Meet Carly Graverson. Graverson is a third year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Chemistry at Rice University. Graverson is from Wisconsin and is a Rice Graduate Ambassador. Ambassadors are students who represent the university and help prospective students gain knowledge of student life as a graduate student at Rice.
Graverson chose Rice as a graduate school because of her enjoyment of conducting research and the campus community. Her research focuses on understanding the role of ligands in nanoparticle synthesis. She focuses on understanding how charged species pass through non-charged bilayers to grow gold nanoparticles. She investigates how changes in the molecular structure of the bilayer affect the speed and directionality of nanoparticle growth.
When she is not conducting research, she serves in various leadership roles within the Rice community. She is a part of Chemistry GSA, Grad STRIVE, GPS Fellowship Coach, and FACETS on campus.
Graverson advises prospective students to have backup plans just in case their first option doesn’t go as planned. Graverson also tells students to go into a department with the mindset of doing general research and not for a specific advisor.
“Make sure the department you are applying to has at least three groups you will be interested in working with,” said Graverson. “You can never be sure about what is going to happen.”
Graverson advises admitted students to talk to the professors in the department to understand if the mentorship style and work dynamics are a good fit for you.
“It feels like you are being interviewed, but you are actually interviewing them too,” said Graverson.
Outside of academics, Graverson enjoys coffee at Coffeehouse on Rice’s campus and eating at Aga’s, Lankford’s Grocery, and the Hobbit Cafe.
Graverson played division two basketball as a forward when they were in undergrad. Her favorite basketball team is the Milwaukee Bucks, and her middle name was inspired by an NFL player on the Greenbay Packers team in the ‘90s.
Graduate ambassadors can be contacted via email at gradambassadors@rice.edu. Carly Graverson can be contacted directly by email at cfg2@rice.edu.