Bio: Hi! I’m Maria (she/her) and I am a third year undergrad pursuing a Chemistry specialist with focuses on both green chemistry and practical analysis.
I am an international student from Mexico, and in 2022 I was honored to receive the International Scholar award form the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Since then, I’ve been lucky to participate in multiple research and work opportunities; for example, collaborating on a recently published Digital Discovery article with Prof. Hattrick-Simpers during the summer of 2023!
Program: 3rd Year Undergraduate
Campus: St. George
Area of Interest: Transition metal chemistry and organometallic catalysis
We asked:
How did you first become interested in studying chemistry?
I think my liking for chemistry goes back to middle school. I was fortunate to have an amazing teacher passionate about her subject, who first taught me to appreciate simple chemical reactions and then inspired me to continue developing my interest throughout high school and now university. I still remember my first lab experience; we made olive oil soap and I thought we were the cleverest scientists out there.
What is your favorite fact about chemistry?
NanoPutians! These 2nm human-looking molecules blew my mind when I first encounter them. Their name comes from the Lilliputians, the small people from Gulliver’s travels (remember that one Jack Black film?). Anyways, these organic molecules are have a carbon backbone that resembles a human figure whose head and posture can be changed. As such, there are NanoPilgrims, NanoBalletDancers, NanoBakers, and NanoChefs, among others. All the NanoProfessionals and their synthesis can be found here!
You are part of the Song Research Group. How did that all come together?
This year I am doing my CHM395 research project with Prof. Datong Song after finishing summer research on silver quantum dots in the Wilson group. The main reason why I chose the Song Research group was that I wanted to learn more about the chemistry of other transition metals. As such, now I am working on ligand design for iron catalysis! So far its been a nice experience since I get to practice some organic synthesis techniques, get better at analyzing spectroscopy, and learn more about organometallic catalysts.
What advice would you give new U of T undergraduates considering a chemistry specialty?
I would encourage new chem undergrads to not be afraid to reach out. All of the opportunities I’ve had so far at UofT are because I took the first step and expressed my interest in somebody’s work. From asking to shadow a grad student to talking to someone I randomly recognized on the street (i.e. thank you Prof. Aspuru-Guzik!), letting people know I was interested in their research has had the best outcomes I could have imagined.
Also, I hate sending emails so I wasn’t big on cold-emailing. 😬
Have you ever presented at a research conference or participated in a Chemistry Department poster session?
So far I haven’t had the opportunity to present a poster, but I’m looking forward to do so in the next undergrad poster session!