When Bill Epling arrived at the University of Virginia as the new Department of Chemical Engineering chair in 2016, he noticed the graduate students seemed to share a distinct culture. For one thing, many of the students are roommates and/or neighbors, living in a cluster of houses close to the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science. “Every year, new students move into apartments vacated by somebody who just graduated,†he said. “Or they come to UVA and shortly after move in together. When COVID struck, I was worried my whole department would get taken out within a week. They all live together. They all hang out together.†Thankfully, the students took COVID-19 safety protocols seriously, so that didn't happen. ButEpling, who likes to joke, wasn't joking. Ask a handful of chemical engineering Ph.D. students and they agree: There is a sense of belonging and appreciation for focusing on what is truly important among both students and faculty, which helps them navigate the rigors of graduate-level research and training. “This environment was here when I got here,†Epling said. “Students who visit see it and they like it, and so they come here and that keeps it going. I'll do whatever I can to give students the help to keep it going.†He has his reasons, and he'll admit they're partly selfish. Happy researchers are energetic researchers. “And that's good for us,†he said. “But I do believe, more often than not, it's more important to walk into the right lab than the right project. It's ideal if you walk into both. “Doing research you're interested in is going to get you pretty far, but the people you're surrounded by and the networks you build will help you go further – and keep things in perspective when work gets frustrating.â€