My inorganic chemistry professor was very excited about bringing to class this professor from Caltech to talk to us about the color of inorganic compounds. He also mentioned something that this professor, called Harry Gray, was doing research on something solar-energy related. I don’t get to meet every day a chemist that does research on something related to pollution or energy, so I naturally became immediately excited.
Of course it was super cool that we had an outside speaker in class, especially the next day after prospective scholars left. It got our test postponed, we didn’t have to study anything for that day, and we weren’t going to be tested on that stuff, so nobody minded if we didn’t pay attention. But as soon as the presentation started, we all realized that not paying attention was simply out of the question. The guy was very entertaining and engaged everyone, with his stories about this town from Kentucky of 300 (I think) people he grew up in, and his history about what discoveries were made that lead people to understand how color appeared in cool minerals like ruby or sapphire.
He presented these theories, including a couple we studied in class, and at some point he talked about how this latest-at-the-time theory didn’t satisfy people anymore. “That’s where I came in” he said, and talked about how he came to a conclusion that another theory would explain things better. “And that’s how I developed the ligand field theory”. WAIT, WHAT? That theory is the basic concept of our inorganic test, and one of the main ideas of inorganic chemistry in general. SO THE GUY WHO DEVELOPED IT ACTUALLY CAME TO CLASS TO EXPLAIN IT TO US? That explains why our professor was so excited, to the point of postponing the test.
I already mentioned that his talk was interactive, right? It was so interactive, that he actually invented an award on the spot, for someone in the audience. For me! That was because I was the fastest in responding to his question that in English would translate as “What is 5-4?” When I said “1″, he came to me, shook my hand, and asked me what’s my name. “Ana”. “Well, Ana, you just won the 2011 Harry Gray award for (something related to oxidation states)! Please give me your email address so I can send it to you!”
During his lecture, I asked him a gazillion of questions. And I found him so interesting, that I went to another lecture later that day, which was more of a question-and-answer session about his life and how he came to do chemistry, during which I asked him even more questions. I was impressed that he remembered my name right away, but considering that nobody else was asking so many questions, it sort of made sense.
And he hadn’t started speaking about his research on solar energy yet! Apparently, that was reserved for his final lecture, in the evening, where a lot of chemists from all over Virginia came. Apparently, his lecture is part of an annual lecture series called Powell Lecture, that is a pretty big deal in the chemistry community of the area. Anyway, he gives his lecture and talks about this ample project called the Solar Army, where high school and undergraduate students from across the world work for him to find a catalyst that would split water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar energy, and at the end there’s time for questions. After a few questions from professionals that probably knew what they were talking about, I raise my hand timidly. At that point, Dr. Gray looks at me and brags me in all ways possible (I paraphrase): “Look at that young lady over there, she was asking me all day all sorts of intelligent questions, and she’s just a sophomore!” (I can swear I never mentioned I was a sophomore). At that moment, all the important chemists in the room were looking at me. Also at that moment, I realized I had just impressed one of the most famous chemists in the country. Wow!
The reason why I raised my hand was to ask him how can a student become involved in his Solar Army. That opened a longer discussion over several questions, and concluded that the University of Richmond has a huge potential for becoming involved in the project. An since there is student interest (aka my interest) we can make it happen. He asked me to contact someone from his team and ask how the university can get involved. A week later (after actually taking my inorganic test from the theory he developed) I contacted that person. Now I’m waiting for a reply. If all goes well, I may have just set the basis for another kind of research opportunity at the university!
Before he left, I couldn’t help myself but ask him to take a picture with me:
Update: here are some videos of the Powell lecture. The video quality is not too great, but the audio is excellent and that is the most important. Check Part II, around minute 25:30 to listen to Harry Gray answering my questions and praising me in front of all the chemistry community from the area.
Environmental Economics - Want to save money? Go green! Lately I heard about more and more research showing that sustainability is the most cost-effective way of doing business, and it also saves money in the long run for regular consumers. That’s not really only the focus of the class, but taking into account all economic considerations of environmental actions, such as the cost of implementing environmental laws and other similar stuff. That class also marks my return to the Business School since first semester, when I took Econ 101. For some odd reason beyond my ability of understanding, UR science students seem to be as terrified by the Business School as business students are terrified by science. I wonder if this is an explanation for the Business School being on the totally opposite side of campus as Gottwald. I have a 15-minute break between Physics and Environmental Econ right at noon, in which I hurry across campus, carried by the massive crowd of students hurrying from one class to another. When I finally make it to class, I am so starving, that I eat in front of the professor. Thankfully, that’s not a problem at UR, but I come from a culture where it shows lack of respect, so it’s not too easy for me!
Geography, Economic Development, and Globalization - Sometime towards the end of last semester I decided to add this class to my schedule, because it served as an Environmental Studies elective, sounded interesting, and I almost unintentionally was offered an override. I am not sure what was in my mind, but at that point I certainly did not realize that I was having 5.5 units again, just like last spring that made me crazy, plus all the other stuff I mentioned before (ok, I wasn’t yet employed as a tutor, but all the rest was there). So by the time school started again, I believed I got back to my senses and decided to drop the class. But I went to the first day of class…and it was fascinating. We had to do an exercise, write on the board all the countries we’ve been to. And the 20 students from the class covered 3 boards with the names of different countries. There are so many international students or people from so different backgrounds, and the discussions about globalization in this way are incredible! So I decided to stick with it! Until I was reminded that I can’t do everything I find interesting. So I decided to drop again. Until I went to the next class and started analyzing an incredible case study about Walmart! So I decided to stick with it! Until I mentioned my indecision to my inorganic professor, who said that if I am overcommitted, I should consider dropping the class because he’s going to demand a lot from me (or from us…I hate that the English word “you” does not distinguish between only one person or several people). That’s where I’m standing right now! I still have one more week to decide, before the add-drop period ends. No idea what to do!
We were able to speak with a woman who was HIV-positive and who had been able to get a job at the clinic as a coordinator. I loved hearing her story, and I enjoyed seeing the clinic because one of my goals is to become a physician and work with underserved populations. We really loved seeing the clinic - here’s a photo of us intently listening to the director:
Later, we also spoke with another doctor about health disparities in the DR.On Tuesday, we went to a bank meeting (where the loans are distributed) in a batey community, which is a community near the sugar-cane fields, where many Haitian migrant workers work. We also visited a wonderful Esperanza associate, Bienvenida Nina, and her booming business, which was financed by Esperanza microcredit loans. Here’s a picture of us with Bienvenida Nina and her daughter in front of Nina’s business:
At the end of the day, we visited a water sanitation project, and later, we saw a Dominican baseball game (baseball is really popular there!). On our last full day in the DR, we went to a bank meeting in an urban setting and visited an Esperanza associate working to educate her community about reproductive health issues (safe sex, HIV-AIDS transmission, family planning, etc). We also played baseball with Dominican children from Quisqueya! The baseball field was created by Esperanza to help kids have a safe outlet for recreation after-school. The kids were AMAZING baseball players!
Me trying to hit the ball (I did hit the ball once!):
Here’s a photo of our trusty bus!
Here’s a photo of us on our last night in the DR:
It was such an amazing experience to go on this trip, because I was able to see how the global health knowledge we learned in class can actually, truly have an effect on people’s lives – through microcredit finance, erasing HIV-associated stigma, improving public health issues, and more. I loved hearing the associates’ stories about the positive (and sustainable) effect that microcredit finance had on their lives.It was also great to further bond with the students in my class/aka my global health family !! We got to know each other so well, and after arriving back on campus, we’ve started cooking and eating meals together over Thanksgiving break. In our first night back, Ana joined us for a lovely pasta dinner!
Our professor also invited us to his house for a great Thanksgiving meal with his family!!
