Chemistry Concept Visualization
I’m interested in ways to visualize concepts encountered in chemistry
courses at the
high school and
first-year undergraduate levels. Often, traditional explanations and static
illustrations found in textbooks are inadequate for students’ first exposure
to new material. I search for novel strategies of presenting general
chemistry concepts using enhanced visualization methods, as well as using
computerized animation and interactive tutorials.
Science Outreach
Even before their first formal exposure to the subject, many students are
apprehensive
of the sciences,
particularly the physical sciences such as chemistry. The stigma is
maintained in the media and perpetuated in commercial marketing. The end
result is a general public that is afraid of science and is easily swayed by
alarmist tactics.
I hope to help students allay their fears of science. One strategy is to
help them
connect it to their everyday lives, as early as in the elementary grades. To
that end I’ve been helping out with science outreach programs at Purdue, in
Chemistry, Women in Science, and Entomology. I also enjoy participating in
outreach programs such as National Chemistry Week.
My dream job is to be a curator or program director at a children’s
science museum.
Recently, I’ve been
volunteering at the Imagination Station, a family science museum in
Lafayette.
