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03/09/2016

Doctoral Research Showcase, April 6, features five chemistry graduate students

Five chemistry graduate students—Joshua Borycz, Laura Clouston, Rebecca Mackenzie, Jennifer Strehlau and Haoyu Yu—will present their research at the 2016 Doctoral Research Showcase, which is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in the Great Hall at the Coffman Memorial Union.

Their research presentations focus on:

  • Joshua Borycz: "Metal-Organic Frameworks: Characterization, Application, and Modification"
  • Laura Clouston: "Exploiting Heterobimetallic Catalysts for Dinitrogen Conversion"
  • Rebecca Mackenzie: "Understanding Intermolecular Attraction: Fundamental Science and Environmental Applications"
  • Jennifer Strehlau: "Contaminant Remediation by Iron Oxides: Environmental Variables and Evolving Reactivity"
  • Haoyu Yu: "Exchange-Correlation Functionals with Broad Accuracy for Chemistry and Physics"

The purpose of the showcase is help the Doctoral Dissertation Fellows gain exposure for their work, and become skilled and comfortable with presenting their findings to non-specialists.

The road to the dissertation is long and often winding. Graduate students complete courses, lab work, and exams; they develop research questions and methodology; they review existing literature. They conduct interviews, surveys, and experiments; analyze results; and consider implications.

As they make their way down this road, graduate students transform from being those who absorb knowledge to those who produce it. They raise new issues, develop new approaches, and advance new ideas.

And while completion of the doctoral dissertation marks a significant, culminating achievement, it’s only the beginning. The student is now an independent researcher, one whose expertise and experience will contribute to the betterment of people, places, and systems throughout the state, the nation, and the world—whether in academia or industry, nonprofit or government.

In addition to showing support for our students, you’ll also have the chance to learn about research being done in other areas of the University.

The doctoral fellows represent some of the University’s most creative thinkers.

For additional information, go to http://z.umn.edu/drs2016.