(courtesy of Maggie Fox)

Dr. Maggie Fox is currently a Scientific Editor at Joule (Cell Press), handling electrochemical energy storage submissions. Previously, she was an Associate Editor at Nature Communications on the Energy Materials team. Dr. Fox obtained her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA in 2023, researching the optimization and manufacturability of 3D solid-state Li-ion batteries in the Dunn Lab. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Binghamton University in 2018.

In an interview with with Prof. Daniel Schwalbe-Koda in December, 2024, Dr. Maggie Fox shared some of her perspectives on how her experiences prior and during her Ph.D. at UCLA shaped her career decisions and paths, and what were the main lessons she learned throughout this process.

Daniel: Maggie, thank you very much for this time to talk with me. I first wanted to ask you, how did you come here to UCLA? How was your path before that? And can you tell us a bit more about the work you have done here during your PhD?

Maggie: I came to UCLA in 2018, which was six years ago. Before that, I was at SUNY Binghamton in upstate New York, where I researched supercapacitors in their chemistry department. I spent all four years of my undergraduate there, engaging in research, including several REU experiences and a study abroad. Part of their undergraduate program is to have students do research for a certain duration, and they must complete an undergraduate thesis. This thesis is sort of a preliminary grad school experience, but not as intense. At the time I was applying for grad schools, I was already aware of my options. I had developed an interest in battery research and applied to various programs in California (and also other states). One of my committee members advised me that I might enjoy working with his colleague, Bruce Dunn, at UCLA. His recommendation came after understanding my learning preferences and career aspirations. During the ACS Spring Meeting in 2018, I arranged a visit to UCLA, which coincided with their campus visits week. Despite it being finals week, I managed to meet Dr. Dunn and several other professors. I was impressed by Dr. Dunn’s lab atmosphere and the positive feedback from his graduate students. Not one of them had a bad thing to say, but rather how he was an advocate for their interests, both in and out of the lab, and the ownership and independence that they let them have over their work, which was something I was looking for. I accepted his offer immediately and moved to Los Angeles right after my graduation.

Transitioning from chemistry to materials engineering was a bit challenging. Dr. Dunn recommended I attend some undergraduate material science courses, which proved invaluable for my preliminary exams. My research at UCLA involved sol-gel processes for energy materials, specifically working on ARPA-E’s program on transparent aerogels for window applications. This project has since evolved into a startup at the Berkeley incubator, led by another recent graduate from Dunn’s lab, Patricia McNeil. Additionally, my work expanded to include 3D printing technologies for solid-state lithium-ion batteries, collaborating with Lawrence Livermore National Lab, and exploring solid-state ionogels for lithium-ion batteries on my own.

Besides the technical skills, my time at UCLA allowed me to engage in various extracurricular activities which enriched my experience and expanded my professional network. I interned and later worked as a policy consultant at RAND, reviewing literature and advising on government projects. I was also involved in the teaching program at CNSI and initiated a conference called Women in STEM Breaking Barriers, which focused on personal and professional development for historically excluded groups from elementary to professional levels. We had teachers come in. We brought career coaches from both UCLA and outside. And a lot of these experiences allowed me to build my network a lot more. And I was encouraged a lot by the group I was in to do these things. I met the person whose role I ended up filling after she moved up to a higher rank while I was at UCLA, thus during her site visit. So it’s a lot of being in the right place at the right time, but also the support to be able to do other things that struck my interest that maybe I wouldn’t have been encouraged to do if I had been in a different school or different group.

Daniel: That’s such a nice way of putting it because the diversity of experiences is so important in building not only connections, but also the skill set and experiences needed to reach your goals. How do you balance career building on the technical side with all other areas of your professional life?

Maggie: I agree, I actually think a lot of that goes hand in hand. What I mean is that many of the people I interacted with daily in my research were also integral to other aspects of my professional life. In research projects, there are usually multiple principal investigators involved, both from within and outside the university. You have your network, and everybody else has their network. And something that was really important was the ability to tap into networks. This interconnectedness has been crucial in balancing and enriching my professional experiences.

Many people I invited to the conferences I organized were introduced to me through friends, my partner, or colleagues from previous research projects. This allowed me to build on their networks. Having these connections made it easier to balance various aspects of my professional life since I interacted with these individuals regularly. However, another critical factor was setting personal boundaries and understanding my time management strengths and weaknesses. I tend to take full ownership of projects and do everything from the beginning to the end, which isn’t always the most efficient approach. Recognizing my working style was essential, especially for external commitments like the internship or conference planning. I learned to rely on others within these groups, allowing me to focus on my main priorities—my research and academic progress. I had specific times set aside for different tasks; for example, I would set up an experiment in the morning and use the waiting period for internship tasks or conference planning. This involved delegating tasks and being comfortable with not having to oversee every detail myself, which is crucial for effective leadership and management.

Daniel: This is quite important because often students ask whether this process is deliberate or organic. In your case, do you think that discovering new abilities or your preferred working style was a deliberate decision or happened more organically?

Maggie: Honestly, it was a bit of both. There were conscious decisions I had to make, such as stepping back from certain tasks to assess their urgency or importance in my life. This deliberate reflection helped me manage things more effectively. For instance, during the first year of the conference, I was heavily involved in every aspect of organizing it, which I soon realized was unsustainable if I wanted the event to continue without my direct supervision in every little thing. Taking a step back was a deliberate choice. However, how things evolved in the second year—such as who stepped up and how tasks were handled—was more organic. I didn’t dictate every action but provided guidance and allowed others to step up, which proved to be a more effective approach both outside and inside the lab. Then, you know, you very quickly become a senior grad student, maybe sooner than you’re ready for, or you realize, as time moves so quickly. You discover that the limitations of what we were discovering wasn’t dictated by what I was looking at that point. We were able to build different projects or branches of how things were moving together, learning new lessons. I think these are more organic, and we tend to see how it works in other situations.

Daniel: Absolutely agree. One thing I’m curious about, and I suspect our readers will be as well, is how your path went after graduating from UCLA. You mentioned that diversifying your activities here played a role. Could you share more about the process of finding a job after graduation? What roles have you taken, and what is your current position?

Maggie: Coming into my last year of graduate school, I laid out several options on the table. I wasn’t trying to close any doors before I got to the end. During my final year, I discussed extensively with Dr. Dunn and I knew that I did not want to go into academia in the traditional sense. I felt wouldn’t align with my personal interests, which did not follow the standard definition of academic success. I also knew that I didn’t want to do the traditional industry route, maybe because I did not want to only be in a lab. I think this is really important, because it showed how I approached the job market in my last year of graduate school. I did apply to a lot of policy positions. I applied to jobs in the government side of things. However, the interview process is extremely long, so it can take 3 or 4 months before your applications are even seen, because it’s on a cycle. So you have to plan out for that pretty far ahead of time. As I explored these options and spoke with professionals in the field, I gradually recognized that they might not be the best fit for me. So the more I talked I spoke to people, the less I was convinced that that was the right path to take.

So I took a step back to really think about what I wanted to do, and what aspects of grad school and my personal life. For example, I am originally from New York, and I wanted to move back closer to family. I liked science communication. I liked talking to researchers about their work, though I didn’t necessarily want to do that research anymore. And I really liked the communication aspect of it. I took a course as part of the sustainability program that used to run on campus that was called INFEWS. They had a science communication course when I was going through the program, and I really appreciated how the professor, whose name was Allison Carruth, really approached the idea of science communication. And I remembered talking to an editor when they came to visit the school. I think it was 3 years ago at this point. Luckily enough, Dr. Dunn connected me with an opportunity at Nature Communications for a position related to batteries, general electrochemistry, energy storage devices. The interview process, which took place right after my PhD hooding ceremony, was the quickest I experienced: it took only about two weeks! It involved multiple stages, including an in-person interview and live tests. The role was as an editor on their energy materials team, which perfectly matched my expertise and interests. I accepted the offer and started shortly after defending my thesis, even as I was finalizing my dissertation.

I spent just over a year at Nature Communications, learning extensively about the publishing industry and building a network of researchers. A few months ago, I was approached by the former battery editor at Joule, now the editor-in-chief at Chem Catalysis. After reconnecting at a conference, she suggested I consider a role that aligned with my focus on energy sustainability. I remember considering the interview for the position and thinking: “you know, it can’t hurt to have a conversation.” So I went for the interview, and luckily enough I was offered the job. I’ve been in my new role for about three weeks now, and it’s a great fit. The team at Cell Press approaches publishing with a communal lens, discussing each submission collectively, which differs from my previous experience. Publishing and editing is really different, but equally enriching. There are editorial meetings where we discuss every single submission altogether. And while I’m the only battery editor there, if there are other aspects of the paper that I’m not the most experienced on, like catalysis, there’s always someone to bounce ideas off of, or to talk about different aspects of the work. It’s a long, circular way. I am really enjoying it so far. And I am very grateful for all the connections I made during grad school, which were invaluable in leading me to this position.

Daniel: Looks like they led you in a very nonlinear way.

Maggie: Yes, very nonlinear. I wasn’t actively searching for a new role when I was approached about this opportunity. It wasn’t something I was considering at the time, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up in terms of timing. I’m grateful that it came up when it did.

Daniel: That sounds like a really interesting path. I wanted to ask about the skill sets you had to pick up for your new job and perhaps throughout your career. What are these skills, and how did you acquire them? Is there anything, in hindsight, you could have benefited from doing differently?

Maggie: Definitely. I think one of the biggest things is networking; not being afraid to put yourself out there is crucial. In retrospect, there is a lot of things I could have been more proactive, say, in engaging with professors after reading their papers, talking to people in conferences or lab visits. It’s important to recognize that your immediate circle can significantly influence your future opportunities. For instance, a former office mate was interested in consulting, and I was able to connect him with a contact in that field because of my own network. So I wish I had been more ready to put myself out there at a younger stage of my career. And that’s not to say that I didn’t do it – I clearly did it, but wish I had done it more.

Another area is self-advocacy in the workplace. I learned a lot about this in grad school and increasingly practiced it over time. In publishing, where everyone typically holds a PhD, there is quite an even playing field. I think it’s kind of asking for things that I want to see or asking for things that I’m looking for, for example, a perspective, or a review etc. Whatever I think is important, we should be able to ask for these. I’m still working on these myself.

And there are the so-called softer skills, which are 100% super important. They come up every single day. I wish I had gone to more speaking events, like campus-wide opportunities where you can just go and talk to people, or one of the slam competitions. Or even department presentations – being able to talk to a wide variety of people from different backgrounds is extremely useful. It’s always useful to be able to communicate what you’re looking for in a way that other people are going to understand. And this can be as simple as communicating with your professor, for example, if you can help with peer review. For example, at Nature Communications, there’s this program called Early Career Researchers program, where a professor can invite their grad student or postdoc to write a review with them, so they get that experience.

Exploring interdisciplinary interests and taking classes outside my field were also extremely helpful. I took two business classes at UCLA, which were incredibly informative and still use that knowledge, but that wouldn’t have existed if I just stayed in my own department. I also still talk with both of these professors. Engaging in activities that broaden your perspective and skill set, even if they seem unrelated at the time, can provide unexpected benefits and opportunities.

Looking back, I wish I had invested more time in that groundwork, even if I already did a lot of it unintentionally.

Daniel: This advice is great for students in any profession, indeed anyone looking to advance in their career. And of course, hindsight is always 20/20, right?

Maggie: Definitely. And it’s important to recognize and celebrate your achievements while you’re also in the future. I’m mentioning things I wish I could improve, but I know that I did a lot of things well while I was there, so there’s always both. It’s a double-sided coin. I’m really grateful for the experiences that have built up to where I am now, and I’m in a profession that I truly enjoy, doing things that align with my most important interests. I’m definitely grateful for that.