<p>Currently, I'm a freshman looking for opportunities for undergraduates to work in
professors' labs. I'm interested in Chemistry and MBB (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry).</p>
<p>I chose about three professors whose work I'm interested in, but I'm hesitant to ask to meet with them to talk about possibly working in their lab.
The main reason is because I'm worried about how I should respond if I'm asked about things like my motivation or reason for being interested in their work and in working with them.</p>
<p>Even after reading about profs' work on their webpages, I have no idea what it's about, probably because I'm only a freshman now and lack necessary background knowledge on the subject matters. So if, during my visit, I'm asked of my opinion on their work and why I'm interested in it, then I have nothing to say. And this will be really embarrassing.</p>
<p>Even so, will they accept my request?</p>
<p>Also, if they agreed to work with you, will they be willing to train you to do real research so that you're not just doing grunt work?</p>
<p>I emailed a variety of profs, and when I met with them, they really just talked about their research. They simply asked me what I was interested in, and I honestly told them that I had no experience and wanted to start so that I could find out if I like research and would like to later pursue it. One of them offered me a choice of 3 independent projects right from the start, but the one I will be working with wants me to learn the simple protocols first before he gives me my own project.</p>
<p>You might not understand what they do specifically but you do understand what the field is about and you want to gain practical lab experience, find out more about the field, and help them at the same time. They understand you're a freshman and don't know anything. (I was there once too, come to think of it I still don't know anything...)</p>
<p>I think that it's worthwhile to try to get some sort of basic understanding of the professors' research interests. When I first met with my research professor, he straight-up asked me whether I wanted to work in water waves in general, Riemann surfaces, or stability theory. I didn't really have a good answer; he had expected that I would, and I would up feeling dumb. It could have been avoided, though it wasn't much of a speed bump.</p>