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After growing up in India and completing his PhD in Greece, Mohan Das’ first experience in the United States was working at Case Western Reserve University as a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Here, he works on flow behavior of slurry electrodes of flow batteries used in renewable energy storage.
Das was first exposed to polymer research in the tire industry after completing his bachelor’s degree, which motivated him to pursue higher studies with a focus on materials research. He received guidance from close friends, colleagues and research advisors, which helped him advance his career in polymers and colloids research.
His goal is to contribute his knowledge and skills to advance technological progress in the polymer and colloids related industries, and he’s well on his way toward achieving that: Das’ work was recently published on the cover of Langmuir.
Das served as the CWRU Postdoctoral Association’s secretary during the 2022–23 academic year, a position in which he was responsible for gathering committee reports, writing up the meeting minutes, tracking attendance and sending monthly invitations.
Das shared more about his experience as a postdoc with The Daily.
Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
1. How do you think the postdoctoral experience at CWRU is helping you prepare and advance toward your goals?
Being the senior-most researcher in the group, getting the opportunity to mentor students and having served in a senior role within the Postdoctoral Association gives me the confidence to aim for senior researcher as well as team leader roles within the industrial research environment.
2. What’s your best piece of advice on how postdocs can make the most of their postdoc career and prepare for their future goals?
Awareness is the key while preparing for any career role. Just like any other job, it’s important to lay the groundwork through networking and getting to know what experience/skill set is required for a specific job role, whether in academia or the industry.
Moreover, it’s important to make use of different avenues for professional growth provided within a university environment. Networking with fellow postdocs is also an important part of advancing professionally.