Erin Creel: Science in Pink!
We spotlight Erin Creel, a 5th year Ph.D. graduate student in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. As CRS Campus Coordinator, steering committee member, and BASIS Team Lead, Erin takes on many roles to support science outreach at CRS. You’ll be inspired by Erin’s passions to help mitigate the effects of climate change, teach students about renewable energy, and wear the color pink!
July 2018
We spotlight Erin Creel, a 5th year Ph.D. graduate student in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. As CRS Campus Coordinator, steering committee member, and BASIS Team Lead, Erin takes on many roles to support science outreach at CRS. You’ll be inspired by Erin’s passions to help mitigate the effects of climate change, teach students about renewable energy, and wear the color pink!
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got connected to CRS.
I am an Alabama native working on my Ph.D. in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. I started volunteering with CRS in the BASIS program five years ago and am now on the Steering Committee and serving as the Campus Coordinator. I am excited to unite my passions for fighting climate change and getting the public excited about science using my third-grade lesson “Renewable Energy and Climate Change.” In this lesson, students figure out how to collect energy from the wind, sun, and water.
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How did you wind up as a scientist?
I always enjoyed science classes and playing in the creeks, trees, and dirt when I was little, but I didn’t know that being a scientist was a career path. Later, I found out that there were national laboratories, universities, and companies that pay people to do science! I also learned that scientists not only do fun and exciting experiments but also that they can help solve problems facing the world. Seeing the effects of climate change firsthand—hotter summers, fewer insects and toads, stronger storms, and more kids with asthma—I became determined to become a scientist to help solve technical challenges in carbon-free energy sources.
Who is someone who inspires you and why?
I’m inspired by all the people who have fought or are still fighting for justice. One such person is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She has sparked numerous improvements in gender equality while simultaneously maintaining a healthy family life, keeping physically fit, and experiencing all the adventures life has to offer well into her 80’s. I admire her for her tenacity, intellect, and love of life.
We’ve noticed that you always wear the color pink. Can you tell us how that came to be?
Pink has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember. To me, bright pink is the most beautiful and exciting color in the universe. Even my couch and kitchen appliances are pink! Wearing pink makes me happy but has perks for my friends as well—apparently, I’m easy to spot in a crowd!
Describe a unique experience you’ve had in your career.
One of the most formative aspects of graduate school for me has been the opportunity to work at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a collaborative institute with researchers from a variety of disciplines and countries around the world. I have been able to solve a lot of problems that I was struggling with because I had the insight of a physicist or engineer who approached the problem from a different angle.
Describe an interesting discovery or something you learned in your work as a scientist?
In my Ph.D. research, I discovered that everything is always more complicated than you expect. Many times, the variables that I think are constant in my experiments turn out to be changing. For example, the atoms in a solid catalyst surface are constantly rearranging themselves while there is a reaction happening on the surface. I find this lesson to be very relevant outside the lab as well. People and life often don’t act like you expect them to, and the simple “common sense” models don’t work very well.
What is something that you’ve learned in your time volunteering with BASIS?
My experience with BASIS has taught me that people learn best and retain more when they are actively engaging in the lesson. The third graders in my lessons are more excited and can answer more questions about the material when the lesson is related to something that they have experienced and when they have the chance to explore concepts and discover solutions on their own. This has also taught me a lot about my research and how to explain my work to others.
Describe a goal you have and why it’s important to you.
My goal is that a scientific advancement that I have contributed to makes the world a better place. While the exploration and discovery in scientific research is exciting and interesting to me, helping people is where I find the most fulfillment. I have been able to contribute to a variety of volunteer efforts in the past, but those have always been in my spare time. My scientific contributions so far have been confined to the academic community. It would be incredible for my work to also help the general public.