Proposal text
Summarize your proposed experiential learning activity, including the primary focus of your activity, your intended actions, and the expectations of your supervisor and/or organization/partners.
I will be conducting research in the Bush Lab in the Department of Chemistry with a graduate student mentor. I have been conducting research in the lab since my freshman year, and will continue research throughout the remainder of Winter Quarter. My current project is on the connection of anion exchange chromatography to native mass spectrometry, which will also be my thesis topic for my departmental honors requirement. My supervisors will mentor and review my research data and progress, and I will be going into lab to conduct experiments and report data and updates to my mentors.
I will be conducting research in the Bush Lab in the Department of Chemistry with a graduate student mentor. I have been conducting research in the lab since my freshman year, and will continue research throughout the remainder of Winter Quarter. My current project is on the connection of anion exchange chromatography to native mass spectrometry, which will also be my thesis topic for my departmental honors requirement. My supervisors will mentor and review my research data and progress, and I will be going into lab to conduct experiments and report data and updates to my mentors.
Explain how your activity demonstrates the values of the Honors Program Experiential Learning area you selected. Rather than reiterating our definition, outline how your activity embodies this definition.
My activity demonstrates the values of research, as I have been working closely with a faculty member and a graduate student on my research project. This activity is also part of my departmental honors thesis requirement, and I will be learning and gaining skills in research which will be essential to my development as a future researcher and graduate student.
My activity demonstrates the values of research, as I have been working closely with a faculty member and a graduate student on my research project. This activity is also part of my departmental honors thesis requirement, and I will be learning and gaining skills in research which will be essential to my development as a future researcher and graduate student.
How and why did you select this engagement? What skills or experiences do you hope to gain from it?
I selected this engagement in my freshman year when presented with the idea of conducting undergraduate research, as I have always known that I wanted to pursue a post-secondary education since before starting my undergraduate degree. I am passionate about chemistry and analytical chemistry, and thus chose the Bush Lab to conduct undergraduate research. I am hoping to gain skills in research, report writing, and to experience a more intensive research schedule to prepare me for graduate school.
I selected this engagement in my freshman year when presented with the idea of conducting undergraduate research, as I have always known that I wanted to pursue a post-secondary education since before starting my undergraduate degree. I am passionate about chemistry and analytical chemistry, and thus chose the Bush Lab to conduct undergraduate research. I am hoping to gain skills in research, report writing, and to experience a more intensive research schedule to prepare me for graduate school.
How does this activity connect to your concurrent or past coursework? How does it speak to your broader education goals and experiences?
Undergraduate research has been an essential part of my undergraduate education. It connects concepts and ideas learned in courses, such as CHEM 321 and CHEM 428 to real-life applications, and I am specifically interested in the investigation and use of mass spectrometry to biological systems. This activity speaks to my broader education goals as I plan on attending graduate school in the Fall, and hope to eventually work in the research field as an analytical chemist.
Undergraduate research has been an essential part of my undergraduate education. It connects concepts and ideas learned in courses, such as CHEM 321 and CHEM 428 to real-life applications, and I am specifically interested in the investigation and use of mass spectrometry to biological systems. This activity speaks to my broader education goals as I plan on attending graduate school in the Fall, and hope to eventually work in the research field as an analytical chemist.
How will your activity contribute to the larger goals of the organization/your partners?
My activity will contribute to the lab's current ongoing research in mass spectrometry and the development of new and innovative technologies in the field. This technology aims to combine anion exchange chromatography with native mass spectrometry and enable the one step purification and fractionation of proteins and other biological compounds for native mass spectrometry analysis. My activity would hopefully allow for the publication of this technology and enable its broader use in a research setting.
My activity will contribute to the lab's current ongoing research in mass spectrometry and the development of new and innovative technologies in the field. This technology aims to combine anion exchange chromatography with native mass spectrometry and enable the one step purification and fractionation of proteins and other biological compounds for native mass spectrometry analysis. My activity would hopefully allow for the publication of this technology and enable its broader use in a research setting.
Reflection text
During the past quarter, I have worked with my graduate student mentor on a research project regarding the connection of ion exchange to the electrospray ionization source in accordance with current COVID-19 guidelines. I have also been participating in group meetings and have spent the last quarter deciding on graduate schools and looking forward to continuing my research through a PhD program. This last quarter, I worked with my graduate student mentor on a manuscript for the previous project relating to ion exchange for native mass spectrometry. I collaborated with him by reviewing the different drafts and providing feedback before submission to a journal. We hope that the technology developed would enable more efficient analysis of biomolecules in native mass spectrometry in the future.
My experiences at the Bush Lab have been crucial to my development as a scientist and researcher, and the guidance I have received from my mentors has been invaluable to me. I plan on continuing to conduct research in the Bush Lab until I have to leave Seattle for graduate school and continue pursuing research in a graduate program. I am also planning on presenting this project at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in May.
My experiences at the Bush Lab have been crucial to my development as a scientist and researcher, and the guidance I have received from my mentors has been invaluable to me. I plan on continuing to conduct research in the Bush Lab until I have to leave Seattle for graduate school and continue pursuing research in a graduate program. I am also planning on presenting this project at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in May.