Tianqi Zhang ’11 explains her project to consortium attendee

Tianqi Zhang ’11 presents her research into how glycine, the simplest amino acid, can form in the interstellar medium. Zhang uses quantum mechanical computations to explore the ways protonated formaldehyde and ammonia react to form methanimine in the presence of water clusters. The American Chemistry Society has accepted the abstract Zhang and her professor, Heriberto Hernandez-Soto, submitted on her ongoing research, which adds the effect of silicon oxide clusters.

Courtesy of Karen Nordell Pearson

Sixteen Grinnell students were among 200 liberal-arts undergraduates who presented at recent Midstates Consortium for Mathematics and Science symposia at the University of Chicago and Washington University.

The Midstates Consortium hosts two annual symposia for math and science students to present and network with faculty and staff from peer institutions. The students were accompanied by Clark Lindgren, professor of biology, and Heriberto Hernandez-Soto, assistant professor of chemistry. Lindgren is Grinnell’s representative to the consortium.

“Grinnell has been supporting student research at Midstates since its inception almost 25 years ago,” he said. “We feel it’s a significant growth opportunity for our students among their liberal-arts peers.”

Students in the biological sciences and psychology presented at the University of Chicago, Nov. 5-7.

Presenters included:

  • Samuel Peterson ’11, psychology major with neuroscience concentration from St. Louis Park, Minn.;
  • Marlene Salgado Ferrer ’11, biological chemistry major with neuroscience concentration from Juarez, Mexico;
  • Mariya Shapiro ’12, biology major from Medford, Mass.;
  • Zheng Su ’11, biology and economics double major;
  • Vijay Tandukar ’11, a biological chemistry major from Kathmandu, Nepal;
  • Kathryn Walder ’12, a biological chemistry and English double major from Iowa City, Ia.; and
  • Xingjie Zhang ’13, a biological chemistry major from Nanjing, China.

Students in the physical sciences, mathematics and computer science presented at Washington University, Nov. 12-14.

Presenters included:

  • Emily Blythe ’12, a biological chemistry major from Kalamazoo, Mich.,
  • Shuming Chen ’11, a chemistry major from Hangzhou, China;
  • Tianxiang Liu ’13, an undeclared major from Nanjing, China;
  • Ana Mancebo ’12, chemistry major;
  • Andrew Marcum ’12, a physics major from Blockton, Ia.;
  • Ian McCallum-Cook ’12, a physics major from Atglen, Penn.;
  • Laura Mertens ’11, a chemistry major from St. Louis, Mo.;
  • Kenji Yoshino ’11, a chemistry major from Hamilton, N.Y.; and
  • Tianqi Zhang ’11, a chemistry and economics double major.