By Tiffany Whitfield
Aleksandar "Alex" Goranov, a Doctoral Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry, will complete his journey in December 2020. Originally from Bulgaria, Goranov came to America to attend college. After an extensive search including 150 universities and with four Ph.D. offers on the table, Goranov committed to Old Dominion University. "I chose ODU because I found an advisor here whose research interests aligned perfectly with mine, and we both shared the same vision for science and what a successful Ph.D. experience is," said Goranov.
Goranov's advisor is Dr. Patrick G. Hatcher, Batten Endowed Chair of Physical Sciences and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "I don't know enough words in English (nor in Bulgarian, my native language) to describe my gratitude to him for his excellent guidance throughout my Ph.D. degree," said Goranov. "He allowed me to grow, to gain confidence, to make mistakes and learn from them, and to become a person and researcher both of us would be proud of."
Goranov has had the opportunity to delve deeper into his research interest which is studying the compounds produced by forest fires (also known as "black carbon"). The exact name of this scientific field is "wildfire biogeochemistry". "I am involved in numerous projects studying charcoal formation during forest fires, leaching of these substances into rivers after rain events, and their degradation and transformation in these aquatic systems," said Goranov. Two of his dissertation chapters are in fact on how photo-irradiation in sunlight alters these molecules and how they interact with microbes (bacteria, fungi, archaeans, etc.). "Given how much we do not know about these compounds I cannot even predict what I would hope to discover about them. I hope to create knowledge about how forest fires affect our environment," said Goranov. "One day we will be able to fully trace how a single fire event affects every single component of our environment, and what is exactly happening to every single molecule produced during the fire." At ODU and with the guidance of Dr. Hatcher, Goranov has gained valuable experience on state of the art equipment. "My advisor had access to about 15 different instruments, including the rare ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometer and two high-field NMR spectrometers employed mainly by his group," said Goranov. This was an incredible opportunity for Goranov and "it was exactly what I wanted."
The coronavirus pandemic impacted Goranov and his research, but he adapted. "In terms of my Ph.D., I was lucky to have been granted permission to work in-lab during the pandemic," said Goranov. His research group had to be creative and figure out new ways to continue doing research. Since he was one of the main people working in the lab, he became involved with some of his colleagues' projects, which allowed him to gain invaluable experience and knowledge about different avenues of research. "This careful planning and teamwork allowed us to complete our research group's studies and still contribute to science during this pandemic."
As an international student, the coronavirus pandemic had a more significant personal impact on him. "I am not a homebody and I love being outside with my friends," said Goranov. "I also love my family. All of them are still in Europe, and it has been very hard to not be able to see them." His number one hobby and way to relieve stress from work was travelling, "so the pandemic threw a major wrench in my personal plans by cancelling a few trips" "However, I am grateful and very fortunate that my relatives are healthy and safe, and I am confident we will get through this and will reunite soon," said Goranov.
Goranov is already making strides on a national level. He is a member of the Younger Chemists Committee at the American Chemical Society. "We create programming and discuss ways to positively support rising chemists in the development of their careers," said Goranov. Also, he has four publications in peer-reviewed journals and two are undergoing the process of peer-review as we speak. "I am also currently writing up six first-author publications which I will be submitting throughout next year, and I am co-authoring nine which will be published in due time," said Goranov.
Earlier this year he accepted a postdoctoral research position at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and will start in January of 2021. He will be working under the mentorship of Dr. Sasha Wagner, an expert in wildfire biogeochemistry. "This postdoctoral position will last for 2-3 years and my main goal is to gain more research experience and work with another professional from the field I want to establish myself in," said Goranov. After completion of this position he plans on pursuing a tenure-track position in a U.S. academic institution.
His advice to anyone considering a Ph.D. in Chemistry is to "spend the time to look into the faculty, send many emails, make phone calls and talk with potential advisors." For Goranov, "choosing the right Ph.D. program and the Ph.D. advisor is one of the most, if not the most, important decisions in one's career." "Now that I have finished my PhD, I can say that my experience at ODU was absolutely ideal and it matched 100% with my vision," said Goranov.