Tony Yang (Department of Chemistry), UCLA Summer 2017

I feel very lucky to participate in this IROP program where I not only had a great time working in the research group but also experienced the different culture in America. All the group members were very friendly to us (summer undergraduate researchers). During group meetings, we were asked to give an ‘elevator talk’, which was a chance for us to introduce ourselves and the research we were carrying out to everyone in the group.

We also had weekly lunch time meeting on Monday with our supervisor and mentors which we presented our weekly progress and answered questions from co-workers. Those presentations really honed my presentation skills and improved my public speaking skills.

The feedbacks from my colleagues were also tremendously beneficial as they taught me how to make my research more rigorous. I wouldn’t have chosen computational organic chemistry as my future direction of studying if I didn’t take this IROP opportunity. I can’t express my gratitude enough to my UCLA supervisor (Prof. Kendall Houk) for spending time nurturing me and showing me the wonderful world of computational organic chemistry.

 

"I feel very lucky to participate in this IROP program where I not only had a great time working in the research group but also experienced the different culture in America"