What I Wish I’d Known as an Undergrad: Making Life Easier

In talking with colleagues about how to they were successful in their undergrad careers, there were a few things that were common among all of them. Some are fairly straightforward and intuitive but bear repeating.

1. Form good relationships with your professors             

Your professor is going to be your best resource in whatever class your take, especially in major courses. Sure, they can help you understand the material when you are stumped. More importantly, keeping on good terms with them will have more subtle and longer benefits. Your professor will be more inclined to help with your studies and perhaps be more lenient when it comes time to assign grades. And keeping on good terms with a professor can help you in future courses with the same professor and could possibly be a letter of recommendation when applying to schools and jobs.

2. Take advantage of teacher’s assistants

TA’s are usually graduate students or upper classmen who have a good idea of the coursework and are willing to help. Take advantage of office hours and get to know them too. They will usually have a good idea of what’s going to be on the test too, and will steer you in the right direction.

3. Work hard now, coast later

Okay you should never coast, but hopefully you can make life a little easier by putting a bunch of work in up front. I talked with some of the “smarter” students in my classes, and they all said that by putting in the work in their lower level courses, their later courses were easier to get through. So any freshman or sophomore reading this, you don’t really need that social life, study more chemistry.

There are a thousand other pieces of advice out there, and this is by no means comprehensive. If you have something that should be added to the list, let me know. Doing well in school is like losing weight: it takes consistent effort over a long period of time, and there is no quick fix. Best of luck!

-Woodward

Reading Club - Review of Ange. Chem. Int. Ed. Volume 53, Issue 4

Let's review last week's articles:

Synthesis of the C18-Norditerpenoid Alkaloid Neofinaconitine: A Lesson in Convergent Synthesis Planning
This article is a highlight of a synthesis of what appears to be a very complex molecule, neofinaconitine. I encourage you to look at the schemes that are presented, as they will give you a good idea of what's going on. The group generated a the complex base of the molecule through some Diels-Alder reactions, and used some very neat chemistry to complete the remainder of the structure. They close with, "The development of a successful synthetic strategy, in combination with previous achievements by other groups, has enabled the completion of this efficient and elegant total synthesis, which represents another example of the never ceasing advancement of synthetic organic chemistry." (emphasis added) Does this truly constitute an elegant synthesis? Let me know in the comments.

Short and Sweet: D-Glucose to L-Glucose and L-Glucuronic Acid
This is primarily a synthesis article, and much of the text is given to explanations of reactions and conditions. You are encouraged to look at the schemes and familiarize yourself with new terms. What should be noted is the result. The group was able to cheaply and relatively efficiently produce L-glucose from D-glucose. L-glucose is not readily available but could have biological properties and is therefore sought after. The Jenkinson group was able to use synthetic chemistry to solve a problem in a new way, and should be inspiring to young organic chemists.

Neurotrophic Natural Products: Chemistry and Biology
This review article is a lengthy discussion of neural diseases such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's, their molecular causes, and other areas of interest. I will not go into deep discussion here, but I do feel it necessary to say that this review represents a great jumping off point for future research ideas. As an undergraduate, it is healthy to look into areas where chemistry is being applied and come up with your own hypothesis and think about what direction you would take this field into. This article specifically mentions neurotrophins or neural growth factors, small molecule design, and the potential for chemistry to aid in the mapping of the human brain.

Your assignment for next week is Organic Letters, Volume 16, Issue 2

Smooth Isoindolinone Formation from Isopropyl Carbamates via Bischler–Napieralski-Type Cyclization

Total Synthesis of Heronapyrrole C

A Novel Approach for C–C, C–N, and C–O Bond Formation Reactions: A Facile Synthesis of Benzophenazine, Quinoxaline, and Phenoxazine Derivatives via Ring Opening of Benzoxepines

Give them a read and we will discuss our findings next week.

What I Wish I’d Known as an Undergrad: Applying to Graduate School, Part II

I wanted to go into a little more depth as to what the process is behind applying and what you can do now to prepare. Every graduate school will be looking for something different. This post is based off of my experience and is meant only to be a jumping off point. If you think there is something I’m missing from this list, let me know and I’ll include it.

GPA: Every school wants to know your GPA and see your transcript. Often, they will have a minimum GPA requirement, but if they don’t they are probably still looking for a 3.0 or higher. It’s always a good idea to safely clear the GPA hurdle as well, so if the school is looking for a 3.2, try to clear it with a 3.4. This was something that surprised me as when applying, as I always thought that most schools wouldn’t consider you unless you were close to a 4.0, but aiming for an A- or B+ in each of your classes is not a bad goal at all. (Note: It can’t hurt to strive for higher grades, especially if you want to apply to high-end schools like Cal Tech or Wisconsin-Madison.)

Work Experience: I cannot stress how vitally important research experience is when applying to graduate school. It’s a good idea to get about two years’ experience working in a professor’s group. It also means that you could have your name on a published paper by the time you graduate, which is really impressive to reviewers. Don’t be afraid to switch groups after a year or so either, as it helps you look at what sorts of things are being worked on right now in your chosen field. Also keep your eye out for internships over the summer months. If they aren’t exactly in your chosen field, don’t worry, the real world experience will help you grow and stand out on a resume.

Letters of Recommendation: Most schools ask for three or so letters of recommendation from someone who knows you and your abilities well. The first two should be easy, after all you hopefully have worked for a couple of professors by now. The others should come from mentors on internship opportunities, professors who have taught a couple of your classes and you are close with, or someone of authority that has a good idea of how you work and think. Try to have four or five people in your pool to call on when the time comes to start sending out letters, so start getting to know them now.

GRE: The Graduate Record Exam is often required by graduate schools as well. The general one is surprisingly simple, considering what you’ve gone through to get to that point. The math questions are things you’ve done during your sophomore year of high school, and you should be fine on the other questions if you are well read. The GRE is important, but generally not weighed as heavy as other sections. If the school requires the Subject Test (Chemistry GRE), make sure to prepare for it in advanced, as it is usually only offered a few times a year.

Statement of Purpose: The wild-card of the bunch. This is your opportunity to make yourself shine! Look around the internet and ask those in the know about how your statement of purpose should look, but here are some quick thoughts.

Your statement should include your research experience, current topics in your field that interest you, and specific things you like about the department you are applying to such as faculty and facilities. Be thourough, but try to keep it between 1-2 pages. Remember, this is not a personal statement, so leave out the fact that you were the best player on your Ultimate Frisbee team, however impressive that may be.

Having everything being sparkly clean will mean that you have a good chance of getting into the vast majority of programs. But what if one of your areas are lacking? The good news is that every aspect of your application will be weighed against each other and one area that’s blemished can be made up for in the other areas. Had a slump sophomore year and now your GPA will never recover? Post some decent GRE scores, participate in research groups, show an upward swing of your grades on your transcript, and get some excellent recommenders and you are back to having a good shot. Make sure to address any inconsistences in your statement of purpose, and it can’t hurt to have one or two of your recommenders to also address it and assure the review committee that all is well now.

For some insight from an actual graduate admission's committee member, check out FSU's Mike Shatruk's AMA on Reddit. And subscribe to the r/chemsitry subreddit to become a part of the world-wide chemistry community.

Best of luck!

-Woodward

Reading Club - Ange. Chem. Int. Ed., Volume 53, Issue 4

This week's articles come from the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 53, Issue 4. Read one, two or all three of them over, and come back next Thursday for a discussion.

Synthesis of the C18-Norditerpenoid Alkaloid Neofinaconitine: A Lesson in Convergent Synthesis Planning

Neurotrophic Natural Products: Chemistry and Biology

Short and Sweet: D-Glucose to L-Glucose and L-Glucuronic Acid

Feel free to suggest other articles for future reading.

-Woodward

What I Wish I’d Known as an Undergrad: Applying to Graduate School, Part I

Having just gone through this process, I find myself looking back on my undergraduate career and wondering what I would have done to better prepare myself for graduate studies. As a freshman, graduate school was far away and perhaps not a destination at all.

Knowing what I know now, I want to share this first piece of very important information: If you want to do research in chemistry, graduate school is vital. Now there are going to be detractors from that statement I’m sure, but for the most part it’s true. At the very least, what I want in a career, and what I suspect many others want as well, requires a Doctorate.

This brings me to important-thing-I-didn’t-know-when-as-a-freshman number two: Most programs appoint Doctorates directly, no Master’s needed. Yes, it’s a five year program, but there is no need to get an official Master’s first. Not only that, but almost every program waives your tuition, pays you a stipend (about $20,000/year), and offers benefits like health insurance. Of course you have to earn these shinies by being a TA or doing research, but not bad for wanting a higher degree.

Finally, I have one last bit of knowledge: Your graduate school experience will consist of about two years of classes followed by three or more of research. This is a dream come true to people like me who enjoy doing research, but if you are hoping for five years of textbooks (I don’t know why…), you are in for a disappointment. Those last few years will be spent on you actually contributing to the scientific community through you thesis. It means original research that you perform under the direction of your advisor, thinking of something that no one has ever thought of before. If this is daunting, don’t worry, you have a few years to mull it over and there will be plenty of inspiration along the way.

Hopefully this sheds light on what to expect in graduate school. If you would like more information, find a graduate student currently working one of your classes as a TA or talk to your department’s secretaries to set up an appointment with one. Also a good idea, talk to professors about your goals of graduate school and get their ideas as to what to expect and how to prepare. Best of Luck!

-Woodward

Revamping MTAP

So it’s been a while. The crazy mess of tests, papers, finals, and graduate school applications has kept me pretty busy. But now that the storm is settling down, it is finally time to get back to blogging. And I actually have a confession to make: I’ve graduated. That’s right, the Chem blog “for the undergrad, by the undergrad,” is now only half true. I want to be perfectly clear, this blog isn’t going anywhere and will still have the same goals in mind. But features such as ‘Notes from Group Meeting’ and ‘Class Notes’ won’t be around anymore. So what can we expect? Nothing is set in stone, but here is what you can expect to see beginning Monday:

Reading Club – 3-4 Articles from a major publication will be chosen each week and discussions about them will abound

Highlights – Learn about prominent Scientists with ‘Who the R.F. Heck is…’ and the development of established reactions in ‘Help Me Name this Feature’

Current Events – What’s going on in the world of chemistry and its collective blog-o-sphere?

Specials – Hot topics, current research, announcements, or whatever I  feel like

Welcome to the new More than Arrow Pushing. Let’s go beyond the textbook.

Journal Reading Club

I've decided to start more actively reading current articles in respected journals do get a sense for the state of the field. To keep me honest, I've decided to start a "Book Club" of sorts, and everyone is invited! I will post a few articles each week that I deem worthy of reading, and then post my comments as to what I think about them. These articles are selected by me based on what is significant to my own research, suggestions from professors and colleagues, what seems to be popular subjects at the time, or whatever title sounds interesting. Undergraduates are encouraged to read these articles and post something new they have learned. More advanced persons should comment on the significance these articles have on the field of chemistry. Everyone is invited to suggest articles or topics that should be included in these lists. Hopefully by reading together, we can stay on top of things and learn more than we would have on our own.
I have chosen three articles from JACS to start us off with. (I'm assuming you are at an institution that allows you to have access to some of these journals.) Depending on how much time you have, choose one, two, or all three to read and comment on.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Tandem Annulation and (5 + 1) Cycloaddition: 3-Hydroxy-1,4-enyne as the 5-Carbon Component

A Palladium-Catalyzed Carbonylation Approach to Acid Chloride Synthesis

A Highly Efficient and Enantioselective Intramolecular Cannizzaro Reaction under TOX/Cu(II) Catalysis

-Woodward