Grad Student Tells California: We are a Good Investment

Julius Edson wants to educate the public about grad students' contributions to the economy. Photo / Jill Connelly

March 23, 2016 - Samueli School graduate student Julius Edson wants California legislators to know that grad students are an essential cog in the state’s economy. The UCI chemical engineering and materials science doctoral candidate was among a group of UC graduate students who met with Sacramento lawmakers this month to share their innovative ideas about surmounting society’s challenges.

But Edson, who is creating antibiotics that can treat drug-resistant bacteria, went one step further. An NSF Graduate Research Fellow and UCI Public Impact Distinguished Fellow, he followed up with an op-ed piece in the Sacramento Bee that has drawn attention from readers.  

Edson says his main objective was a desire to educate. “Many grad students, myself included, have realized that not many people in the public (friends, family) actually understand what a graduate student does. So I was hoping I could briefly educate and enlighten.”