Check out more SWE podcasts on <\/em>SoundCloud<\/em><\/a>, iTunes and Stitcher!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Undergraduate Researcher Emily Chen Unlocks the Secrets of Carbyne\" was published on stonybrook.edu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cI enjoy having something where I really have to work at it. You\u2019re answering these questions that no one knows the answer to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n \u2013 Emily Chen<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nEmily Chen, a Chemical Engineering and Applied Math double major in the Honors College, is the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Kenneth Nicholas undergraduate research fellowship award. Sponsored by Dr. Kenneth M. Nicholas and his wife Sacra N. Nicholas, the Dr. Kenneth M. Nicholas award was established to recognize an outstanding URECA summer research applicant majoring in chemistry (with preference given to students studying chemical synthesis or catalysis).\r\n\r\nFor the past year, Emily has been working in the organic materials research group of Dr. Nancy Goroff to investigate \u201cShape-persistent macrocycles as hosts for Iodocarbons: toward formation of Carbyne.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re trying to form this material called carbyne \u2013a carbon-based material that\u2019s proposed to be a good semiconducting material,\u201d Chen said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s an infinitely long single atomic chain of just carbon.\u00a0The goal is to find a way to make carbyne, isolate it, and investigate it to understand more about it.\u201d\r\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to form this material called carbyne\u2013a carbon-based material that\u2019s proposed to be a good semiconducting material. It\u2019s an infinitely long single atomic chain of just carbon. The goal is to find a way to make carbyne, isolate it, and investigate it to understand more about it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n Read Emily Chen's interview with URECA:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\u201cResearch is a huge challenge for me,\u201d says Emily Chen \u201920, named July\u2019s Researcher of the Month by the Office of\u00a0Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities<\/a>\u00a0(URECA). \u201cI enjoy having something where I really have to work at it. You\u2019re answering these questions that no one knows the answer to.\u201d\r\n\r\n
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CREDIT: Stony Brook University[\/caption]\r\n\r\nEmily Chen first developed her skills for doing chemical synthesis as a member of the laboratory of Dr. Stanislaus Wong (Department of Chemistry) in her sophomore year where she worked on mostly inorganic chemistry applications; and subsequently became drawn to doing organic synthesis work as an E 3<\/sup>S Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) participant (summer 2018) at UC Berkeley, working in the laboratory of Dr. Felix Fischer at the Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science: the REU program focused on lowering energy consumption for semiconductors. In fall 2018, Emily joined the Goroff group at the start of her junior year. She will be applying to graduate Ph.D. programs in chemistry, chemical engineering, and\/or materials science in the fall to continue exploring the synthesis and applications of organic semiconducting materials.\r\n\r\nEmily Chen has been active as a Teaching Assistant for Organic and General Chemistry (CHE 152, CHE 331\/332) and Applied Mathematics (AMS 261) , as well as a Tutor for the Academic Success and Tutoring Center. She is the President and former PR Chair for SBU\u2019s American Institute of Chemical Engineering, is on the Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Planning Committee, and is a member of the Society of Women Engineers<\/a> and Women in Computer Science. Emily also serves as an Honors College Big Sibling to mentor incoming honors college students, and volunteers at Stony Brook Food Pantry.\r\n\r\n
\r\nTell us about your current research.\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nI work in Dr. Goroff\u2019s group, and my role basically is to design and synthesize and investigate shape persistent macrocycles. We\u2019re trying to form this material called carbyne \u2013a carbon-based material that\u2019s proposed to be a good semiconducting material. It\u2019s an infinitely long single atomic chain of just carbon. Carbyne is difficult to isolate due to high reactivity between individual strands and non-optimal synthetic routes. So my project is aimed at identifying this elusive path for carbyne synthesis\u2026<\/em>\r\n\r\nHow we want to do it is to use a polymer that we study extensively in the Goroff group: PIDA\u2014poly(diiododiacetylene). That\u2019s a polymer that theoretically if you remove the iodines, you could form carbyne. But what we\u2019ve found is that if we try to remove those iodines off of the polymer in solution, it will react with itself and it will form a different polymer rather than carbyne. So our strategy is to thread the polymer through a stack of rings \u2013 those rings are the macrocycles, and they will protect the polymer from reacting with itself. If we can find the conditions to remove the iodine using a lewis base, then we should be able to isolate a single strand of carbyne and protect it from reacting with itself or doing any other chemistry. The goal is to find a way to make carbyne, isolate it, and investigate it to understand more about it. It\u2019s something that hasn\u2019t readily been made.<\/em>\r\n
How did you first get involved with research?\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nI actually started doing research in a completely different field \u2013as a student data analyst working at the New York State Department of Health in the summer 2017. Then in my sophomore year, I heard about an opportunity to do research with a chemistry professor and I applied for it. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work in Dr. Wong\u2019s group for about a year, where I learned how to synthesize bismuth ferrite nanoparticles. I really enjoyed synthesis but I wanted to find an opportunity to do some organic chemistry. (I had just taken organic chemistry and really enjoyed it.) So I applied to an REU program at Berkeley. \u00a0And I got in and spent a summer there. That summer, I learned a lot about organic synthesis and techniques that you need to use. And then I joined the Goroff group after that.<\/em>\r\n
Tell us more about the REU.\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nIt was housed in the Center for Energy Efficient Electronic Sciences. The REU program and the center was completely focused just on trying to reduce the energy consumption of devices and electronics through approaches in chemistry, physics, and materials science. I was part of a group of about 8 to 10 students \u2013 and I was the only chemistry major. You got to interact with a lot of different students from different majors. They were all really great\u2014all so interested in what they were studying and what they were researching and how they can apply what they learn in school to what they\u2019re doing in lab. I loved the experience.<\/em>\r\n
What is your favorite aspect of research?\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nI think it\u2019s a little bit of a lot of different things. On the practical end, I like being at my hood and mixing chemicals and making something and wondering: did it work? Did it not work? \u2026I also like thinking about how you can take pieces of what other people have learned and try to fit that to what you\u2019re trying to learn as well. There\u2019s a lot of consulting other works, but also trying to figure out: does that apply to what I\u2019m doing, am I doing this in the most robust way possible?<\/em>\r\n\r\nResearch is a huge challenge for me. I enjoy having something where I really have to work at it. You\u2019re answering these questions that no one knows the answer to\u2026.And I think it\u2019s really helped me to develop as a researcher to be able to ask bigger questions and try to find solutions. Being in the Goroff Group, Nancy has really helped me grow into a better researcher and scientist.<\/em>\r\n
Have you had the chance to present your research?\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nI have. I presented here at SB at Chemistry Research Day last fall. That was a good experience because being able to share what you do and explain it to someone who doesn\u2019t understand it also helps you understand it internally. \u00a0It helps to try to explain what you do to a wider audience rather than just your group members. It\u2019s a skill, I think, that carries throughout the research career:\u00a0 you always need to be able to explain what you do, how you do it and why\u2026..<\/em>\r\n
What advice do you have for other students?\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nI would say stick with it even if it feels like you don\u2019t know a lot. Just ask a lot of questions and don\u2019t be afraid to ask something that you might not think is the most intelligible thing. Don\u2019t be afraid to be humble about what you know and what you don\u2019t know.<\/em>\r\n\r\n\u2026I think it can be pretty daunting to jump into research. There is some expectation that you should know things. But a lot of the times, you won\u2019t know until you start learning, or find someone that you can ask the \u201cdumb questions\u201d to. Finding someone that you can secure confidence in, someone who you can always ask any questions regardless of what it is, even if you think it is a dumb question, is really valuable.<\/em>\r\n
Was that a difficult thing to learn?\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nEarlier on, I would catch myself not asking questions, just writing it down for later\u2026.but a lot of the times, it really is humbling yourself and knowing that sometimes you don\u2019t know the answer and it is just better to ask someone about it, rather than try to hide that you don\u2019t know it or try to figure it out on your own without guidance. I think in school, work, or life in general, it\u2019s helpful to have a buddy, someone you can trust to ask questions.<\/em>\r\n
How valuable were the summer research experiences for you?\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nJuggling schoolwork plus lab work, plus whatever else you\u2019re doing (such as jobs, leadership activities, etc.) \u2013 all this has definitely built my time management skills during the academic year. And that has been good. But I really like the summer because you get to just spend an entire day in the lab, when there\u2019s nothing else on your mind.\u00a0 There aren\u2019t any time conflicts that you have to work around. You really just get to pour everything into your work in the summer. \u2026My efficiency goes up 500%!<\/em>\r\n\r\n
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