Communication

A strong applicant has extensive experience with presentations, invited talks, and teaching appointments.

Teaching and presentation awards highlight an applicant’s communication skills.

Letters of recommendation should emphasize – in addition to research output – presentations, invited talks, teaching appointments, and other mentorship
activities.

Submitted abstracts, which should reflect current research endeavors, should be well-written.

The statement of interest should clearly express why the applicant is a good fit for DYSS. It should also highlight the applicant’s accomplishments and outline future career aspirations.

Scholarship

A strong applicant will have published well-cited papers across a variety of high-impact journals.

Letters of recommendation should highlight research skills as well as the applicant’s ability to generate novel ideas and research directions.

The submitted abstract should clearly communicate the importance of the applicant’s research, frame it within the landscape of the field, and highlight its overall impact.

The applicant’s research should be relevant to chemical and molecular engineering and sciences.

The statement of interest should communicate what skills and other takeaways the applicant hopes to gain from DYSS.

Achievement

A strong applicant will have garnered awards for presentation, teaching, entrepreneurship, and outreach.

A strong applicant has experience in taking on leadership roles, such as student organizations, entrepreneurial activities, outreach work, policy, etc.

The letter of recommendation should praise the applicant's work ethic, leadership abilities, and extracurricular activites.

The abstract should present clear and exciting results, with data and figures to back up claims.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

A strong applicant will have demonstrated a commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout their academic journey.

The diversity statement should highlight key DEI initiatives undertaken by the applicant.

The diversity statement should also discuss how the applicant aims to uphold DEI principles in their future career plans.

All graduate students participating on the DYSS Review Panel go through implicit bias training before evaluating any applications