The NUS Institute of Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM) Material Sciences programme was an insightful experience which entailed doing a small-scale research project under the supervision of PhD students / research fellows and presenting on a topic related to material sciences. The I-FIM is led by Sir Professor Konstantin Novoselov who collaborated with the Institute to provide this opportunity. For me, the desire to understand how professional scientists approach their work and the opportunity of researching in a professional environment was attractive and compelled me to apply for the programme. 

We worked in pairs; my partner and I engaged in a project to synthesise and measure the photothermal response of MXene-covered polymer spheres, with my partner being focused on the photothermal response and me focusing on the synthesis portion. MXene is a class of 2D materials which consists of a transition metal and carbon that have excellent photothermal responses and have a wide range of applications, ranging from energy storage to heating. Throughout the week, we focused on both synthesising the spheres through flow-focusing microfluidics and measuring the photothermal response using infrared cameras. To process and analyse our data, I used specialised software in order to analyse sphere sizes, while my partner plotted and analysed heating curves to measure the photothermal response. We ended up presenting results separately in front of our supervisors and some senior researchers at NUS. 

Personally, I think this experience was invaluable for my future career, as it allowed me to gain experience with working in a laboratory environment and preparing presentations. Additionally, it also helped improve my problem-solving skills and introduced me to new aspects of chemistry and physics, broadening my horizon. 

We faced challenges such as ensuring that the flow-focusing microfluidics channels were clean and preparing MXene pellets, but we learnt to overcome them and become resilient, as well as noting down these challenges in our writeup. 

Personally, one memorable moment for me was during the synthesis of MXene spheres, as the usage of extremely accurate and precise equipment, such as flow-focusing microfluidics, fascinated me and led me to think about how humanity was able to create these precise tools. Another memorable moment was when I got my pencil case signed by Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novoselov, as it inspired me to continue furthering my knowledge in the sciences.