Chase Sigler Summary

Chase Sigler, a senior double major in chemistry and human biology, recently presented the chemistry research he has been working on for the last three semesters at a conference hosted by the American Chemical Society.
Jerry Easdon, professor of chemistry, said around sixteen thousand people typically attend the ACS conference.
Close to two thousand of those in attendance are undergraduate, Easdon said and “many of them are presenting their senior research at a poster session, just like Chase did.”
Sigler said the goal of his research was to “synthesize interesting molecules which could be anti-biotic precursors.”
Singlar said much of his research revolved around structures known as beta-lactam rings.
“It's a four-member ring and has a nitrogen
“He actually looks at protecting groups for neurons related to Alzheimer's disease and he is very interested in the fact that I know how to work with fluorine. Fluorine is a pretty nasty element. There are certain lab techniques that you have to learn to deal with it. And in addition, my reaction had to be anhydrous, so without water. If you think about it there is water in the air, so keeping that all contained it's going to be very valuable for me in graduate school and I've got some interest based on what my research was.”
Easdon said Siglar was able to use a lot of his own ideas in his research.
“I think it was beyond what most undergraduate get to do,” Easdon said. “The amount of effort that he put in and the amount of scientific ability that Chase has is pretty high, and he was able to accomplish things that most undergraduate senior chemistry majors haven't been able to do.”
Most undergraduate chemistry programs don’t include research into their curriculum, Siglar said, and that is one of the areas that sets the College’s chemistry program apart from other institutions. He said this also helps students like himself be accepted to graduate