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Dr. Carlos Portela is the Brit and Alex d’Arbeloff Career Development Professor in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He received his bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering and physics from the University of Southern California, his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Carlos remained at Caltech to conduct postdoctoral research before joining the faculty at MIT. He was the recipient of an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, and he has also been named among MIT Tech Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35. In this interview, he shares more about his life and research.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:10)
When he’s not working, Carlos likes to stay active by running, playing golf, and playing a variety of team sports. He also enjoys exploring new restaurants in Boston, particularly places that serve Asian-Spanish fusion food.
The Scientific Side (3:10)
Carlos’s research involves designing, making, and testing new types of materials that have unconventional properties. To do this, they rearrange the components of existing materials in three dimensions at the micro or nano scale to create new architected materials. For example, the new materials may absorb a lot of energy upon impact, or be extremely lightweight, but also very stiff.
A Dose of Motivation (4:47)
“It doesn’t get easier, you just get better.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (7:58)
A fascination with airplanes starting around the age of about three years old marked the beginning of Carlos’s interests in science and engineering. When he discovered the field of aerospace engineering and realized that he could make a career studying and designing aircraft, he was convinced that this would be a perfect fit. During college, Carlos double-majored in aerospace engineering and physics. Relatively late in his undergraduate studies, Carlos got involved in research in a lab that studied nanomechanics, the mechanical properties of materials with nanoscale features. His initial plan after graduation was to get a job at an aerospace company, but a conversation with his advisor completely changed his career trajectory. Carlos’s mentor mentioned that he would do well in graduate school, and Carlos decided to apply. He was excited to be admitted to Caltech, and he learned a lot working with two excellent mentors there. It wasn’t until Carlos was working on writing and preparing the presentation for his thesis defense that he realized that he really enjoyed the process of academic research, and he decided to apply for academic research positions.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (16:34)
In his research on architected materials, Carlos works with microscopic samples. The features of these samples are too small to see with your eyes, and even a scanning electron microscope only provides superficial images of the surface of these materials. During his PhD, Carlos was working on a project examining the dynamic response of architected materials. In his experiment, he used accelerated micro-particles to provide information about the characteristics of the architected materials during impact. He gathered a lot of data using this method, and then later proceeded to a more in-depth analysis that involved cutting the materials in half using a special tool. Doing these cuts was time- and labor-intensive. As he looked at the data, Carlos realized that many of his samples were actually defective, so all of the tests that they had done over the past year produced data that they ultimately couldn’t use. This was a major blow to his self-esteem, and it set him back in his PhD timeline. However, Carlos persevered. He started again from scratch on the data collection and was successful in the next round of experiments.
A Shining Success! (20:23)
A few months ago, Carlos published a paper on a new technique developed in his lab to do high throughput characterization of materials. This area of work was completely different from the kinds of research he had been doing thus far in his career. By bringing in expertise from the laser optics field, they were able to develop a method that does not damage the materials being tested, but instead gathers data based on the nanoscale vibrations of the materials when excited by a laser. In addition to being non-destructive, the process is very fast and has potential applications for identifying and quantifying defects in the microstructure of materials that are being manufactured at scale.
Book Recommendations (24:17)
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Most Treasured Travel (25:13)
Carlos had an opportunity to spend a summer in Switzerland doing research. This trip was the first time he had been to Switzerland, and it was wonderful to explore the country and the city of Zurich where he stayed. While he was there, Carlos was able to participate in the annual tradition each summer where people are allowed to swim across Lake Zurich, and this was a memorable and unique experience. Hiking and enjoying the scenery of the Swiss Alps were also fantastic, and it was fun to be immersed in European culture, both scientifically and in daily life.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (27:32)
At Caltech, there was a tradition of cake baking for the birthdays of everyone in the research group. Whoever was making a cake always tried to incorporate the personality of the recipient, and this resulted in some innovative creations. They had cakes made entirely of fruit, high protein cakes, and other fun confections. In his own lab, Carlos and his lab members do secret Santa gift exchanges, and these have been a great way to celebrate everyone in the lab.
Advice For Us All (31:09)
It can be difficult to figure out how to best devote your efforts. Don’t try to do everything. It’s okay to say “no” sometimes. Also, you don’t have to do everything perfectly all of the time. There are a lot of situations where doing a good job is good enough, and then you can focus your extra time and effort on other important endeavors. For parents, teachers, and younger listeners, it is never too early for people to get involved in research and science. Engaging in science gives you a unique perspective, even if you decide not to pursue a scientific career. Another important lesson is that we are always the harshest critics of our work. Science is a learning process, and the first products you create in science aren’t going to be perfect. Learn along the way, and work towards improving with every iteration. Be nice to yourself, and embrace opportunities to learn and improve.
Guest Bio
Carlos’ research lies at the intersection of solid mechanics, materials science, and nano/microfabrication. Besides understanding the mechanical response of new advanced materials such as mechanical metamaterials, his research focuses on enabling the widespread application of these materials beyond laboratory settings. Specifically, he is passionate about enabling scalable fabrication of advanced nanomaterials without the need for costly research equipment, and also uncovering the response of these materials under real-world conditions (such as dynamic impact). Beyond his scientific interests, Carlos enjoys running, cooking, and playing sports such as golf and squash.