My Journey as a Computational Materials Scientist

 From Not Knowing Linux to Loving What I Do

When I finished my master’s degree, I did not have a clear plan. I spent almost six months at home waiting for a PhD call. Those months were uncertain and, honestly, frustrating. I wanted to do research, but I did not know when or where that journey would begin.

Then one day, I received a call from my future PhD supervisor. He invited me to join his group, and I said yes almost immediately. During the interview, I mentioned that I wanted to join an experimental condensed matter physics group because that's where I had done my master’s project. But when he asked whether I was open to computational condensed matter physics, I had no idea what that meant.

Still, I said yes. My thinking was simple: I wanted to work in condensed matter physics, and I was willing to learn whatever came next.

On my first day, my supervisor asked me, “Do you know Linux?”

I said no.

He replied, “I don’t know how you are going to do a PhD in computational condensed matter.”

At that moment, I had no idea what Linux was or why it mattered so much. I had never used a terminal, written a shell command, or worked on a research computing cluster. I remember feeling nervous, but I also remember telling myself that not knowing something today does not mean I cannot learn it tomorrow.

The first workshop I attended was on Quantum ESPRESSO, a computational physics code. I watched other participants type quickly, open terminals, move files, and run commands as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I could not understand any of it. I felt completely lost.

Now, when I remember those days, I laugh. They were simply using commands like cp, mv, mkdir, rm, and vi. Back then, those few letters on a black screen felt like a secret language. Today, they are part of my everyday work.

When I started my PhD, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I was new to research, Linux, and computational physics. For the first time in my life, I also had free and unlimited internet. Like many students, I started downloading movies. I did not suddenly become a focused researcher on day one. I learned slowly, made mistakes, felt confused, and sometimes wondered whether I had made the right choice.

But I kept going.

Learning One Step at a Time

I did not transform into a computational physicist in a week or a month. I learned Linux slowly. I learned how to run simulations, read errors, fix mistakes, and ask questions without feeling embarrassed. I learned that everyone starts somewhere, and that the people who seem confident today were once beginners too.

There were many moments when I felt behind. I saw others coding comfortably, understanding papers quickly, or speaking about simulations with ease. I wondered whether I belonged. But over time, I realized something important: you do not need to know everything on day one. You only need to be willing to learn the next thing.

Finding My Own Path

As my PhD progressed, I became interested in materials and the physics behind them. I started enjoying the process of asking why something happens, not just getting a result. Why does a material behave in a certain way? How do atoms, electrons, and spins influence its properties? Can simulations help us understand materials before we make them in a lab?

Later, during my time at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I worked on magnetic materials and the connection between spins and lattice vibrations. I learned that materials are not made of separate, independent parts. Spins, phonons, electrons, and heat often influence one another in surprising ways. That realization made research even more exciting for me.

Where I Am Now

Today, I am a computational condensed matter physicist and Research Engineer II at Georgia Tech, working with Prof. Satish Kumar on nanoscale thermal transport. I study how heat, charge, and spin move through materials, from atoms to devices.

If someone had told me during those six months at home, or on my first day of PhD when I said I did not know Linux, that this would be my path, I would not have believed them.

If I Can, You Can Too

If you are a master’s student waiting for an opportunity, feeling unsure about your future, or comparing yourself with people who seem far ahead, please remember this: nobody starts with all the answers.

I did not know Linux. I did not know computational physics. I did not even know what my PhD would look like. I made mistakes, felt lost, and learned slowly. But I stayed curious, kept learning, and gave myself time to grow.

Your background does not decide your future. Your willingness to learn does.

If I could go from not knowing what a terminal was to building simulations and doing research I genuinely enjoy, then you can find your path, too. Start where you are. Learn one thing at a time. Say yes to opportunities, even when they feel unfamiliar.

Sometimes, the opportunity that scares you a little is the one that changes everything.