Dr. Lara Ferry

Dr. Lara Ferry is a President’s Professor and the Vice President of Research at Arizona State University, sitting within Knowledge Enterprise. Her dissertation research focused on the functional morphology of shark jaws, and her work most recently has focused on the material properties of cartilage and bone, and how those elements in an organism behave and shape the way we see structures. In this video, Lara revisits her experience of failing her candidacy exams, and the struggles of having to think on her feet and answer questions from her committee in real time. Utilizing the stages of grief, Lara learned how to process these hard emotions, rather than suppress them, and was able to move forward a tougher and stronger person.