chemistee-blog

[chemistee-blog]

Tiny ways to survive in a white male dominated field as a women of colour:

1) Call out casual sexism. Call out casual racism. It will slip out of the mouths of white boys who have never been challenged before. Don’t accept it.

2) Befriend the women of colour in your field. Love them for the amazing people they are. Share memes to make them laugh. Support each other because no-one else will. Find mentors, then be a mentor. 

3) Do not let white women belittle your struggle or tell you that it doesn’t exist. They won’t understand, but you should take the time to explain your position, your values and where you come from. They might learn something from you.

4) Don’t beat yourself up because you didn’t have extra maths classes or coding workshops or an uncle who works in the field or any of the other tiny things that puts privileged boys ahead. Do your best.

5) Ask questions. I know it’s intimidating, but speak to your professors. It might be the first time they’ve ever interacted with someone like you, and they can be surprisingly kind and respectful. Develop relationships that will be mutually beneficial.

6) Enter the spaces that scare you. Visit them until you feel at home there. Being physically present in the libraries and labs will make it easier for other people of colour to enter those spaces. You belong there as much as the white people around you. 

7) Learn about the women of colour who came before you. Their contributions to your field have been of utmost importance, but their names may have been erased. Find out about them. Be inspired. Keep them in your heart.

8) It’s okay to falter. You don’t always have to be strong. You don’t always have to be brave. Sometimes, you’ll keep quiet when someone says something so utterly offensive you’ll have no idea how to respond. It’s tiring to repeat yourself to deaf ears. Rest and be kind to yourself.

[chemistee-blog]

Irène Joliot-Curie (1897-1956) was a French scientist who was awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize for Chemistry – just like her mother, Marie Curie, in 1911. She received the distinction for the discovery of artificial radioactivity.

After completing her education at the Sorbonne, she continued studying at the Radium Institute, which had been built by her parents. Along with her husband, she discovered methods to create radioactive material cheaply and easily, for use in medical environments.

[chemistee-blog]

Porcupine chemistry puns via r/chemistry!

(The creator has also made the t-shirts available here: http://goo.gl/mngQaa)

[chemistee-blog]

12, 14, 24, 25, 26, 27, 48, and 50 :D

Hi! Thanks for sending me those! :D12. Who’s your least favorite scientist?I’ve never caught myself thinking of my least favorite scientist. When reading this question, I started recalling all the names I could. Then it just came to my mind that my least favorite scientist is one of my Professors, who has patents and all, but is a terrible person and an awful teacher. We often think of famous scientists when talking about science, but it is way closer to us...

14. Do you do field work? What kind?I was going to do some Education field work, but I dropped the corresponding discipline, so I’m not going to do it anymore. I’m only a freshman, so I still don’t do any Chem-related work.24. What is your title?I don’t have any titles, I guess... I just entered college, haha. Hopefully I’m going to be Bachelor and Licensed in Chemistry in some years. 25. What is the role of technology in your field?Without techonology, Chemistry would never be where it is nowadays. Just try and imagine PChem, Analytical Chem, Organic Chem without technology... We would be still stuck in some problems. Also, about my freshman experience, I’m so grateful that Excel exists! Analytical Chem is all about Excel! xD26. What do you enjoy most about doing science?I enjoy understanding science more than I enjoy doing science, to be honest. Give me all the theories, I want to know about all of them. I’m not that excited about collecting data, though, but if I have to do it, of course I’m going to do it! To me, the whole thing about science is being able to understand how the world works and how to pass this knowledge to others.

27. What do you enjoy least about doing science?I’m not that crazy about collecting data all day in lab, as I’ve said in 26. It requires the kind of patience I’m not always able to give, since I’m naturally an inattentive person with a difficulty to grasp failure. However, hopefully I’m going to fix it the next years of undergrad and grad school.28. What’s your favorite molecule?Any xenon compounds. Come on, it’s xenon! 

50. What’s your favorite element?You might think the answer to this one is “xenon”, but it isn’t. I actually haven’t picked my favorite element. Maybe bismuth or fluorine, who knows? But I guess I’m getting attached to carbon lately... Orgo is a very interesting field.Thanks again! :D Send me science questions!

[chemistee-blog]

70 Ask-Questions for Science people... because Science

What’s your major/field?

What made you choose your major/field?

What’s your favorite thing to do in the lab?

What’s the most interesting lab story?

What’s your favorite class?

Which professors do you ship together?

Annoying things your labmates do?

What are your thoughts on animal testing?

Any chemical burns or lab related accidents?

On a scale from 1 to 10 how sensitive are your lab scales?

Who’s your favorite scientist?

Who’s your least favorite scientist?

Favorite female scientists? 

Do you do field work? What kind?

Ever tasted an experiment?

What are your typical daydreams about?

How often do you say “for science”?

Do you think about murdering someone with science?

Ever used your scientific knowledge for “bad” stuff?

Whats the most “evil scientist” thing you can think of?

If you had infinite funding, what would your research be about?

What is your favorite scientific theory?

Is a scientific mind attractive to you?

What is your title?

What is the role of technology in your field?

What do you enjoy most about doing science?

What do you enjoy least about doing science?

What is your tolerance on stupidity?

What are your strengths in your field of study?

Your weaknesses?

Do you have a bit of a god complex?

Why are biology majors so….you know..

What motivates you?

Do you like being supervised?

Describe your analytic abilities.

How would your friends describe you?

How would your professors describe you?

Is math a little bit too mathy for you?

Do you code? if yes, how many languages?

Thoughts on AI and robots?

What’s your favorite science blog?

Philosophical views on humanity and nature?

What are your short term and long term career goals?

Do you understand general relativity?

Favorite Dinosaur? Fossil? whatever…

How many bones can you name in medical terms?

How many muscles can you name in medical terms?

What’s your favorite molecule?

Do you like proofs or cold hard Mathematics?

What’s your favorite element?

Favorite show?

Favorite scientific fictional character?

What’s your favorite micro organism?

Have you ever held an organ in your hands?

Lab coats?

What about … lab goats?

White latex gloves or blue ones?

What’s the most dangerous experiment you’ve done in the lab?

What was the first time you got caught doing science?

What was you’r parent’s reaction when you told them you’re a scientist?

Except for lab coats in the bedroom what other kinks do you have?

What would you do a TED talk on?

Are you creative, artistic?

Do you have an attractive professor you can’t pay attention to?

What’s your favorite mineral?

What scientific books would you recommend?

Thoughts on spectral analysis?

Any interesting stories from the lab?

Ever did or thought about doing it or someone in the lab?

How much science is too much science?

Compiled by: rudescience 

[chemistee-blog]

Academic emotions. From inspiration to isolation, curiosity to depression and back again. You are not alone.

[chemistee-blog]

In another episode of strange titles for journal articles: who knew xanthones are priviledged?

[chemistee-blog]

The last few days have been a total wreck. - Mental breakdown at the middle of Analytical Chem lab? Check - Mental breakdown at the middle of Orgo classes? Check - Dropped out of my Education class, after defending it for weeks? Check This week has shown me that I have my own limits and I cannot take up to 30 credits all at once, specially when I'm struggling with my mental health. Now I'm loaded with 24 credits, 4 of them are Instrumental English and do not load me at all. I had to swallow my pride and admit I should drop something, even if it was my favorite class. It can wait, what isn't true for other classes I'm taking. I've already spoken to my coordinator and she is going to help me to get my shit together. I am so close of failing the whole semester, and I must work on it before it's too late. What a shame it is too difficult when I barely have the energy to feel motivated about the things I like the most, as teaching.

[chemistee-blog]

[chemistee-blog]

10.9.16//

I had to do a test yesterday on the stuff we covered in chemistry in June and I had completely forgotten so I have gone over the content again! Hopefully next time I’ll actually remember.

[chemistee-blog]

finally finished rewriting chem notes

[chemistee-blog]

Please only lose it in the designated areas, thank you

[chemistee-blog]

Me and my labmates have literally lost a Büchner flask with its rubber adaptor. We had no idea where it had gone, so we had to refund it. I think that says a lot about us :')

so one of my labmates spilled water on his laptop and the two immediate suggestions we had to dry it were to stick it in the antechamber of one of the gloveboxes or to pour some NaK on it and i think that says a lot about us

[chemistee-blog]

LIGHT-BEARER

Stefan Schramm works in a truly illuminating field of chemistry. To create this photo, the postdoc dissolved just 5 mg of a 2-coumaranone derivative in a flask with a strong base. The 2-coumaranone reacted with oxygen in the air, creating an excited intermediate molecule, which then released energy in the form of bright blue light as it relaxed to its ground state. Schramm, who works with Panče Naumov at New York University, Abu Dhabi, carries out research focused on making these 2-coumaranones, a group of molecules that haven’t been studied much but could be useful for the detection of diseases such as HIV and cancers.

Submitted by Stefan Schramm

Do science, take pictures, win money. Enter our photo contest here.

Related C&EN content:

Deciphering the color code of bioluminescence

Get to Know a Firefly

Tears of the Sea

[chemistee-blog]

8/3/16

This is the month I am going to get things done. I’ve had a relatively productive start, but I will keep pushing myself for more!!

Chemistry summary notes on stereoisomerism.

[chemistee-blog]

07.09 a throwback pic from the day before I had to study a sociology text for an essay. my handwritting looks tragic because I had to write things down too quickly!

[chemistee-blog]

Preparation of an acid chloride on a bit larger scale. 

SOCl2 + RCO2H → RC(O)Cl + SO2 + HCl

The recipe is easy. Get a flask, a reflux condenser and a dropping funnel, weight out the acid into the flask, add 1,2 molar equivalents of thionyl chloride, heat and stir until no more gas evolves and distill what’s left in the flask to obtain a pure product. Yield: +99%.

However care should be taken, since highly toxic hydrogen chloride and sulfur dioxide is evolved from the reaction. The chlorinating agent what’s used, thionyl chloride and the product is toxic and will react violently with water to produce toxic gases.