Meet Our Students
Tracee Nguyen
Participating in MRE-C: since 2022
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Major: Chemistry
What lab(s) or faculty member(s) are you working with?
How or why did you become part of this research opportunity?
My interest in chemistry has been cultivated in me at a very young age by my mother, who is a chemistry instructor at a local high school. As a freshman just starting my time in university, I was very eager to take up opportunities such as this MRE-C program research opportunity. After reading about the work being conducted in the Boron Compounds lab, and learning about the uniqueness of our collaboration with University of Washington, I was compelled to apply as an undergraduate research assistant.
What is the focus of the research you're doing?
The main objective of my research is to develop solution based methods for the synthesis of boride materials.
When thinking about the work you're doing or will be doing, what are you most excited about?
In this program, I am most eager to continue to cultivate my interest in Chemistry through hands-on research, and to experience the environment of working actively in a research lab. Now that I have been apart of this program for about a year now, and I have had experience working in labs at UH and UW, it has become a personal goal is to become more independent in the lab, by problem solving, troubleshooting, and making my own inferences and contributions to the lab group. I'm most excited about working with new reagents and instruments as I synthesize and characterize the material I will work with.
What are your future visions/goals?
My time in this program has made it very clear to me that I enjoy working in a research environment a lot, and I would like to pursue a career in academia after undergraduate and graduate school. I would like to continue to work in a research lab, and explore the many different branches of chemistry, especially materials chemistry. A long term goal of mine is to be in charge of my own lab one day.
What would you say to someone who's interested in joining this program?
For anyone still pondering over whether or not to get involved in this program; take the leap! When I first applied for this program, I was worried about my lack of experience because I was only a freshman. However, I quickly found out later, that no matter the level of experience you start out with, motivation and an eagerness to learn new things will make taking upon this research opportunity something you will not regret. From my experience, there have been so many faculty, lab members, and fellow students willing to help you every step of the way, to help you start and build upon a solid foundation in research.