One semester down, 11(+/-3) to go…

On the day the first snow arrived this winter, I wiggled into a glove box for the first time since my sophomore year. I was 19 then and 22 now. I am 2300 miles from home in a very, very cold place where I pay my own rent and car insurance.

I will finally finish my first semester of grad school in a week. It’s weird to think that I had just driven cross country to this cluster of red brick buildings in the middle of a corn field not too long ago. Today I did my first synthesis in grad school, which earned today a blog post of its own.

Here are some of my random thoughts and lesson learned from my first couple of months of grad school:

1. The midwest: I was and probably always will be a Cali girl. But so far, the lack of a coastline, mountains,  or any civilization beyond the city limit really haven’t bothered me yet. I love the humidity in the summer and watching the leaves turn color.
2. Classes: This semester, I took advanced group theory and a matsci class. I find these interesting but not very difficult (probably true: MS = More of the Same). Taking graduate-level courses in my senior year definitely helped. I probably didn’t spend nearly as much time on these as…
3. Teaching! I teach an honors genchem course. I love my students (all 80 of them!… ok, most of them)  and it’s a ton of fun to teach. I like that I can be a teacher and a mentor, since most of them aspire to do something relating to chemistry. I also learned that I should never have children of my own. Why bother when I can have college-aged ones that I can return to their respective parents when I get sick of them?
4. Research: We spent a lot of our first semester getting tours and meetings to decide whose research group we will be married to for the foreseeable future. I haven’t gotten to do a lot of work in lab yet, but so far I think what I saw in undergrad and a little bit of the post-bac life about grad school is rather accurate.
5. Stipend: If I haven’t griped to you about this already, here it is– many of you know that I took a pretty significant pay cut (I get paid about 2/3 less now than my previous job) to go to grad school. The thing about not living in California though… I live very comfortably on my paycheck. If anyone is thinking about grad school, that should be a major consideration to make (cost of living vs stipend).

Take home lesson to those of you who are thinking about graduate school: observe grad students and ask questions. Do the math on your budget. There is more to it than the ranking. After all, you are putting 6 years of your early 20s on the table, wouldn’t you expect a little more from yourself in return?

Happy first synthesis day to myself. A glass of Livermore Valley merlot for the many more reactions to come and fires to put out.

Noel

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On the subject of safety goggles

As azmanam pointed out, Chemjobber’s post about Lab Essentials made it onto the most recent issue of Nature Chemistry–hooray! Well, kind of. One of my comments about comfy eyewears somehow got a mention as well. Now, I didn’t imagine my debut in the Nature publications quite this way. But if I have to be known as the Asian girl with the flat nose, I might as well use this chance to elaborate on the cause that is dear to my heart.

I’ve worn glasses for as long as I could remembered, but my journey to finding a pair to wear in lab has been a rocky one. I must not be alone in this: it’s so hard to find a pair of safety glasses that fits well! My problems are:

1. The plastic part that is supposed to sit on the bridge of my nose isn’t really long enough to touch it; instead, the goggles sit suspended above my face. I have a flat nose; I’ve learned there are more important things in life to be upset about.
2. Since the goggles can’t sit on my nose, the bottom edge of the lenses digs into my cheeks for support. I get the most awful imprint on my face and it starts to hurt after a couple hours
3. Because they are ill-fitted, they fall off all the time when I’m in the middle of doing something

Do I get your attention now, PPE manufacturer? (hint)

When I first started taking chemistry as an undergrad, I was told to fish out a pair of safety goggles from the big box my TA provided. Over the next few years, I had tried on my fair share of safety goggles. Some of them were rocking the retro vibe like this, some others were the more simple style like this, and the others were the nice adjustable length like the one shown above.

The variety was nice. But I never liked any of them. I hated wearing safety goggles/glasses because none of them actually fits me. I don’t know how long it would take PPE companies to figure out that chemistry students with flat nose everywhere (including, but not exclusively, the Asian kids) are resenting wearing goggles!

I think we can agree that safety goggles are among the most important part of personal protection equipments. It’s a must for novice and experienced chemists alike. I would think that fit and comfort are significant factors in designing these because of their proximity to your face. As an undergrad, I didn’t have much of a choice of the types of goggles I could wear, so I just went with whatever that was provided to me. Let me assure you the fun of my chemistry experience was greatly diminished because of the discomfort of wearing one of these.

We’ve always had problems with freshmen (even older students) not wearing their goggles in teaching lab. Aside from laziness and carelessness, I think a big factor of it is comfort. We can promote better safety habit simply by showing students that in the same way we select glove sizes that fit us, it is possible and important to do the same for safety goggles.

And really, we have nitiles gloves in 5 sizes and like 20 different colors; I think it’s possible to add supportive nosepiece to safety goggles.

Noel

Note: I currently use a pair of AOS goggles with rubber nosepiece that I am reasonably happy with. It still falls my cheeks sometimes (as the rubber nosepiece is still quite shallow) but is a significant improvement from previous experience.

Note #2:  Nature Chemistry–if you need guest writers, you know where to find me.

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Hot dogs and group meeting

We had our group meeting an hour early today to accommodate a make-up lecture my prof/boss wanted to do before he leaves on a business trip. Instead of doing the reasonable thing and get dinner before group meeting (@5:30 PM), he reviewed his lecture notes instead.

In the middle of group meeting, his wife (also the NMR director) cracked the conference room door open, threw two hot dogs wrapped in foil at him, and left. It made my day.

Hi people! I’m almost done with my first semester of grad school. I’m still alive… kind of. Is there anything that you wish someone had told you during your first year? I’d love to hear it.

Noel

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n-doped: a semiconductor anthem

I don’t know if anyone has posted this video before, but it’s worth reposting for those who haven’t seen it.

This YouTube video is a song based on the Justin Timberlake hit “Lovestoned/I think she knows”.[1] As the title suggested, it’s a full 5:25 song about n-doped semiconductors. If you are familiar with this particular JT album like I am, you would probably be extra amuse that this guy got every line of his version to rhyme exactly like the original. Anyway, enjoy the sexy tune, while I return to the frantic world of first year grad students.[2]

Noel

[1] You can find the original here. For what it’s worth, I think it’s a great song from a great album.

[2] I’m picking a group in 3 weeks! Life is INSANE right now.

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What not to wear (to work); updated

Edit: In response to the comments on how I feel about lab coats, this is absolutely not to undermine the importance of PPE. Closed toe shoes, safety goggles, gloves and long pants are worn at all times, in addition to clothing with only natural fiber. Face shields and the likes are always in order when needed. I guess the lab coat culture at the company I worked at just was not very prominent.

—

In a 2001 interview[1], George Eads was asked to comment about his character, the ever so adorable Nick Stokes from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. “I like the fact that my character is a scientist for the new millennium, in that, why does the scientist have to be a nerd?” he said, “I mean, why is it that when we think of a scientist we often think of coke bottle glasses and chalky white skin?”

What he said here inspired me to write this post about one aspect of social aptness: fashion. The stuff you wear as a chemist.

Last year I graduated from college and returned to work for a research lab that I had interned for the summer before. Armed with a diploma and a hefty pay raise, I was determined to make a more significant impact both in my work and my appearance. I didn’t want to look like an intern anymore.

Over the next months I started filling my wardrobe with knits, cardigans, dress shirts and the likes. My goal was youthful business casual (I hope). My mother especially welcomed the change. Right about the time I started to dress better than my post-doc, I left the job to go to grad school.

Now I’m searching for another identity. This time, I am trying to dress somewhere between my old self, the California beach bum, and the polished research associate that I was playing. Although it seems clear that some of my colleagues have more important things in mind (i.e. the boys definitely weren’t watching what they’re wearing), I was determine to figure it out.

The interesting thing is, stereotype aside, dress code and the sense of fashion really does have something to do with your field of discipline.[2] I was in awe when my boyfriend put on his suit jacket to teach his “Faith, Doubt and Fanaticism” class[3], since he would acts like he it’d kill him to wear long pants. I, on the other hand, really can’t afford to buy nice clothing just to ruin them with organic solvent.

After all, there is no store that caters to chemists and sells tasteful, business casual, inexpensive to a point of almost disposable clothing that is made of 100% cotton (bonus points for being chemically inert and a fire retardant). Or is there? Does any business-minded readers out there want to start something like that?

And seriously. When you cross from being a student (undergraduate, grad, whatever) to a young professional, a change in the way you dress is definitely something to consider. But where do you start when fashion is a totally new territory? And considering the nature of our jobs, how do you do it in a reasonable and affordable manner?

Noel

P.S. A comment on lab coats: I don’t know who is that diligent in wearing those. I only wear them when I’m dealing with really nasty things. It gets really warm inside the lab sometimes.

[1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiimdF60s-Y

[2] One’s reluctance and sheer cluelessness of dressing up for anything at all can be seen at ACS conference. Where I must say women seem to have more trouble with formal wear.

[3] Humanities people get the best course titles

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A new school and the inevitable fear of public speaking

Hello readers!

After 8 months, what seemed like an endless hiatus from school is finally over for me. Like many other schools that run on a semester system, my fall semester officially began as of today. And I’m terrified. Of teaching.

I was assigned to teach an accelerated gen chem course. And I will have about 80 students distributed among 3 sections. The upside is that I don’t have to teach lab and make sure kids don’t accidentally kill themselves and everyone around them. Downside is… I have to come face to face with my stage fright.

Throughout college, I paid my bills by overcharging wealthy Californian parents for tutoring their kids without shame. One-on-one, I am an excellent teacher. But due to the lack of experience to group teaching, I fear that what can go wrong will go wrong.

And as someone who had just gone through freshman year not too long ago, I feel that we (as TAs) have a moral obligation to perform the best we can to help and mentor these kids. They are not taking this class because they have to. They are all aspired budding science students like we were. Like I was. It’d be unfair to them to give them anything but our best after the hoops they had to jump through and the money their parents paid to support my education.

Anyway, I am terrified. I meet the class on Wednesday. Any suggestions on how to be an effective teacher/public speaker is wholeheartedly appreciated.

Noel

P.S. I had the pleasure of sitting through MANY “don’t sleep with your undergrad” lectures in the past two weeks, but what I enjoyed the most is still how to evacuate in the event of a tornado. Hello midwet! Hello corn! I love corn.

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Supramolecular chemistry win and in other news

Hello everyone!

I’m not really sure what happened to the rest of the fellow bloggers, but I have been going through some interesting incidents myself. Long story short, I am shipping out to the Mid-west in a couple of days with all of my belongings (road trip, yay). Between finishing my project at the current job and preparing for the move, life is pretty hectic around here. Among other exciting updates is that Jes (Ψ*Ψ) from CBC came visit me from the sunny Santa Barbara.*

ANYWAY. Yes, Chemistry Blog… I found this gem on the science Reddit, and thought I really had to share. (Inorg. Chem., 2004, 43 (11), pp 3521–3527)

Ahh, supramolecular chemistry win.

Another chemistry news flash, the folks at GSI has formally submitted “copernicium” (Cp) as the name request for Element 112, in honor of Nicolaus Copernicus, to IUPAC on July 17. The Union will approve in six months, pending discussion in the “community”. So I guess we all need to talk about this. In my opinion, all is well, except now cyclopentadienyl “the bun” ligand needs a different name.

I guess I’ll return to the blog full time (?) once I arrive and situate myself in the new town. Until then, hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Noel

*Then there as the Harry Potter premiere and the Final Fantasy Concert performed by the San Francisco Symphony… Composer Nobuo Uematsu himself was there and I seriously cried when I saw him.

Via, source 1, 2

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Existential crisis of a post-doc appointment (updated)

This month has been exceptionally busy around my group. My PI is currently on a 2-week trip to Norway and Germany[1] and before that, we were trying to get a ton of hiring business out of the way. My experience in the past couple weeks actually had quite an eye-opening effect on me.

A little back-story on my current work situation, I have been working at this lab full time (40h/wk) since last May. We are an engineering support facility with a few side chemistry and material projects. Because of the corporate nature of the facility, my work has been both well compensated and intellectually fulfilling.

The nature with this facility means that we hardly ever get grad students. 15% of the employees here are temporary (i.e. post-doc and interns). Ten percents are summer interns with employment of about ten weeks. The direct consequence of a lab that is not attached to a university has the need to constantly replenish its labor supply. While this means we gets fresh takes on things from all the new people, I also see the struggle of Ph.D.s in job market played out frequently. And as someone who is just dipping her toes in the idea of graduate school, this is quite daunting.

Anyway, I guess we have room for yet another post-doc.

Last Monday, I was sitting in the back of the conference room during a technical seminar on the grad school research of a post-doc candidate while sipping on my morning tea. The candidate was visibly nervous, frequently stuttering and wiping the beads of sweat at his forehead. In the next three days, the same thing took place. The seminar, the lab tour, the lunch, the non-stop interviews; as I did my best to be hospitable, my mind wanders, and I couldn’t help but keep coming back to the same thoughts:

• I wonder if he knew that his voice was cracking and shaking
• Does he need more water? It looks like he’s out of water
• Everything sounds more interesting in a southern accent, even pchem
• Isn’t it sad that you can summarize the past 4 to 6 years of your life in a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation?
• It’s her third post-doc? Really?
• I guess it doesn’t matter how well qualified you are, the guy that went to the most well ranked school will probably get the job
• I wonder if they understand that they are constantly judged, when we walk them between buildings, when we take them out to lunch, by anyone and everyone
• All for two more years of being replaceable, is it worth it?

Is it?

Noel

[1] It’s been a known fact that my PI forgot/failed/was too lazy to renew his training so he lose his access to our lab room. We were all happy that he had to knock and wave to get someone’s attention to be let in. Recently, he realize that we often leave the back door open to get solvents from the dock. Now he ambush us from the back door. Anyway my point of the story is that we always feel the need to fidget (more likely on unproductive tasks) when he’s around. I guess I can finally relax/be productive now. Like writing this blog post.

(edit)

After re-reading it, I realized I failed to address my point here. My point: what is really the goal of a post-doc? As I have been told in the past 5 years, it is the rite of passage to the world of academia. But what does one hope to accomplish in a two-year appointment at a topic that is possibly unrelated to his expertise and past experience? It seems like the new guy is just picking up whatever the last guy has done in his two years.

It seems like an interesting role, to be contributing somewhat at a higher realm of science than the regulate graduate student, but for about half to a quarter amount of time. I ask again, what is the goal here? Is it to diversify one’s research interest? Is it to network in the community? Is it to push more papers out? Is it the parallel universe to dispense unemployed Ph.D.s? Or is it simply the awkward phase where the community thinks one should be while little professional and intellectual developments take place?

That is all.

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Welcome back, Atlantis!

This is not completely relevant to chemistry, but is definitely of interest to the scientific community. On May 11, 2009, some of us astronomy fans and zealots gathered around to watch the launch of Atlantis STS-125. For those who are unfamiliar with it, this was a servicing mission in attempt to extend the Hubble ST’s life for the one last time. After all the amazing images Hubble was able to capture, this one last stretch seemed well worth the try. The team completed 5 space walks while orbiting 350 miles (Really? Miles? We’ll talk about the unit system another day) above Earth.

The mission will entail five spacewalks and aims to increase the telescope’s capabilities by a factor of 90, according to panelist Sandra Faber, an astronomer at UC Santa Cruz. After the repairs and upgrades, “it’ll have the capability of 100 Hubbles,” said panelist and NASA Chief Scientist Alan Stern.[1]

Over the past two weeks, we followed their mission closely, whether it is at the comfort of our own home or out in the field with our makeshift telescope. We envy their opportunity to take the ride of a lifetime and amazed at their epic fine-motor skill inside a space bunny-suit (I can’t even do that in a glove box, whoops).

On Sunday, May 24, the crew of 7 touched down at the Edwards Air Force Base in California, after a 13-day mission. The astronauts, in my opinion, are heroes in every way that one would defines any other American heroes–firefighters, soldiers, teachers, etc. Their contribution to scientific advancements is clear, and the risks they take is significant and very real. Their dedication and enthusiasm are beautifully put by one of the astronauts:

When asked about the risks posed by the Hubble service mission, Astronaut Grunsfeld told Earth & Sky that, “I think the cause of science is something worth risking my life for. I’ve spent almost my entire adult life and most of my young life,” Grunsfeld added, “in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. And Hubble is almost an icon for the quest of scientific knowledge.”

Yep. We’ll toast to that. And welcome back to Earth!!

Noel

[1] Hubble worth the risk, says NASA astronaut

[2] NASA space shuttle page

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We’re done!

Today we traded in our acid-burned, grease-stained lab coats for nice looking rental gowns. It was really an ugly day–we’ve been having beautiful sunny days in the 80s all month–until now, that is. Today was a whooping 55 degree with dark grey clouds hovering over the beautiful Berkeley landscape. Just about everything was out of the ordinary.

Today the College of Chemistry @Cal held its 137th commencement ceremony.

The two hours was reasonably pleasant to sit through. The whole ceremony was rather casual and humorous. We didn’t have much of any rehearsal. People were sitting when they were supposed to stand, speakers forgot their spots during the speech, the dean returned to his seat before he handed out the last of the scrolls… but it was an intimate, light-hearted ceremony.

The most unforgettable moment for me was the reaction of the grad students. During the ceremony, Ph.D. candidates were seated on stage with the rest of the professors. After they all walked across the staged, got hooded, received a scroll and walked back to their seats, the dean officially granted them their degrees. Across rows of sleepy professors and their hoods of various colors, I saw the genuine happiness beaming from behind. They hugged each other, celebrating their accomplishments (and the 6-10 years they might have spent in this hole in the wall). It was just a really wonderful moment, since graduate students really don’t show much of any emotion.

It was also something special for the Chemistry Blog, though. Today, Mitch, Maz and I walked across the same stage. So… PARTY TIME!!! (doesn’t Mitch look legit? That’s because you haven’t seen his shoes)!!!

So, cheers and many congratulations. And peace out, Berkeley.

Noel

“That’s why we love you guys. We ask you to do the impossible, and you ask us when it’s due.” – prof

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