Engineering Discovery

Reflections on the PhD Prospectus

More than just a milestone to check off.

Nov 21 • 

Smrithi Sunil

4

From Blobs to Atoms: The Long Journey of Cryo-Electron Microscopy

How physics, chemistry, and computation came together to bring biology into focus.

Nov 6 • 

Smrithi Sunil

4

2

October 2025

Making the Electron Microscope

In a little over a century, the electron microscope evolved from a tool barely capable of resolving virus particles into one able to capture atomic…

Published on Asimov Press • Oct 27

Some ideas to engineer discovery

Notes on research rotations, curiosity vs. platform science, and rethinking the structures around discovery.

Oct 4 • 

Smrithi Sunil

15

2

Sawdust and synapses

A brief digression into my woodworking.

Oct 2 • 

Smrithi Sunil

10

5

September 2025

How do we diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease?

And why an early diagnosis is important, but still lacking.

Sep 25 • 

Smrithi Sunil

4

1

August 2025

Zooming into biological structure

Building a mosaic of tools to see across spatial scales.

Aug 26 • 

Smrithi Sunil

7

2

June 2025

Scientific Impact, Seventy Years Later

A historical essay on the life, legacy, and resurgence of Irving Langmuir’s Nobel-winning work.

Jun 1 • 

Smrithi Sunil

1

May 2025

A Brief History of GFP

How a chance discovery in bioluminescent jellyfish led to one of the most transformative tools in modern biology: green fluorescent protein.

Published on Asimov Press • May 15

Citation Trajectories of Nobel Prize-Winning Publications

What do citation counts tell us about prize-winning work? A data post.

May 15 • 

Smrithi Sunil

Welcome to Engineering Discovery

Hi, I’m Smrithi!

May 13 • 

Smrithi Sunil