Since kindergarten, I have always dreamt of being a scientist. All of us in our class recited in front of the crowd during our graduation about our dream job that “When I grow up, I want to be…” and my response was “a scientist.” What I envisioned a scientist would do back then was exploring the bounds of our knowledge by doing lab experiments, and right now in Tamkang University (TKU), it seems to me that my dream had finally come true.

Back in Manila, Philippines, my experience in the laboratory is generally just coursework. Beyond that, as an aspiring physicist, we do not have the resources to do hands-on research for advanced materials. However, I am fortunate to have mentors that provided me with an opportunity to learn beyond my university and trusted my capabilities to explore a distant land, and a distant field of science from my usual instrumentation and radiation detection research. In December 2024, I was given the opportunity to be in Taiwan as a Foreign Exchange Student in TKU Department of Physics.
When I got here, it was literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air from my usual routine. The people were very nice and helpful to me especially despite the difficulty in communication which often happens because I have difficulty understanding Mandarin.
I have also met amazing people randomly on the bus, in the library, and during school activities, which bloomed into friendships during my stay in TKU. Taiwan also greeted me with blooming cherry blossoms and beautiful scenery when I got here.

In my first week in the Energy Materials Laboratory (EML), it was very exciting to see so many things to do. I also have a compatriot from the Philippines in the laboratory who guided me to adjust in the environment, oriented me with personal safety in the laboratory, and the proper handling of testing equipment, chemicals and so on. Moreover, our Taiwanese colleagues were also very helpful in assisting me with the process of synthesizing the samples I will need to test. Afterwards, I was given my assignment by my internship adviser, Prof. Cheng-Hao Chuang.

Despite having limited laboratory experience prior to my journey here, the processes I had to do in the lab were both new, but also familiar to me. The equipment was different, but the process in assembling it was similar. Such as tightening the screws in the Mass Spectrometer test cell, I had to do it just as I would tighten the screws to mount my CPU chip in the motherboard. As well as the process in setting up the Hiden Analytical HPR-40 mass spectrometer, it was fairly similar to my experience in setting up the CTS-5010 IC Tester back in the Philippines – just a bunch of buttons pressed in the correct sequence. I even joked to my colleague that the knowledge I got from my education and hobbies aligned with the skills I needed in the lab that “maybe I was made for this.”
Then, I went on testing my samples. It was scary at first to handle million-dollar equipment which I am unfamiliar with. Especially when I was left to do it on my own. Everyone trusted me in handling this, except myself and I was scared. But my mentor, Prof. Jaki Gabayno once told me, “if you’re scared to do it, then do it [even if you’re] scared.” And indeed, I did my experiments even if I was afraid of damaging this equipment. Within weeks, I measured my samples day and night, even going home as late as 2AM to finish sampling and wrapping up. But don’t get me wrong, I loved doing what I have done as I have quenched my thirst for
knowledge as an aspiring scientist.
My journey wasn’t limited to the TKU laboratory. I was also given the opportunity to join my colleagues in the EML to go to the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Hsinchu during the beam time of the Taiwan Photon Source. It was a three-day experiment which ran for 24 hours a day, and it enlightened me about the scale of how big science can be. It was not only a giant physics laboratory but rather a multidisciplinary facility being used by engineers, biologists, pharmaceutical scientists, material scientists and many more. I was also familiarized with the way experiments were conducted in the synchrotron, and
how they are analyzed both qualitatively through observation, and computationally.

Throughout my stay, I was able to accomplish the synthesis of various graphene-like membranes and test them in membrane inlet mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy techniques. From these samples, we have characterized and compared their performances from each other which can be used to tune these materials for certain applications to solve problems which our modern world is facing right now. These applications are aimed at helping the accomplishment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Clean (6) Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable & Clean Energy, (11) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. This is because of the characteristics of the material being useful in water purification, catalyst for hydrogen production, and electronic sensors.
With all this, I felt a sense of fulfillment as an aspiring scientist not only in learning all these technologies and techniques, but also in contributing to a better understanding of these useful materials that can improve our future. Also, I am greatly thankful for everyone who supported me in this opportunity especially Tamkang University and Mapúa University for establishing a partnership which resulted to this wonderful journey. I am hoping that many more will get to experience what I had experienced in TKU, which is why I am calling for everyone with the right mindset to join TKU Department of Physics in exploring the boundaries of science and gain experience to become a scientist.