Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2014 - (Page 12)

Fascinated by My Internship with by Briana Sealey I HAD NEVER HEARD OF PROJECT SEED when my high school advisor suggested that I apply to this program at Case Western Reserve University. It was the spring of my junior year, and I was looking for a science internship for the coming summer. When I learned that Project SEED was a research program sponsored by the American Chemical Society, I wasted no time in applying. I submitted an essay describing my love for science and my excitement at the prospect of working as a part of a research group. About two weeks later, I received an acceptance letter. Joining the Team I was assigned to work in the laboratory of Dr. Carlos Crespo-Hernández in the Department of Chemistry. Dr. Crespo's group conducts research focused on understanding light-induced molecular reactions of relevance to biology, renewable energy, and the environment. When I arrived at his office in late June, he welcomed me with a huge smile. During our meeting-the first of several we'd have over the course of my internship-he explained how important it is to understand the world at a microscopic level so it can be understood at a macroscopic level. He also described his own research and shared the educational decisions he made on his way to becoming a professor. These discussions were always inspiring and left me wondering more about how the world worked at an atomic and molecular level. On my second day, I met Aaron Vogt, the graduate student who would be my mentor. As we would do each day of my internship, Aaron and I met in an office in the Millis Science Center before heading to Dr. Crespo's lab 12 imagine in the basement of the building. On my first visit to the lab, Aaron pointed out some of the equipment we'd be using, including a spectrometer, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instrument, and a xenon arc lamp, which is used to simulate sunlight. I didn't have access to equipment like this in my high school and was excited to learn how to use it. The Compounds in Question My work was part of the Crespo group's research on nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs), a class of environmental pollutants that are released into the air in emissions from cars, factories, power plants, incinerators, and other sources. Some NPAHs also form in the atmosphere from reactions of PAHs. Regardless of their source, many NPAHs have been identified as carcinogenic or mutagenic agents. And they are likely to become even more abundant in the environment as developing countries burn increasing amounts of petroleum and coal. What happens to these pollutants once they get into the atmosphere or the water supply? How long do they stay there? How do they break down, and what do they break down into? I hadn't thought much about questions like these, but in Dr. Crespo's lab, I got a crash course on this complex topic. I learned that NPAHs do degrade into other compounds with exposure to sunlight; however, these photoproducts can be even more toxic than the NPAHs they form from. Dr. Crespo's group is studying these degradation processes and the resulting chemical products in their lab so that models can be created to help understand how NPAHs behave, persist, and affect air quality. Mar/Apr 2014 SHUTTERSTOCK I hoped that this experience might help me decide what area of science I wanted to pursue. I loved all areas of science-biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy-but had no idea where I wanted to focus my energies. Project SEED would allow me to learn what it's like to be a chemist. As excited as I was, I was still a little nervous. I had taken Honors Chemistry, but I would be making a big jump from high school science to working full-time in a university lab for eight weeks.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2014

In My Own Words
Chemistry Is…
Master of Reactions
Fascinated by Photochemistry
What About Labs?
Buckyballs and Nanocrystals
Small Is Big
Chemistry Among the Stars
Making Chemicals Safer, 21st Century Style
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Empowered to Change the World
The Buzz About History
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2014