ORNL is proud of its role in fostering the next generation of scientists and engineers. We bring in talented young researchers, team them with accomplished scientists and engineers, and put them to work at the lab's one-of-a-kind facilities. The result is research that makes us proud and prepares them for distinguished careers.
We asked some of these young researchers why they chose a career in science, what they are working on at ORNL, and where they would like to go with their careers.
Kyle Sander
Graduate student, Biosciences Division
Ph.D. student, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee (Bredesen Center)
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
What are you working on at ORNL?
I characterize and engineer transcription factors from a bacterium (Caldicellulosiruptor bescii) to improve its ability to make ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks. Transcription factors are proteins that regulate the expression of other genes. I work as part of the BioEnergy Science Center.
What would you like to do in your career?
I hope to conduct/lead and otherwise take part in research addressing problems broad in scope that necessitate interdisciplinary research teams. A publicly funded national laboratory seems to me the best place for this, so I want to someday be a staff scientist at a national laboratory,
Why did you choose a career in science?
I was (and continue to be) amazed at how researchers approach problems, continually learn and make breakthroughs. I was drawn to the idea nurtured within science that there are no limits to how we solve problems or what problems we can solve; we are limited by what we can conceive.