ACS AMA: Hi, we’re Raychelle Burks and Brandon Presley. Ask us anything
about being U.S. Young Observers at the 2017 IUPAC General Assembly &
World Chemistry Congress in Brazil earlier this month.
Abstract
ACS AMA Hi—we’re Raychelle Burks and Brandon Presley. We recently
attended the 2017 IUPAC General Assembly and World Chemistry Congress,
held July 8-14 in São Paulo, Brazil, as part of the U.S. Young Observers
program. I’m Raychelle Burks, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Chemistry
at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. I’m an analytical chemist
with crime lab experience and am focused on creating low-cost
colorimetric sensors for detecting chemicals of forensic interest,
including explosives and illicit drugs. My group utilizes smart phones,
along with image analysis, to maximize the field readiness of developed
sensor systems for potential use by crime scene analysts, law
enforcement, and military personnel. I earned my B.S. in chemistry from
the University of Northern Iowa, my M.S. in forensic science from
Nebraska Wesleyan University, and my Ph.D. in chemistry from the
University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I’m also passionate about science
communication and serve on the advisory board of Chemical & Engineering
News and UnDark Science Magazine. I’m Brandon C. Presley, a Ph.D.
candidate studying analytical chemistry at Temple University. I earned
my bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2010 from Temple University. I am
employed as the Team Leader in the Abuse-Deterrent Formulations
department at NMS Labs where I manage technical projects and conducts
in-vitro testing for major pharmaceutical organizations. I’ve worked
previously as a forensic chemist and bench chemist in clinical and
forensic toxicology; I was also employed as a chemist at Intertek
Testing Services. I have served at Temple University as a Graduate
Teaching Assistant and joined the adjunct chemistry faculty in 2017. I
was recently recognized as a Future Faculty Fellow by Temple University.
I’m a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and an Associate
Member of the Division of Chemistry and Human Health in the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). My research
interests include determining the metabolic profiles of novel drugs of
abuse as well as determining Quantitative Structure-Retention
Relationships (QSRR) of various classes of compounds. IUPAC is the
global authority on chemical nomenclature and terminology—including
naming of new elements in the periodic table—as well as setting other
standards for measurement and other critically-evaluated data.
Established in 1977 to foster interactions with internationally
acclaimed scientists, the IUPAC Young Observer Program sends U.S.
Observers under the age of 45 from industry, academia, and national
laboratories to the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress and General Assembly,
held every two years. The program aims to introduce the work of IUPAC to
a new generation of researchers and to provide them with an opportunity
to address international scientific policy issues. To help support
participation of U.S. Young Observers, ACS is helping us share our
experiences, learnings, and how the Congress and GA are helping to
advance our scientific interests, priorities, networks, and careers.
Learn more about our and our fellow Young Observers’ experiences in this
blog post . Ask us anything about being an IUPAC Young Observer, using
technology for science communication, presenting at international
chemistry conferences, or balancing a career with pursing advanced
education. We will be back at 12:30 p.m. EDT (11:30 a.m. CDT, 9:30 a.m.
PDT, 4:30 p.m. UTC) to answer your questions. 12:30pm We’re here to
answer questions until 1:30pm ET! 1:30pm Thanks, y’all! We’re signing
off!