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Q: You've just joined our office as a Faculty Research Fellow. What drew you to the role, and what do you hope to bring to it?
A: A lot of people supported me as I was getting my research off the ground, and my mentors made the biggest difference in how my career took shape. I want to pay that forward. I'm hoping to be a steady, approachable resource for colleagues and to help connect them with the kind of mentorship and support that helped me find my footing.
Q: From your own experience landing grants, what's the one thing you wish someone had told you earlier?
A: Get out and meet people across campus sooner. We have so much strong research happening across campus, and a lot of untapped potential for researchers to collaborate.
I started at GA Southern during COVID, so it took me a while to really connect with faculty in other colleges. Once I did, it accelerated my own work in a big way. The collaborations are out there, so don't wait to go find them.
Q: Your work with Navajo potters is well known, and we know pottery is a personal passion of yours. How does your artistic side influence how you approach research and grant writing?
A: It's the same thing I tell my fluid mechanics students. I start by drawing out the problem. For research, it’s usually a clear overview figure. Sketching it forces me to condense everything and focus on what I’m actually trying to accomplish, whether that’s an experiment or a grant proposal.
I think that art and research actually run parallel. Each starts messy and unformed, and the work is finding the shape underneath.
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