Q&A with Paul Micus: Chemistry Senior, CSA President

From television appearances to conducting chemistry experiments with Boy Scouts, one Comet’s academic journey paved the way for an impressive array of leadership roles.

Paul Micus is known for taking the initiative. In other words, group projects are his forte. Hailing from a close-knit family in Waco, Texas, he’s concurrently sharing his college experience with his two brothers and sister. This sense of shared growth and learning is deeply ingrained in Paul, pushing him to become heavily involved on campus.

What has your experience been like as president of the Chemistry Student Association?

I first found CSA when I was a sophomore. It’s been really fun to put together so many different events, like the Fort Worth Natural Science Museum outreach. We go there every year for National Chemistry Week. We get to show a bunch of demos to all the kids that come by. I think my favorite event that I’ve been able to help plan is the Boy Scouts badge event. We brought over 50 Boy Scouts to the UT Dallas campus, and we took them through a day of lessons and experiments so they could earn their chemistry merit badge.

You recently starred in UT Dallas’ episode on an Amazon Prime show called ‘The College Tour.’ How do you feel about being on TV?

It’s nothing I’ve experienced before — having to memorize a script and go in front of cameras. It was a very unique experience, and I loved representing chemistry and research here at UT Dallas. It was so surreal to watch it live when it aired this October. I was also able to include my friends in it, too. Being able to share that experience with people I’ve bonded with over the past four years was really cool.

What was it like to win third place in your first-ever poster presentation?

When I went to the ADSE (Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering Young Researchers Conference) I was just excited to talk about my research, which is centered on characterizing a family of prokaryotic nickel/cobalt transporters. Joining Dr. Meloni’s lab my sophomore year was one of the best things I ever did. He supported me throughout the process, and we recently submitted my paper to the Chemical Science journal. This last fall, I went to the American Chemical Society Conference in San Francisco to present my project, and I also recently went to Rice University to give an oral presentation. Dr. Stefan and Dr. Sra were awesome in sponsoring my trip to California.

Do you know what you want to do after graduation this spring?

Currently, I am looking into different graduate programs, including medical school, while also considering one-year long internships, such as one through the Fellowship of Christian University Students organization. I am embracing the unknown. I am confident in my education, and my research experience has opened doors to a full job market.