Labapalooza 2021
The Department of Chemistry held a lab skills workshop before classes began in order to give students a head start moving into the Fall '21 semester.
Hands-on experience is essential in understanding and applying chemistry. Chemistry is the ultimate example of a “think and do” major. Recognizing that last year’s students missed out on in person labs and with that, the development of valuable technical skills, faculty in the Department of Chemistry held a lab skills workshop before classes began in order to give students a head start moving into the Fall semester. Students took part in morning and afternoon sessions covering labs in the areas of general, organic, and analytical chemistry. During lunch, several junior and senior Chemistry majors presented their research to the participants in an informal poster presentation.
Faculty were excited to see so many students that were eager to get back in labs and students were excited to finally meet their peers after a full year online. Olivia Dioli, a junior Chemistry major and undergraduate researcher in the Muddiman lab participated in the labs and the poster presentation. “I had a really great time at Labapalooza,” Dioli said. “It was great to interact with professors I had only ever met over Zoom. And of course, the opportunity to redo labs that I did virtually was awesome. I think it was a great way to get us all excited to go back to school and remind the students of why we chose chemistry in the first place.”
Ben Cipriano, a sophomore Chemistry major agreed. “Labapalooza was an incredibly unique and engaging event. I was excited to be able to step foot in the lab and perform some hands-on experiments, which is something I haven’t had the opportunity to do since my junior year of high school due to COVID-19. It was great to also have the opportunity to finally meet some of the amazing people I have been talking to over Snapchat, Group Me, etc. which have only had a name up until this point.”
Overall, the event was a huge success, not only allowing students to reconnect with one another but also providing them valuable exposure to labs as they move forward this Fall.
Check out photos from Labapalooza 2021:
Labapalooza 2021
