During the summer of 2024, I participated in University of Cincinnati's Protégé program, contributing to the project labeled "Design of Alloys for the Circular Economy," which was led by Dr. Eric Payton of UC's Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department. This research project involved working with members of the Critical Alloy Research and Discovery Lab and completing tasks to advance the research of sustainable alloys. Through this experience, I was able to learn more about how research is conducted and I learned more about materials science in the process. Going into this experience, I expected to be working hands-on with metal samples, performing tasks such as tensile tests or melting. Instead, I was surprised to find myself writing code. My first task was to create a Python script that would use data from an excel spreadsheet to graph a phase diagram. When I begun, not only did I not know what a phase diagram was, but I didn't even know how to graph using Python. I had to teach myself how to pull data from Excel, how to graph, and how to construct a phase diagram. To complete this task, I used the internet to learn how to use libraries such as NumPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib, and I watched several videos to learn what a phase diagram was and how it needed to be formatted. Throughout the summer I completed several other tasks, and at the end of the summer I presented my research at the Protégé research symposium.

I enjoyed this experience because I was given the independence to learn things on my own and I had the opportunity to be a part of a larger research group. Through this experience, my definition of a Global Citizen Scholar has adapted to include the aspects of sustainability and mentorship. I believe that a Global Citizen Scholar is someone who serves their community or a larger cause using their knowledge and the resources that are available to them, and teaches others how to do the same.