Biography: Monique Ngan recently completed her 4th year of undergraduate studies at UofT (St George campus), pursuing a double major in Chemistry and Nutritional sciences. She joined the Peng group in Fall 2023, to complete a research project on developing a colourimetric assay for screening skin allergens, working with the graduate student Kirsten.
In her free time, she likes to crochet.
Program: 4th Year, Double Major in Chemistry & Nutritional Science
Campus & Department: UTSG Chemistry
Area of Interest: Environmental & Analytical Chemistry
We asked:
Where did your interest in chemistry come from? My interest in chemistry started in middle school, after learning about the particle theory. I liked how concepts about the behaviour of particles can be applied to daily life and the substances we interact with on a daily basis (like heating or stirring to improve dissolution).
Can you remember a time when a fact about chemistry blew your mind?
My favourite chemistry fact is that for something to appear one colour it absorbs light of the colours that are opposite to it in the colour wheel. I found this particularly interesting when synthesizing brightly coloured compounds in inorganic chemistry lab sessions.
What course have you taken here that has seemed especially remarkable or surprising?
I found CHM217 (Introduction to Analytical Chemistry) to be a remarkable course, as I found the lab experiments very interesting, ranging from using at-home water tests to determining calcium concentrations in supplements using titration methods.
You won a Canadian Science Publishing Award at SOUSCC this year. What put you on the path to that accomplishment?
I would like to thank Professor Hui Peng and my graduate student mentor Kirsten Yeung for all their support and guidance throughout this project and advice for how to effectively present our results. I would also like to thank all the members in the Peng group for their kindness and always being happy to help me out when I am unsure of something in the lab.