<p>So, I am a rising junior and this summer, due to the unavailability of research projects in Mechanical Engineering department, I worked on a research project in the Biochem department of my college. As a MechEng. I didn't have any background of biology and a very limited background of chemistry. However, I taught myself biology and biochemistry by reading books and scientific papers while my summer program (2013) was still going on. While I worked very hard during the summer research, I understand that this is nowhere close to my actual major. In fact, I plan on going to graduate school for aerospace engineering for aerodynamics and biochem wouldn't be helpful at all. Does this mean my this summer of college is pretty much wasted? Is it even worth mentioning in my SOP that I worked on a research project over the summer? While I did learn a lot about biochem itself, and lab norms, finding, reading and using scientific papers relevant to my experiment, I am not sure if this summer research would be worth mentioning, especially when I am applying to top tier colleges.
Also, I have a slight chance of getting published as 3rd or 4th author. In case I do get published, would it be worth mentioning that I got published, even though it was nowhere close to what I want to do in grad school? And if I don't get published, would it still be worth mentioning as a research experience?
Any insights on above questions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>edit to say this is one of the oddest questions I have seen here…</p>
<p>Aero space is a multidisciplinary field. A lot of the work that is done in that area is about survival of humans in space.</p>
<p>A little biochem might stand out or else you will just be another engineer.</p>
<p>@BrownParent, I know. I’m in a very *<strong><em>ty situation, but I want to know if it’s actually *</em></strong>ty or just fine.</p>
<p>Wasted? Doubt it.
FYI, Aero is so broad that it includes many concepts from all natural sciences.
Not too familiar with biochem, but biology and chemistry are definitely relevant in Aero.
e.g. biological-inspired propulsion is a heavily studied area in aero.</p>
<p>More than 150 views, only 2 replies. Where are all the people with insights in Grad school admission? Please guys, need some help here!</p>
<p>Research outside of your major is always better than no research at all.</p>
<p>Always include publications, even if they are outside of your field.</p>
<p>I’m sorry. I just wondered why in the world you would leave off research or publications off your application. Showing that you are capable and interested in research is very important, especially if you are seeking a PhD.</p>
<p>If you don’t get answers then it is safe to assume that the people who are reading are learning too, or don’t have specific answers you seek. This forum is no where near as well established or active as the undergrad sections No one represents that the are experts here. You might get good answers, but you may have to wait a while.</p>
<p>No, your summer is not wasted, and no, you should not leave your experience off your application.</p>
<p>ANY research is better than none. While research in your broad field is better, working in any research lab still teaches you the essential research basics. You learn how to think like a researcher; you learn your way around a lab; you learn the basics. Some skills like literature reviews and certain lab skills are the same in every field. And who knows, maybe someday in grad school you will work on an engineering project that calls on the knowledge you drew from that summer. (As a cross-example, I never anticipated that the random linear algebra class from freshman year and a basic knowledge of MATLAB would serve me in psychology, but it’s actually really important to the quantitative study of our field, and that’s what I’ve been involved in recently. You NEVER know where things you learned may be useful or helpful.)</p>
<p>So put it on your CV, and be prepared to discuss (in your statement of purpose and/or in an interview) how your biomedical research connects to the mechanical engineering research you want to do. And before you argue that it doesn’t, be creative. Virtually all research can connect to all others in certain ways; even someone who has heretofore only done econ research, for example, can talk about how their first experience fostered a passion in them for the scientific method, for answering their own questions, and taught them how to work with professors and use systematic processes to analyze information. You can always take something away and apply it somewhere else, so think about how that happened for you here and use it.</p>
<p>@juillet, thanks your your response. That was indeed a very motivating post.</p>
<p>any more insights on this topic? any graduate MechEs/AerospaceEs out there?</p>
<p>bump!
10char</p>
<p>bump!
10char</p>
<p>Isn’t your summer over?</p>
<p>@texaspg</p>
<p>yes, my summer’s over now but I’d still like to hear what people have to say on this matter.</p>
<p>Did you work in the lab? If you did, do you want people to say that was the wrong thing? What would they know?</p>
<p>@texaspg,</p>
<p>i see what you mean but I just wanted to know if the lab was not at all related to my graduate school (aerodynamics vs. biochem), would the grad application viewers view it neutrally if not positively or against me? Would they not care about the research experience at all? Would it weigh less against another student with a research experience in aerospace related lab?</p>
<p>Grad schools are looking for research potential. If you went to the effort to self-teach some bio/chem to do this research and succeed at it, I would think that could be a huge plus on your application. That’s the way I think it would make sense to frame it: faced with a new and challenging research situation, you took initiative and rose to the challenge.
Yes, it might look better if your experience was in aerospace research, but graduate schools also realize that not everyone has the same opportunities in their undergraduate institutions. You took advantage of what was available. To show them that you are capable on the aerospace side, taking relevant upper level classes and doing well would benefit you.</p>
<p>Research experience is research experience. Even if you’d worked in a MechE lab, there’s no guarantee it would be related to the lab you find yourself in for a PhD. You were in a hard science, that’s enough. The point of the research experience isn’t so that you’re an expert in the field before you start (because there’s no way undergrad research experience will get you close to that), but rather to prove that you know what you’re getting into and you have the capacity to be good at it.</p>