WOMEN IN CHEMISTRY
CHEMICAL AND MUSICAL SUPERCONDUCTOR
"Meeting once a week is very helpful. Because of that nice interaction, we've discovered two new superconductors already I've only been here two years, so that's really exciting," she says. Getting together with physicists has opened new areas for research. "It's a very synergistic effort because all of us have common interests in finding superconductors or materials exhibiting unusual propDid the young student sense a magneterties such as magnetoresistance," she says. icfieldpointing the way to chemistry? Not Back in her own lab, Chan says: " We do exactly Chan arrived at Baylor with a cua lot of synthesis, make a lot of samples. We riosity about how things work and why grow crystals. The idea is that if they work. Her current research you have a single crystal, you can in materials science lets her inmeasure the properties without vestigate these questions. But as worrying about impurities. a college sophomore, she was most impressed with her op"I'm also doing experiments portunities for hands-on rewith single crystals up to a cenCELEBRATING search experience. She emphatimeter in size. If we have a sin75 YEARS sizes how literally she means gle crystal, we can orient the OF THE ACS "hands-on" by relating her lab crystal, and we can measure the WOMEN time to her musical talents: "I different properties. We really CHEMISTSCOMMITTEE enjoy using my hands—I play the want to understand the strucviolin and the piano." ture/property relationship." Chan believes her major accomplishment Chan complemented her laser specis being able to grow single crystals of comtroscopy research with evenings playing in pounds with complex structures that also her church orchestra. "I thought it was have complex properties. "There are lots kind of cool—doing research, using the of beautiful crystal structures out there," scientific method," she recalls. But she says she says. "How do you decide what to make playing music remained important to her and what will be interesting?" and helped her to keep her sanity At Baylor, it made an impression on her Chan currently has three graduate stuto have a female inorganic chemistry prodents and three undergraduate students, fessor—Marianna A. Busch. "It helped to all freshmen. She explains: "Ifou need to see her there. It's nice to see women sciget them before you lose them. If the stuentists, especially teaching in a university" dents do the measurements, they will remember the concepts."Two of Chan's gradAt UC Davis, Chan met her Ph.D. aduate students take part in a community viser, Susan M. Kauzlarich, who was a outreach program where they perform 'Svonderful mentor— she was definitely my chemistry demonstrations for high school role model in science. She taught us how and junior high students. to enjoy science and took us to a lot of meetings." Kauzlarich had many graduate Chan shares her own experiences with students, about half female, as well as unher students. "Being in academia is a lot of dergraduate students, which gave Chan an work. % u have to balance your lifestyle. I opportunity to learn how to be a mentor. have to make time for my music and my social life. It's not impossible ifyou're very Kauzlarich's group was interested in usorganized." ing Zintl phases to find new materials exhibiting unusual electronic and magnetic But organization skills are not enough. properties. The mentoring didn't stop at the 'The interdisciplinary aspect of research is laboratory door—Kauzlarich sent her stuvery important," she says. "Whatever jobs dents out to work with different groups by these students get, they are going to have having them interact with the physics to interact with people outside their four department. walls. Alot of funding agencies are very interested in multidisciplinary research, and Chan's work at LSU has capitalized on students will have to think about this." the interdisciplinary research and mentoring skills that she learned at UC Davis. She was not afraid to introduce herself to This profile was written by C&EN Online new colleagues outside of her department. Editor Melody Voith.
Julia Chan followed her ] ve of music, and it led her to a career as an ino: ;anic materials chemist
J
ULIA Y. CHAN CREDITS HER DE-
cision to become a chemist to the excellent undergraduate teaching at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. The fact that she chose the school based on its music department is a testament to her pursuit of a balanced life. ""Vbu need to strike a balance in science; you need to present and relate to people— that comes from my liberal arts education, and I think it's very important." Chan has taken her well-rounded interdisciplinary approach to several places in the U.S. and now to Louisiana where she is an assistant professor of chemistry at Louisiana State University (LSU). As an inorganic materials chemist, she looks for new superconductors by making new materials, characterizing them, and measuring their properties. Chan points out that her materials can be used for data storage and sensors—or any use that involves detecting small magnetic fields.
Born in Malaysia, the 30-year-old chemist moved to the U.S. when she was eight. She has since lived in N e w a r k City; El Paso, Texas; and Honolulu. As a Baylor undergraduate, she lived in Waco, then went to the University of California, Davis, for her Ph.D. She has done research at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, and she did a postdoctoral stint with the National Institute of Standards & Technology in Gaithersburg, Md. 40
C & E N / J U N E 2 4 , 2002
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