The "Black Sheep Effect"

Rap, barn animals, and academia were all ingeniously woven together in a talk by Dr. Suveen Mathaudhu on Wednesday. If you don't belong to a demographic that fits what others think a materials scientist should look like, you may feel like a "black sheep". Dr. Mathaudhu acknowledged that the pathways for underrepresented minorities may look quite different, but he contended that there are choices that can be made to overcome this effect.  Like a rap artist, learn how to sample from other artists (scientists) to create a mosaic. Diversity your community; look for mentors from academia, national labs, or industry. I in particular resonated with the message to own your differences. Thank you to Dr. Mathaudhu for the inspirational talk and the awesome music recommendations.