Danielle Bennett
Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Meyer Lab
You work in a laboratory. What are you currently researching?
I work in the Meyer lab group researching how to make hydrogen fuel from Shewanella oneidensis bacteria. The bacteria themselves come from lake Oneida here in New York. It’s an awesome setup – we use nanoparticles as a catalyst for the reaction and the bacteria provide electrons to produce hydrogen from water. My focus is more on materials science – I’m working on 3D printing setups and making conductive surfaces to make it more efficient.
What was it that originally sparked your interest in biology?
Hilariously I’ve only just come to biology in my post doctorate. My undergraduate degree was in Chemistry and Physics and my PhD was in nanotechnology. When I was looking for a postdoc, I was searching through recent renewable energy science news and I found Anne’s lab. It seems like all the cool projects with real world applications were in biology!
What advice would you give to prospective students looking to study in our department?
My advice is that willingness to learn (and fail at things) is probably the main skill you can develop. Failure is when you learn the most – and being an expert is something that will come with time. Also make sure you get some practical experience in the field you’re interested in – to make sure you like it!
What’s the most important thing that you’ve learned working here and/or studying biology?
I’ve learned a lot about how complex biology is. Every experiment you plan out is confounded by genetic variation and 1000 different variables. Also, sometimes the bacteria decide they’d just like to not work today. Dealing with the bacteria going on what is essentially a worker’s strike every so often has helped me attain a new level of Zen.
How do you unwind when you’re not in the lab?
I like to suffer in the outdoors – hiking or camping are some of my favourite things to do. I also enjoy reading, sewing and playing the piano. At the moment, I’m renovating a house, and smashing through walls with a hammer is surprisingly relaxing (especially after the bacteria have been acting up).