<p>I don’t know if it’s appropriate to ask someone what they are currently doing research in. I only intend to get a Bachelor’s degree, because research isn’t a terribly interesting thing for me. Nonetheless, I see that for a lot of Master’s and Doctorate degrees, research in your particular field is necessary. It’s got me curious. Frankly, I just have a hard time trying to envision what there is left to research! I mean, there’s already so much we know, yet hundreds (maybe thousands) of colleges have students and staff doing research projects. But what is there left for us to actually do more of this researching on? Bar a few select fields (medicine, astronomy, and quantum physics come to mind), I just can’t grasp what there is still left to figure out. So, help broaden my horizons a little. What’s your topic of research, why does it interest you (if it interests you), and what practical benefits can come from it?</p>
<p>I work on a subfield of materials science called metallic glasses. It’s a relatively new type of material only discovered in the mid 1970s. The more modern form of bulk metallic glasses have only been around since the early 1990s, and they were first discovered by my advisor. I look at how to make these new materials stronger, tougher, more corrosion/wear/fatigue/etc resistant. I’ve also done some stuff dealing with the science of the material itself and why it is the way it is.</p>
<p>One of the biggest problems with education is that you’re often taught The Way Things Are. The problem is, there’s generally a lot of gaps inside of those Facts you’re taught, and you don’t really get to start learning about them until you get involved in a lab doing research.</p>
<p>The most humbling to me thing about getting a PhD is the realization of how little we understand.</p>
<p>Fwiw, not every master’s degree is research-focused. I’m pursuing my MPH and that is more about career development than research. Just an FYI :)</p>