Chem 10 Students Showcase Innovative Research at Undergraduate Poster Presentation

On Tuesday, December 10, CCB hosted its undergraduate poster presentation in the Northwest Building, spotlighting the achievements of students enrolled in Chem 10: Quantum, Statistical, and Computational Foundations of Chemistry. This event celebrated academic innovation and provided students with an opportunity to present their work to faculty, peers, and guests while competing for awards.

The competition's top honors were claimed by Lily McKenna, whose poster "Quantum Computing and Shor’s Algorithm in MATLAB" won both the Best Poster Voted by Judges and the Best Poster Voted by Students and Guests categories. 

In the judges' competition, second place was awarded to Jason Wang for his poster "Stellar Fusion: A Forbidden Attraction," while, Eshan Mehra secured second place in the student and guest category for his project "Simulating Super-Resolution Fluorescence Microscopy with Quantum Dots."

The winners were celebrated with a selection of science books, including Energy and Climate Vision for the Future by Michael B. McElroy, Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air by David JC MacKay, and The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday.

Chem 10, taught by Adam Cohen and Lu Wang, serves as an intensive introduction to the fundamental theories of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics and their role in governing the behavior of matter. Topics range from the quantum behavior of a single electron, the elements of the periodic table, the nature of the chemical bond, the bulk electronic and thermal properties of materials, and the thermodynamics of chemical reactions. The course combines rigorous theoretical instruction with practical laboratory work, culminating in a final project where students design and utilize technical instruments to explore course concepts.

The poster presentation highlighted the students' ability to translate complex theories into practical applications across disciplines.

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