Chemistry Department welcomes back student researchers
Summer 2005 was an exciting time to be away from the Chemistry Department! Eight Tuskegee chemistry majors spent summer 2005 conducting research at other locations, from Texas to Michigan to Baltimore.
Friday, September 9, the students will get together for the Tuskegee University Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (TU/SAACS) September Symposium. The symposium will be at 4 p.m. in Armstrong Hall.
Senior Marquita Bradshaw spent her summer at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, studying synthesis, characterization, and magnetism of dendrimer-encapsulated cobalt nanoparticles. Marquita commented “The best part about my summer experience was meeting new friends and being awarded best overall poster at the TiiMS Conference. It was definitely indicative that hard work pays off.”
The state of Texas also hosted junior Jamelle Williams, who spent her summer at the University of Texas at Austin working on an analysis of biomarkers of tobacco smoke in human saliva by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. “I want to go back to work on the project again, but I discovered long term research is not for me,” stated Williams.
Senior Rozlyn Chambliss didn’t get quite as far away, but her work on the synthesis and
analysis of peptide sequences of chromium bound peptides at University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa was rewarding. “The greatest thing about this summer was my research project allowed for the application of the things that I learned in Biochemistry and Chemistry Seminar.
However, all the knowledge developed in the past was used in attempts to understand the various seminars given. In addition, I was able to meet different people from different cultures and make a host of friends.”
Junior Shayla Swain also remained in Alabama, but she won’t be here for part of October. After spending the summer at NASA’s Marshall Space Center in Huntsville studying thin-film inflatable liners for Lunar/Martian base habitats, Shayla will be presenting her work at a conference in Japan. “The greatest thing about the summer was being able to be on the frontier of something that will be around for years to come.”
University of Michigan also hosted a Tuskegee student. Senior Christopher James worked in the Material Science and Engineering Department there, investigating the crystalline structure of octaphenylsilsesquioxanes. “My research experience this summer at The University of Michigan allowed me to gain valuable information about the graduate school application process; furthermore, my summer research experience has allowed me to network with many of my future colleagues,” said James.
Two Tuskegee chemistry majors spent their summer at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Senior Tiffany Taylor and junior Tahirah Farrer-Bradley both worked in biomedical research as part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute research program.
Taylor’s research project was on induction of keratin 17 by sulforaphane, a potent inducer of phase II detoxification enzymes. “My research experience not only gave me the opportunity to study in the field of medicine I am interested in (dermatology), but it also allowed me to utilize skills that I gained at Tuskegee. I really enjoyed my experience and learned that research doesn't necessarily fit the stereotype of being alone in a lab all day working like mad scientist.”
“Is Murine Chromosome 1 Involved in the Susceptibility of Autoimmune Myocarditis?” was the title of Farrer-Bradley’s project.
Rounding out the group of travelers, junior Donald White worked on studying nanostructured materials by magnetic resonance methods at Norfolk State University. “The research was intimidating at first, but I must have done well because I won an award at Hampton for my research poster,” he said.
Tuskegee students also performed chemical research on campus during summer 2005. Junior Chemistry major Chadwick Corbett worked with Dr. Pamela Leggett-Robinson and senior Animal Science major Shirron LeShure worked with Dr. Adriane Ludwick.
