JOE DENG, Undergraduate
JS: Okay, let’s warm up with something easy. Coffee or a cold apple: which keeps you going?
JD: Cold apple because I love fruits. And coffee makes me too shaky to pipette.
JS: Good call. But did you know coffee is a fruit? Well, at one point it came from a plant, and I believe fruit was involved….so how do you like Vancouver? Where did you live before coming to Vancouver? Vancouver’s better, right? KIDDING! There are no wrong answers here! Please, go ahead.
JD: I’m originally from southern China and came here in 2005. I like my hometown, but it’s HOT there in the summer and there’s no snow in the winter. For someone who doesn’t mind a little rain, Vancouver’s weather is perfect for me. The wealth of nature here is a great added bonus–I enjoy climbing the Grouse Grind in the summer and hope to learn to ski.
JS: Standard interview question, sorry: What’s your worst feature?
JD: I’m too much of a science nerd.
JS: Tell me about your first experiment. Not from your first lab experience, school etc, but your REAL FIRST experiment. If you have amnesia or if your first official experiment in a lab is particularly memorable, that’ll work too.
When I was a kid my parents told me not to play on the computer for too long. My family lived in an apartment, and we had an electric meter to tell how much power we were using. So in the summer, when my parents were out to work and I was home alone I would turn off the air conditioning and turn on the computer four times as long (the AC’s power usage was four times that of the computer, if I remember correctly). I think my parents never found out that I was secretly playing so much on the computer. Does this qualify as an experiment?
JS: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? How about 50 years? 400 years? I’m talking at a basic level about where do you think you’ll be at but, also, what do you hope to have contributed to planet earth?
JD: Neuroscientist who will have found the cure to Alzheimer’s. Just kidding. I can definitely see myself working in research, medicine, teaching, or a mix of those things.
JS: What are you up to when you’re not in the lab? WHAT? YOU’RE NOT ALWAYS IN THE LAB? Just kidding, do tell!
JD: Typical undergrad life. Mostly schoolwork; I also tutor science/math for students from elementary to first year university.
JS: Standard interview question #2, really sorry: Tell me about a challenge you faced (and totally overcame).
JD: The main challenge for me has been coming to Canada. Here, I’ve learned a new language, made new friends, changed career path (As a kid, I was training to become a professional Go (Weiqi) player), and learned to embrace both my Chinese origin and Western culture.
JS: If you were to come into the lab one morning (it’s ok to leave the lab to sleep at night, sometimes) and find that someone had brought in your favourite edible treat to share with the lab, what would that favourite edible treat be?
JD: Dim sum.