Question Everything and Regret Nothing: A Story About a Becoming a Scientist

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is a long-standing challenge in metallurgy due to unpredictable failures observed in numerous metallic systems exposed to hydrogen containing environments. But before my interest in hydrogen, I worked on refueling nuclear submarines. This is a talk about what it has looked like for me to evolve into a scientist and what it means to ask hard questions. I will give examples of failures and successes I have had along the way in hopes of showing that behind every CV is a story of ups and downs that scientists rarely ever talk about in public. I hope to show that anyone interested in questioning everything, regardless of past choices, can learn to be a scientist.