Tag Archives: chemistry

#80: Discovering Strychnine in the Lab and in the Archive with Lucas Forshee ’25, Chemistry

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Ace chats with Lucas Forshee about his thesis on the molecule strychnine, which, despite being poisonous, was used as a stimulant for athletes in the 1904 Olympics. Lucas shares a bit about the chemical composition of strychnine, why it’s such a complicated molecule, and why it’s so fascinating to researchers.

But Lucas’s research didn’t just take place in the chemistry lab: a big part of his project was developing a written history of strychnine. Tune in to hear Lucas reflect on synthesizing the humanities and science in his thesis, and how this process gave him a renewed love for writing and a desire to return to graduate school (eventually).

Reed community members can read Lucas’s thesis, “Strychnine: History and Synthesis,” online in the Electronic Thesis Archive.

#67: Antimicrobial Innovation with Josie Bicknell ’24, Biology

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Josie wrote a pharmaceutical development thesis about looking for a new way to develop antibiotics. She also tells us about her interest in biology and chemistry and looking for bridges between the disciplines, and how chemistry can be used to do things like examine snake poop to learn about snake evolution.

Reed community members can read Josie’s thesis, “A Codrug for Resistant Coinfection: The First Clinically Relevant Antimicrobial-Antiviral Ionic Cocrystal” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#56: Breaking Ancient DNA with David Rothfels ’23, Chemistry/Classics

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David studied archaeometry at Reed through an ad hoc major in the chemistry and classics departments (classics at Reed is now known as Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies). He was introduced to archaeometry, the application of scientific methods and technology to archaeological study, by a research mentor after his sophomore year, and then went about petitioning to form his ad hoc program at Reed (it’s not an easy process).

Reed community members can read David’s thesis, “Hoping to Smash DNA with Rocks and Pickaxes,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#38: Teaching About Climate Change with Kieran Wharton ’22, Environmental Studies

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When Kieran learned that high school chemistry teachers reportedly teach climate change at the lowest rate among STEM teachers, he decided to study this for his thesis. You won’t learn much about climate change in this episode, but you will learn about Kieran’s learning process as he discovered how education research is done (lots of analyzing of interview transcripts).

Reed community members can read Kieran’s thesis, “Incorporation of Climate Change Topics in High School Chemistry: Teacher Practices, Beliefs, and Barriers to Implementation,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.