Introduction to Research in Chemical Sciences (IRCS)

3 Credits.

Students will learn about the process behind modern chemical research, including the development of hypotheses, experimental design, statistical inference, scientific writing and communication, scientific ethics, and data presentation. Students will learn to become critical consumer of the primary scientific literature. Course will emphasize development of communication of research in the oral and written formats, which will be exercised through a peer-reviewed report, an oral presentation, and a poster presentation. The course has a once-weekly lecture component and also requires that students be working 10 hours per week in a research group pursuing a project of their own. After enrollment, the instructor will verify that the student is working in a lab of a professor whose research is broadly in the chemical/molecular sciences and they are committed to working at least 10 h/wk in that lab.