Benjamin Juan
Acosta
Hometown: Washington, DC
Major: Biology
Research Interest: Ecology and Neuroscience
“During selection weekend, I toured a lab working with tardigrades, and as the guide elaborated on their questions and techniques, it struck me how researchers are experts of sorts in a weirdly specific topic.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE CSS PROGRAM AND CAROLINA?
During selection weekend, I toured a lab working with tardigrades, and as the guide elaborated on their questions and techniques, it struck me how researchers are experts of sorts in a weirdly specific topic. That idea appealed to me: having the ability to work towards becoming ridiculously knowledgeable about something I choose, something that seems more like a hobby than anything, pushed me to decide that this was the most exciting trailhead for my future.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO EXPERIENCING AT CAROLINA OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS?
I eagerly anticipate indulging in the arts scene here, perhaps dabbling in theater, music, dance, and maybe visual arts.
WHAT RESEARCH TOPIC(S) ARE YOU INTERESTED IN EXPLORING AND WHY?
I like bugs, and would love to study lots of different bugs, with all their wild and unique adaptations and features and abilities, because there are so many more shapes and colors to life than the average person sees on a day-to-day basis. Insects also feel closer to the origins of life. But I’d have to get more specific (and practical), so I think studying ecology and the interplay of invertebrate species with their environments would be interesting, with potential implications for dealing with climate change. I could also imagine researching insect neurobiology or neuroscience topics in general, since our modes of coordination and thought are so wonderfully complex.
WHAT IS ONE THING YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR FUTURE STEM CAREER?
I want to find a new idea. Something nobody would’ve really seen coming. That could be an application of an insect specific adaptation to medicine or a new framework for understanding science (it’d be cool if I found some sort of essence of life.