Zachary Robbins, B.S. 2008

ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, US EPA – Durham, NC

2008 Major: Chemistry

How has being a Chemistry graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?

"The breadth of courses and the ability to take graduate courses in my concentration gave me a leg up in graduate school in both course work and laboratory research. My undergraduate internship was pivotal in helping me understand the basic duties of a researcher and some of the courses and labs helped me figure out what areas of study I wanted to avoid."

What advice would you give students in Duke's Chemistry programs? 

"Understanding basic chemistry principles and the type of chemistry you concentrate in is essential, but I suggest taking as many courses in statistics and statistical/modeling programming languages as you can. It will make you more adaptable and valuable in the current job landscape, and will prevent a lot of stress in graduate school."

Zachary Robbins