Graduate Student Q&A: Alberto Castanedo

An unconventional path brought Alberto Castanedo to Princeton Chemistry in the fall of 2021: a childhood in a rough, southwest Los Angeles neighborhood; an education in “not the best schools” where he was “always hanging out with the wrong people”; an impulsive decision to drop out of high school; and, after that, several years of “nothing.”

At some point, Castanedo began asking himself tough questions. They awakened his perspective, which in turn shifted him into an ambitious new lane. In rapid succession, Castanedo got his high school GED, his associate’s degree at a community college, and a B.S. in molecular synthesis from the University of California, San Diego. An REU program through Boston University provided his first exposure to P.I.s, research, and the culture of graduate school. From that point on, he said, there was little question about what he wanted to do.

Today a fourth-year in the Knowles Lab, Castanedo still believes in the value of a tough question. Here is his take on graduate school.

You grew up in California?

We lived in a really low-income neighborhood with obviously not the best schools, and I was not hanging around the best people. My teachers would always say, ‘he’s so smart but he can never sit still,’ or ‘he’s too loud,’ or ‘he never turns in his homework.’ So I was always in detention. When I got to high school, I was a full-blown teenager rebelling and getting into trouble.

I ended up dropping out of high school during my junior year. And it wasn’t until I had this realization: what am I doing with my life? So, I sought help. I asked my family. My mother, Graciela, is a single mom, super hardworking, incredible. She did everything possible to provide for me. I would not be here if it wasn’t for her. And I have an older brother who’s always there for me, too. I went to him and said, I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.

So, I got cleaned up and decided to go to community college.

What drew you to chemistry?

I always liked plants and biology and nature. But I didn’t know what to do with that. I didn’t know what a scientist was or what they did, but I signed up for community college and started taking these classes. And that’s what put me on the path to chemistry. That’s what gave me a purpose. I took a chemistry course and thought, whoa, this is pretty cool. If I want to understand life and how things work, then chemistry would be a good place to start.

Why Princeton? And why Rob Knowles’ Lab?

Princeton is the first school I got a Ph.D. offer from. Rob reached out and we met over Zoom. He was the first professor I talked to. He was just super down-to-earth and personable, and I thought, if I have someone for an adviser for the next five years this is exactly the type of person I’d want. And everyone else I talked with after that just didn’t live up to the standards he had for his group.

I also wanted one of the best chemists in the country to advise me.

Talk about your research

After Generals, I proposed an idea to Rob and he let me work on it, which led to a project I’m working on now. Rob gave me a project partner to work with and we’re working on it together. We’re pushing it along pretty fast now and we’re up to like 80% ee in this project, which is pretty good. We’re almost there.

Given the inevitable setbacks, how do you remain confident in your work?

I’ve had a very rocky start in terms of projects in the lab. I’m really excited now, but for the first three years I felt like I was working so hard with nothing to show for it. It depends a lot on your adviser. Rob’s approach is, ‘I’m not going to let you fail. If you’re going off the rails I’m going to help you.’ I trust him and so I just keep doing what I’m doing.

What do you like best about the research?

I think it’s just discovering things that no one’s ever seen before, is what gets me. You’re some chemical paleontologist trying to make things happen. I love the problem solving, figuring it out, the satisfaction of making a completely new thing work. In Rob’s lab it’s not just about the transformation that you’re doing but also trying to figure out the underlying fundamental chemistry that makes that reaction work. Understanding things at a deeper level is a different mindset.

How do you enjoy yourself out of the lab?

Chemistry’s like my hobby. It’s my life. It’s what I like to do. I feel perfectly happy just working 16 hours a day and then going home to sleep.

What advice would you give to others seeking a Ph.D.?

I feel like I learned that I needed to ask for help. I was always just asking people, what do you think I should do? How can I get there? What’s going to give me peace? What is my purpose in life? What am I here to do?

But it’s also hard for me to give advice because I never really plan anything. I can say that you have to really want it, whatever you’re pursuing. Be persistent and talk to everybody: your professors, admin staff, janitors … just get everyone’s perspective and then take what makes sense to you.

And trust advisers and your senior people, too, because they’ve been through life and they know.