffman said her time in the CBEC lab has left her better equipped to handle failure. "I just feel more confident in myself and my work," she said. "Because even if I'm not going to get it right the first time, I know now that it doesn't mean I'm not going to get it right at all. And I feel like I understand things more on a molecular level than I did before."