Honours Student of the Month - February

Introducing February's Honours Student of the Month: Iden Djavani "1. How have you enjoyed your experience as an Honours student so far?" I've loved it! Being in a research lab is a lot of work and requires a lot of time, but solving a problem in a lab setting using the knowledge I've acquired in my classes is exciting. "2. Tell us about your research project" I am studying the unimolecular dissociation of amino-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and modelling it using RRKM theory. My research couples mass spectrometry-based experiments with theoretically calculated values and models to extract data relating to a molecule's unimolecular kinetics. Essentially I'm smashing molecules apart and figuring out what happens. "3. What advice would you have for future Honours students?" Ask a lot of questions, you're not expected to know everything! It's also good to stay on top of your readings, and set aside plenty of time in your schedule for your research. "4. What's the most embarrassing thing you've done in the lab?" Once I ran a molecule that had previously been difficult to find in the mass spec, and spent the whole day analyzing my results thinking I was a genius for finally making it work, when it turns out I had just run a molecule that I had already done. It was heartbreaking.

Photo creds: Suzy Sun