December 20, 2017
Name: Allison Dick
Education:
- B.S. Chemistry, Wheaton College
- Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Michigan
Philosophy of Education:
Instead of fearing Organic Chemistry, I want students to see God's handiwork at the molecular level and to see its relevance to their daily lives.
Before Wheaton, I was:
Working at a division of the American Chemical Society that maintains a massive database of chemical information. Over 9 years I did both database building and project management.
Right now I'm working on:
I’m hoping to apply transition metal-catalyzed C-H amidation methodology to a new class of potentially bioactive compounds that hasn’t been well studied in the literature. Right now my research student and I are learning the instrumentation here and synthesizing the required precursors.
I wish I could teach everyone that:
Everything in the universe is composed of chemicals. While some are harmful, most are benign or even beneficial to life. Chemistry is not something to be feared.
Last book I read for fun:
"Beneath a Scarlet Sky" by Mark Sullivan. It is a fascinating historical fiction account of an Italian teenager who becomes a driver for one of Hitler’s commanders even though his family is involved in the resistance.
If I could travel anywhere, I'd go to:
Ethiopia. I have not yet been to Africa, and several of my family members have connections to Ethiopia. One of the children I sponsor through Compassion International also lives there and I would love to see more of her life firsthand.