Engineering the Summer is an annual series following molecular engineering students as they embark on summer internships and career experiences.
Carlos Medina Jimenez's path to working at the forefront of polymer research started with a pop science book on materials. Now a UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering PhD candidate in the Tirrell Lab, Medina is spending the summer interning with consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble.
What first sparked your interest in your area of study?
I first learned about polymers from the book “Stuff Matters” by Mark Miodownik. I realized there was a whole class of recently discovered materials that I knew nothing about, so I wanted to look further into it.
What research are you focused on at PME?
I study the physical properties of charge-containing polymers, and how small changes in their chemical structure lead to significant differences in their size, shape and interactions with other charged molecules.
What has been your experience so far this summer at your internship?
It has been enjoyable and insightful. I have learned about how research is conducted in companies like P&G. In a nutshell, science is fast-paced, and a central question we are posed every day is “How does this translate into a benefit for the consumer?”
Why is an internship a valuable part of your experience at PME?
The vision of PME is to provide the students with as much interdisciplinary training as possible. Taking part of an industrial experience like this helps me cement that training – bringing in the best skills from academic and industrial mindsets that I will be able to apply throughout the rest of my career.
What impact do you think your field will have on the world in the next 10 to 20 years?
Polymers already play a massive role in the world as we know it, since so many classical materials have been replaced with novel polymer-based solutions. The key component everyone is thinking of is sustainability: How do we take something that has the potential to pollute the air and the oceans and turn it into different systems that improve the lives of people around the world without causing further damage to the environment?
What role do you hope to play in that vision of the future?
We are currently being trained as thinkers and problem solvers at PME. Our expertise is in quickly understanding what is going on, identifying the tools at our disposal, and coming up with a plan to address the situation. I hope that wherever I end up, I get to use this skillset to improve the lives of those around me.
How has the environment at PME influenced you?
I get to learn about the cool, cutting-edge research that my friends are working on, which motivates me to keep learning and figuring things out. I appreciate all opportunities we get to communicate our research findings and challenges, since more than once these have sparked ideas about things I could try out in the lab.
What else do you think people should know?
As someone who is still undecided about career paths lying ahead, I have appreciated very much getting to try out professional development opportunities in both academic and industrial settings. Talking to people in both fields helped, too – everyone emphasized how meaningful it is to have a broad range of experiences and perspectives. My two cents are: Try everything and talk to everyone. (And sign up for the PME Science Communication Program, the highlight of my time at PME).