ACS-SA's 2021 June Newsletter
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Week 10: End of Year Banquet
Come celebrate the end of Spring Quarter, with ACS-SA at our 2020-2021 End-Of-Year Banquet Friday, June 4th, 6-7 pm! Socialize with other chemists, receive cool prizes like superlatives and stickers, and most importantly applaud yourself for the hard work you put in this quarter.
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Week 8: Chemistry of Wine Making
When you think of Chemistry, the first things that come to mind are often beakers and lab coats. In order to combat this, ACS-SA hosted a guest speaker during their week 8 meeting, Mr. Greg Peiker, to come and speak to us about the Chemistry that is present within the production of Wine Making. We learned more about the uses Chemistry is in this process, such as how the bacteria known as acetobacter has the capability of turning wine into vinegar!
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Week 9: ACS-SA's 15th Annual Research Symposium
During week 9 ACS-SA was proud to hold our 15th annual research symposium to help celebrate the hard work of the undergraduate research community. Undergraduates were able to share their research through virtual posters with faculty, students, and judges. Undergraduate students were also able to participate in a new video competition category where they were able to share their educational passions with their Chemistry community. The event concluded with a motivational keynote speaker, Dr. Stallings, who inspired everyone to continue their educational journeys.
ACS-SA is extremely grateful to the faculty and graduate student judges, Chem Advising, the UCSD Chemistry, and Biochemistry Department, as well as everyone who was able to help make this event possible. Congratulations to all winners and participants!
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Physical Sciences Mentorship Program
Applications Open!
The UC San Diego Physical Sciences Mentorship Program is a collaboration between the Division of Physical Sciences Student Success Center and the Alumni Office. The objective of the program is for mentors to support students in navigating the job search process during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students-- with a priority given to graduating seniors and graduate students. Moreover, mentors can provide specific information regarding career paths, goal setting, occupations and industries, as well as provide general advice for students for life after college. By connecting to a mentor, not only do students get to absorb their mentor's expertise and knowledge, but the students also gain valuable networking experience that will be critical to their success.
Apply now, program starts September 13, 2021!
Mentee Application deadline August 13, 2021!
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June's Alumni Spotlight
Dr. Susanna Lee
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"I got involved with ACS-SA my first year and decided to check it out because of a few emails I had gotten from the Chemistry department. At my first meeting, I was your typical wallflower standing in the back, but the Officers were so nice and really encouraged me to keep coming out. I really enjoyed my experience in my first year and was overall really grateful I had made friends who would make these really bad chemistry puns with me. From then on, I decided I wanted to give back and decided to interview for an officer position.
If there was any advice I could give to current ACS-SA members, it would be to network and reach out to not only your professors but also your peers. I almost didn't expect the support I received from upperclassmen, but my connections with those upperclassmen helped me form really strong relationships in my time in undergrad. Nine times out of ten, upperclassmen are willing to help you because they remember how it feels like to be a freshman, so I would absolutely encourage you to reach out to them. Networking is huge! Reach out to your peers, professors, and your graduate TAs! The second piece of advice I would give is to not be afraid of applying to opportunities you’re interested in. If you don’t try, you’ll never know. If you even have a slight interest in something, I would highly recommend you go for it.”
--Dr. Susanna Lee, 2018 UC San Diego graduate
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Research and Internship Opportunities
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Recent Advances in Chemistry
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Strokes occur when there is a lack of oxygen flowing to the brain, and they are a major cause of death in the United States. Scientists have recently discovered a way to make photosynthesis, a process that plants and other organisms use to produce oxygen happen in the brains of patients. One way that they have done this is with the use of a bacteria called Synechococcus elongatus, however, one of the drawbacks they experienced is that the light needed to trigger the microbes cannot pass through the skull. Scientists are now looking into pairing S. elongatus with neodymium nanoparticles to convert infrared light into a visible wavelength S. elongatus can use to perform photosynthesis.
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PETase is an enzyme that scientists have recently discovered in certain strains of fungi that are able to break down Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly known as polyester. PET is often used in plastic, including water bottles, straws, bags, packing peanuts, and much more. The problem with PET and any other plastic is that it contributes largely to pollution, considering it can take up to four hundred fifty years to biodegrade. This is where the enzyme PET hydrolase (PETase) comes in. The fungi secrete PETase which can break the ester bonds within the PET polymer, breaking it down into monomers. Due to its effectiveness, scientists hope to potentially use PETase in landfills to help reduce the amount of plastic waste.
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