Author | Lightnews

Phil Knutson, PhD

@philknutson.bsky.social

3.5K followers 1.9K following 280 posts

PhD Industry Chemist ⌬ Organic and Polymer Chemistry ⌬ #chemsky ⌬ Science+Art ⌬ Aspiring Science Communicator ⌬ Views expressed here are my own ⌬ My links: https://linktr.ee/pH.ilustrations

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Nov 14

For all the folks new to Bluesky and #Chemsky 👋

I’m Phil Knutson, PhD in organic chemistry from UGA, postdoc in polymer chemistry at UNC. I now work as an industrial chemist in front-end R&D/innovation at Milliken in SC. On the side, I make science art! And I have an amazing wife and the best dog 😊

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

Thanks for that advice. I'll try to ask around about recent apps from labs I've been in. That's smart.

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

Yes yes yes! We had all these conversations. I've made sure they have all the information I would have wanted. And we have some fresh PhDs that we've recently hired in the field that they want to go into. That's helped fill in my gaps of unis and specific labs to avoid or focus on

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

That makes sense. I guess I haven't run across many departments in the US that are supervisor first

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

Oh great point! Thanks! I'll absolutely try that approach

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

Great advice. I'm drafting the rec letters and working to express my thoughts and opinions in the right way

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

Thanks for the tip! That's great advice

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

That's a great anecdote!

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

Thankfully, we are in industry so their backup plan is to keep their job. They're in a good situation that way. We've talked about the toughness of this cycle. It's a big bummer but I've tried to motivate them to try despite the challenges

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 25

That's what I was thinking. I'll try to email folks in departments I've crossed paths with or have connections with first. We're definitely working on the writing skills with their statements of research and purpose!

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 24

What's the best way to help a mentee get into grad school? I'm in industry and I have a lab tech that is really good and I think he'd do really well in grad school. Do I email professors? Email department grad school coordinators? Don't email anyone? #chemsky

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 9

I’ll pretend my typo was intentional because Colorado = peaks

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Sep 9

Went a took a quick peak at where my chemistry career began!

A summer REU 14 yrs ago and then first year of grad school 12 yrs ago 🤯

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Aug 20

Grab prints here: philustrations.etsy.com/listing/4353...

philustrations.etsy.com

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Aug 20

My piece on molecules found in magnolia trees. Some of these are magnolol, honokiol, and magnoflorine but there are many more and I’ve drawn just a few. Hope you like it! #sciart #chemsky #art

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Aug 3

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jul 15

✨suspended disbelief✨ is a wonderful thing lol

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jul 14

Thanks for this list!

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jul 12

I’m really loving the sci-fi space operas. I might look into Expanse next. I’ve heard that’s excellent

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jul 11

Oooo thanks for the tip!

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jul 11

I haven't read for pleasure since... maybe early college. I'm finally getting back into it with audiobooks. Recently. I've read six books of the Red Rising series, six books of the Sun Eater series, working through the Mistborn series, and a hand full of others. All of them are sooo good

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jul 2

I'm still muting so many accounts lol please make it stop

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · May 14

I liked scrolling through chemsky to see what the chemsky people were up to... Now it's all journals. Just journal articles everywhere lol TOCs and cover pages

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jun 26

Potentially! After the first $1k for the deductible lol

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jun 26

Bonus: A storm knocked a large branch onto our roof and now there’s a nice hole letting water into our living room and kitchen 💯

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jun 23

The US and Iran are bombing each other... My company is actively restructuring to get rid of head count... The roof on my house is rotting and needs to be fixed 💰... HOW DO I FOCUS AT WORK 😂🫠

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Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jun 23

That's what got me through grad school lol that and a lot of beer

Phil Knutson, PhD @philknutson.bsky.social · Jun 23

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