As an Undergraduate Research Assistant at Miami University of Ohio for the summer of 2016, I will not only learn the theory behind advanced organic synthesis reactions toward the production of dendrimers, highly branched molecules with many technological, medical, and industrial uses, but also how to carry out these reactions on my own using various state-of-the-art chemical equipment. While I will work on my own specific reactions in the lab, I will also learn how to work efficiently in a lab research group, in which I will update my mentor and other coworkers on my research, progress, and results every week in a lab group meeting. Toward the end of the program, I will learn how to structure my results into a form fit for publishing in a well-known chemical journal that can not only be used by other chemists, but also understood by the public. The 20 other students in my undergraduate research program will expose me to cultures, viewpoints, and attitudes that I have never experienced before, and help me to develop into a more educated, confident, and well-defined version of myself. My current career path of industrial chemical research involves studying and analyzing problems, coming up with strategies to solve those problems, and adequately expressing the results to others in ways that they can understand, and this program serves as a trial run to my future.
Alex Gardner
Chemistry/Philosphy