Two Muhlenberg Chemistry Students Conducted Summer Research at the University of Michigan
Lily Press ’24 and Riley Wexler ’24 took part in the National Science Foundation’s competitive Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.By: Meghan Kita Monday, August 21, 2023 00:37 PM
Lily Press ’24 and Riley Wexler ’24Muhlenberg has had a relationship with the University of Michigan’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Chemistry since 1999. Each year, Michigan saves one of its 10-15 available spots (for which it gets more than 300 applications per year) for a Muhlenberg student of the College’s choosing. This summer, both Lily Press ’24 and Riley Wexler ’24 were accepted to conduct research there.
“We have a great track record with some of the strongest chemistry graduate schools in the country,” says Professor and Chair of Chemistry Joseph Keane. “The University of Michigan is unique in that their history of positive experiences with our students has made them comfortable inviting students essentially on just our recommendation. This is not the only year they have taken two rather than one.”
Press and Wexler are both chemistry majors and mathematics minors, but their research interests are very different. Press, who is interested in research with real-world applications, worked on a project at Michigan that has implications for renewable energy storage. Wexler chose to work in a more theoretical computational chemistry lab.
Both of them credit the research experiences they had at Muhlenberg, inside and outside the classroom, with preparing them for their REU experiences. Each of them had conducted research, during the semester and over the summer, with chemistry faculty. Their coursework made an impact, too: For example, in the lab component of the Inorganic Chemistry course they took with Keane, students were told to make a certain compound and had to figure out how to get there themselves.
“Professors at Muhlenberg are very open to accepting students early into their labs and helping them gain an understanding of what research is like … Having that really close mentorship at Muhlenberg has helped me build up my self-esteem,” Wexler says. “In my [Michigan] lab, you’re expected to think of solutions on your own or with other members of the lab. If I didn’t have that initial preparation in previous labs, I would have struggled.”
Both students want to go on to Ph.D. programs in chemistry. Wexler, who enjoyed the two labs he worked in at Muhlenberg as well as his Michigan lab, is not yet sure what he’ll pursue in grad school. Press would like to continue work that’s similar to what she did at Michigan. For both, the REU experience gave them a taste of what research is like at a R1 university
“Coming [to Michigan], I knew I wanted to get my Ph.D., but there’s a certain fear when you haven’t done any graduate-school-level research,” Press says. “The REU has provided us with a lot of resources related to grad school. Being around grad students all day, I’ve asked them a bunch of questions …. It’s given me a much clearer picture of what grad school will be like.”
