The Erlenmeyer Flask « Where diverse minds inspire endless innovation.

Today we focus on Naval Officer Chris Trice, who has worked his way through our online organic chemistry and will be applying to med schools this summer. Thank you, Chris, for sharing your Ecampus experience with us!

Help us get to know you better. Where are you from? What career are you in (or working towards) and what inspired you to choose this path?

I am originally from Niceville, Florida in the northwest panhandle of the state. I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame and majored in Computer Science. I also did Navy ROTC while in college, was commissioned a Naval Officer upon graduation, and have been in the Navy ever since. The Navy has taken me all over the country (and world) but I currently reside in sunny San Diego, California. I am currently a Supply Officer for the Navy but I’m hoping to get into medical school and eventually continue my service as a Navy physician. I was inspired to join the service by my father, who was a career Air Force Officer. Getting to serve my country in the Navy has been an honor and a privilege for me and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.

How does our online organic sequence relate to your career goals?

Since I was not on a pre-med track during undergrad, I lacked a lot of the prerequisite courses that many medical schools require. Working full time, it has sometimes been difficult to find classes that work with my schedule. When I found out about the OSU organic chemistry sequence, it was the perfect way to take this course while still being able to work full time. It was also great that the course itself was fantastic! Dr. Myles is an OUTSTANDING instructor and helped make learning a difficult subject possible. This sequence also helped greatly in my MCAT preparation as well.

How did you find out about our chemistry program? Any advice for us that would have made that process easier for you?

I found out about the OSU chemistry program through a friend and fellow Naval Officer who had taken OCHEM through OSU. He spoke highly of the course and has since matriculated into medical school himself. I found the process of registering for the course fairly straightforward so I don’t think there’s too much that needs to be done. I would suggest making sure current CRNs are up to date on the main website and also providing a clearer explanation of how the summer on-campus lab portion (the hybrid online/in-person section) works and where to stay, etc.

What’s something that most people don’t know about you?

I am passionate about music and filmmaking and like to record songs and make short films in my spare time.

What is next for you?

Hopefully medical school! I will be applying this summer and can hopefully get in somewhere. I’m excited for the new challenges and opportunities ahead!

Dang Nguyen has been named one of our Spring 2016 Undergraduates of the Quarter and we couldn’t be happier for him. Dang was born in Colorado, but his parents moved to Portland when he was three-years-old, so he considers himself an Oregonian. He attended Clackamas High School where he was first exposed to Chemistry by his OSU Alumni Chemistry Teacher, Mr. Sytsma.

Being one of the best engineering schools in the country and fairly close to home, OSU quickly became the clear choice for him however, during his freshman year, everything changed. Dang commented on one of the turning points in his life, speaking about Dr. Richard Nafshun, who was his General Chemistry at the time. “He has a teaching style that made me want to learn more about chemistry. The more chemistry I took, the more I enjoyed it; so, I switched.”

Dang has been doing undergraduate research with Maduka Ogba in Professor Paul Cheong’s lab for almost two years. He said they were working on non-classical hydrogen bonding research using computational chemistry, something he found very interesting. At the end of the academic year, they were working on a manuscript that Dang is hoping will reach publication.

He was unable to list just one favorite instructor, but was pretty adamant that his favorite class was experimental chemistry. “Experimental chemistry is more of an application and hands-on experience. I like this class because it’s a bridge between the two core concepts that one needs to fully understand a subject; theory and implementation.”

During his spare time, Dang is the president of the Chemistry Club. He also is an undergraduate TA for the general chemistry 12x and 23x sections and worked in the mole hole tutoring students. Upon graduation, he will be attending graduate school here at OSU, in the College of Education in the hopes of getting his Masters. He plans on teaching high school chemistry and math in the future; saying his teaching style is to use a lot of demos and applications. He feels like high school is the best place to do that.

Congratulations to Dang for being named a Spring 2016 Undergraduate of the Quarter. We’re proud to add you to this growing list of great students!

Dear OSU Science Community,

We are pleased to announce the “Life at the Nanoscale” mini symposium at the U of Oregon to be held on June 17th, 2016. This event was planned by the students of the Molecular Biology and Biophysics Training Grant at the University of Oregon and includes a fantastic line up of six speakers addressing important questions in biology ranging from mechanisms of neurotransmission to host-pathogen interactions, cytoskeletal regulation and RNA metabolism. The common thread between the featured speakers is that they each use cutting edge structural and biophysical techniques to understand molecular function.

In addition to the seminars, the mini symposium will feature a poster session, and we encourage all postdocs and students to register to present, as it will be a great opportunity for them to interact with the speakers.

The mini symposium will conclude with a dinner in the Willamette Hall atrium, and we are excited announce that University of Oregon’s own Brian Matthews will give a keynote seminar entitled “Structural Biology: Getting in on the Ground Floor”.

We hope that you can join us for this exciting event. Please register online at:

http://nanoscale.uoregon.edu

Registration will close on Friday, June 3rd, and space may be limited, so we encourage you to register early.

Life At Nanoscale Poster 1

Shannon Davis has been named one of the Spring 2016 Undergraduates of the Quarter and we could not be happier. Shannon grew up in a modest suburb of Seattle. She attended Lynnwood High School which she reported was incredibly ethnically diverse and described her experience there as awesome. She took AP Chemistry while there and remembers Chemistry being the only AP test she didn’t pass. “That’s why I chose Chemistry,” she remembers. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”

She came to OSU because she wanted to attend a PAC-12 school and with her choices being OSU and UW, she wanted something a little smaller and a little farther from home, so OSU was the obvious choice. “Plus,” she said, “my dad went here.” She originally matriculated into Chemistry with a chemical engineering option, but quickly discovered she liked the general chemistry sequence and switched to the advanced chemistry option. She remembers having Dr. Richard Nafshun for her general chemistry instructor and said it was an amazing experience.

Shannon says her favorite class has been the Experimental Chemistry series with Dr. Christine Pastorek and Emile Firpo. She also stated that they quickly became her favorite instructors.

Shannon has been doing Undergraduate Research for Dr. Jennifer Field since just after fall term of her junior year. She said she trained for a whole year before she was able to do actual research. Now, she’s using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to close mass balance in soil extractions. She says it’s been challenging and slower going than she thought originally.

When asked about extra-curricular activities, Shannon indicated that what she really enjoyed were the Family Science and Engineering Nights and Discovery Days. The outreach and chemistry volunteer work were a lot of fun.

Upon graduation, Shannon will be attending U Mass Boston to study marine science. She’s currently unsure of what she wants to do post-PhD, but is leaning toward teaching. She does know, she’s excited about moving cross-country.

Congratulations, Shannon! It is talented students like you that make OSU Chemistry such as special place.

ECampus Student: Sara Askounes — Sara Askounes

Today we highlight distance student Sara Askounes, an Ohioan who has followed her curiosity into the realms of nutrition, dentistry and music. Below she shares her experience with our online organic chemistry sequence:

Please share your background so we can get to know you better—what career are you in, or working towards? What inspired you to choose this path?

I’m currently working at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. I rather fell into my current position, as this is where I completed my undergraduate education in Nutrition. I also attended a dental hygiene program and became licensed to practice six years ago. My family enjoys teasing me about how I’ve become a career student, but I find that to be my biggest motivation; I’m extremely curious. My lifelong interest in learning always keeps me looking for my next challenge, whether it’s a degree, a class or just learning the chords to a new song.

Academically, I’m working towards furthering my career in the dental field. Once I complete my last few prerequisite courses I plan to apply to dental school. My objective is to participate in providing care to countries that currently have little to no access.

How did you find out about our chemistry program? What do you like most, or least, about our online classes?

Organic chemistry is very difficult to find offered in an online setting. I found Oregon State University by chance, and was rather nervous when I enrolled last fall for the first in the sequence. Once the class started and I saw the format I couldn’t have been happier. I’ve taken organic chemistry in a class-based setting twice with very little success. I’ve had online and in person tutors, and even sat for hours with professors trying to determine what I could do to improve my test performance. Dr. Myles takes all the confusion out of determining what to study and how. He explains exactly what is happening in the mechanisms and shares supplemental information as necessary, and avoids adding extra material that just causes confusion. I’ve had professors that have made the course much more difficult than it needs to be, and Dr. Myles shares his brilliance with his students in a simple and understandable fashion. I was thrilled that the lectures were recorded and posted the same day and that online discussion boards allowed all students to have a real time community during the semester as opposed to being closed off like most online courses. I was able to participate just as though I were on campus and in person like the rest of the class.

Any advice for us that would have made that process easier for you?

My only suggestion to make the course better would be to include better/more complete lecture captures. While they aren’t terribly frequent, there are times during lecture that Dr. Myles would point (I assume) to a specific part of the screen for clarification during a mechanism, which cannot be seen by just having the slides up and hearing the audio.

Do you have any advice for other online students?

Participate! Oregon State University gives online students the ability to participate in class, which will help you understand the material so much better. Even if you aren’t posting questions on the discussion board, read them daily. I’ve had so many questions answered that I didn’t even know I had by reading other students questions.

Tell us something silly about yourself.

I bought a drum set with my “life savings” back around 1998-1999 so that my two friends and I could start a band. We had a few original songs written, but mostly focused on rewriting parts of Hanson’s Middle of Nowhere album. The band broke up soon after we started, so the guys never had the pleasure of hearing “Here’s the Love,” but that’s probably for the best!

On behalf of The ACS Green Chemistry Institute,® we are excited about our upcoming conference to be held on June 14-16, 2016 in Portland, Oregon at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower. This year’s conference is focused on “Advancing Sustainable Solutions by Design,” and will offer three days of dynamic programming comprised of keynote addresses from world-renowned scientific leaders, 36 informative and interactive technical sessions, insightful poster sessions, and several targeted workshops. The conference will also provide a host of volunteer opportunities for green chemistry enthusiasts!

Accordingly, the Institute is looking for additional volunteers and would greatly appreciate your forwarding this request to colleagues, students, and associates who may be interested. Note: Volunteers who are onsite for a minimum of 4hours will receive free access to the general conference proceedings for the entire day they volunteer. For a complete list of volunteer types and responsibilities, please click here.

Should you have any questions, you may also contact me directly vias_alsobrooks@acs.org or (202) 872-4493. Thank you and have a wonderful afternoon.

The MRF Awards (Discovery Award, Mentor Award, Richard T. Jones New Investigator Award) are made to Oregonians throughout the state to acknowledge and honor their contributions to health-related research and education and health-care delivery. The people who make these contributions deserve our recognition. The awards also serve to inform the citizens of Oregon about the outstanding researchers and educators in our state. I encourage you to work with colleagues in your institutions/organizations to nominate deserving candidates. The nominations are due May 27, 2016.

M. Susan Smith, PhD
Chair, MRF Research and Education Committee

The Discovery Award acknowledges an Oregon investigator who has made significant, original contributions to health-related research while working in Oregon. This research can be in the basic, clinical or behavioral sciences, or can be research in health care delivery, health informatics or health outcomes. The Discovery Award recipient will receive a cash award of $6,000 and a commemorative award.

The Mentor Award is presented to an Oregonian who has provided outstanding leadership in support or development of health research, education or the advancement of health care. The Mentor Award recipient will receive a cash award of $6,000 and a commemorative award.

The Richard T. Jones New Investigator Award recognizes a new investigator who shows exceptional promise early in a career in biomedical research. This individual must be within seven years or less of completing clinical and/or post-doctoral training and will be judged on the basis of independence, quality of science, national funding and first or senior authored publications in peer-reviewed biomedical research journals. The culmination of the research must have been performed in Oregon. The Richard T. Jones New Investigator Award recipient will receive a cash award of $3,000 and a commemorative award.

Award winners will be selected by the members of the MRF Committee. Guidelines for each award, lists of past award recipients (eligible for renomination) and a list of current MRF committee members (ineligible for nomination) can be found at www.mrf-oregon.org.

Nominations must include:

A nomination letter clearly specifying the award for which the individual is being nominated and addressing how the individual meets the guidelines for that award.
The nominee’s curriculum vitae
No more than five letters of support. Letters of support signed by more than one person are discouraged.
All documents should be submitted at one time, as one packet by the nominator.

Electronic submissions (one pdf) are encouraged.
Send to: goodn@ohsu.edu
Paper nominations may be mailed (as one packet) to:
MRF Submissions, OHSU Foundation
Attn: Nicole Good
1121 SW Salmon Street, Suite 100, Mail Code L344
Portland, OR 97205
Nomination deadline: 5:00 p.m. on May 27, 2016

Questions?
Contact Nicole Good 503 552-0677 | goodn@ohsu.edu

Thirty-Minute Brief: How to Get Started and Get Assistance to Make Your Course Hybrid, with Cub Kahn (CTL). A growing number of OSU faculty are redesigning classroom courses as hybrids, which combine significant online learning activity with a reduced amount of on-campus “seat time.” This webinar will demonstrate effective methods for designing and teaching a hybrid course, as well as reasons that you might consider a blended approach. Tuesday, May 3, noon – 12:30 p.m. Questions? contact Cub Kahn (cub.kahn@oregonstate.edu). Register here: http://bit.ly/1NFPvbL

The Research Office is accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity (URISC) program for Fall, Winter and/or Spring term(s) 2016-17. This program supports undergraduate research activities from all academic disciplines within the university. Program description and application: http://research.oregonstate.edu/incentive/undergraduate-research-innovation-scholarship-creativity-urisc. Information Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu. Deadline: May 9.

The Erlenmeyer Flask

Where diverse minds inspire endless innovation.

Focus on ECampus – Chris Trice on Online Organic Chemistry

Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2016 – Dang Nguyen

Life at the Nanoscale Mini Symposium

Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2016 – Shannon Davis

Focus On ECampus – Sara Askounes

ACS Green Chemistry Institute (R) Conference Volunteer Request

2016 MRF Award Nominations due May 27th, 2016

Webinar

URISC Fall, Winter, Spring, 2016-17

Contact Info