I was offered entrance into the labs of two professors to work on their research over the summer. I met with both of them and they are both extremely nice and welcoming. Lab A deals with using organic chemistry and catalysts while the Lab B deals with the synthesis of higher density batteries. PI of A has had HS students in their lab before and she explicitly stated that I would get published while working with her. I would be PI B’s first HS student and so they didn’t really mention anything about getting published but did say that I would learn alot. Both were extremely generous and took time to show me around their labs and talk about what types of things they were doing. My tasks in both labs would be to assist grad students in their research, and both mentioned the possibility of me having my own project. Prof A stated it explicitly while Prof B mentioned the possibility of me having my own project. Prof’s B’s work seems to be published less frequently than Prof A’s, but their work is cited more often. (According to google scholar).
My dilemma is that I don’t know which lab I should go to. I know most of you would probably suggest going to the one that “interests me more”, but they both seem so cool! In addition, I’d like to have a project to present at ISEF or for the Davidson Fellowship later in the fall. As of now, I can’t tell which lab could help me with my goals.
Which lab would you guys pick and why?