Hello everyone,

It’s been approximately four months since the last update in Chapter 5. During this time, my research activities, as discussed previously, continued unabated. However, the past few months have also marked significant milestones in my engineering and battery research journey.

Major Milestones

1. Writing and Presenting a Paper on Li-ion Battery Critical Raw Materials

As part of the Battery Technologies course, I collaborated with four classmates to write a paper titled “Critical Raw Materials in Li-ion Batteries.” This endeavor not only honed my skills in conducting research and writing academic papers but also deepened my understanding of one of the most critical issues in battery technology— the raw materials used in Li-ion batteries. Presenting this paper was both thrilling and invaluable to my learning experience. (For more details on the paper and presentation, you can access my blog post through the link below.)

2. Leading a Team for the Pineapple Juice Transportation System Project

The second milestone was my role as a team leader in the Mass Transfer course, where I managed a group of ten students for our Engineering Economy term project, “Pineapple Juice Transportation System.” This project involved designing an entire system from scratch, focusing on both economic and chemical processes. Serving as a team leader in this project provided me with substantial leadership experience, details of which can be found in my blog post.

Reflections on the Spring Semester

The spring semester, which was the second half of my sophomore year, was a period of significant personal and academic growth compared to the fall semester. Several factors contributed to this positive experience:

• Rest and Family Time: Taking a good break and spending time with my family between semesters.
• Engaged Professors: The special attention and care from our professors.
• Well-structured Course Schedule: A relatively well-prepared course timetable.

Among the courses I took, Physical Chemistry, Mass Transfer, Engineering Economy, and the Battery Technologies elective were particularly impactful. Despite the enjoyable and productive semester, the downside was that I couldn’t reflect my understanding and hard work in my grades due to a hectic social life and some unfortunate events during the final exams. This discrepancy between understanding the material and achieving high grades has been a persistent issue.

Challenges in Balancing Academics and Personal Development

In our university, excelling in courses requires constant study and completion of assignments to meet the curriculum and professors’ expectations. While this rigor undoubtedly enhances one’s knowledge, it seems less relevant in the increasingly global and competitive engineering field. Considering the tight schedules, where students rarely finish classes before 5 PM, finding time for self-improvement is challenging, especially with regular homework and quizzes. Balancing academic responsibilities and personal growth to become a well-rounded engineer is difficult. Although some manage it, my rich and busy social life makes it tough to excel in both areas. Hence, I prioritize my development in battery technology, spending more time in the lab while keeping up with my classes but not overburdening myself with every single task.

With these thoughts, I would like to conclude by noting that I have completed the first three years of my Chemical Engineering undergraduate studies, including the preparatory year. In the next chapter, I will discuss my acceptance into the TÜBİTAK STAR research grant and my subsequent project work, marking the beginning of my professional research experience.

See you in the next chapter…