Liz Johnson will earn her B.S. in Chemistry (ACS Certified-with research) and apsychology minor in May 2015. She entered TCNJ as a chemistry major in August 2011 because she had found the subject so interesting in high school, although she had little idea of how she would later use this degree. Fortunately, the summer after her sophomore year, she joined Dr. Abourahma’s research lab in the MUSE program and was able to conduct research for 8 weeks, studying the solubility of pyrazinamide cocrystals. During this time, she learned how different doing chemistry research is than on paper, in the meantime realizing how frustrating yet rewarding research can be. She had such a great experience in the Abourahma lab that she continued to work for Dr. Abourahma during the school year of her junior and senior years, now studying the dissolution rate of pyrazinamide cocrystals. She branched out from research at TCNJ by working for Professor Paul Chirik at Princeton University during the summer of 2014, studying borylation and hydroboration catalysis. This research experience was as close to a graduate-school simulation as one could experience as an undergrad, and Liz had such an amazing time at Princeton that she decided to further her career by applying to pursue her doctorate in chemistry at a school like it. She applied to 10 graduate schools, was accepted to 7, and after a lot of deliberation and official graduate school visits, she has decided to attend Harvard University. In addition to her focus on academics, Liz was also a varsity cross country and track & field athlete throughout her college career. Liz served as the SAAC representative for the cross country and track teams in the 2014-2015 school year. She was also a part of several honor societies (Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Gamma Sigma Epsilon, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Golden Key International Honour Society) and a member of the chemistry club on campus, SCA. Liz has been awarded a number of prestigious awards including the Dumas Award (awarded to highest grade point average chemistry major senior) and the Dr. Harold W. Eickhoff Outstanding Senior Female Scholar-Athlete award (awarded to the highest grade point average senior competing on one of the college’s 20 varsity teams). Liz is so thankful for the chemistry department at TCNJ and in particular the professors for their support and encouragement throughout her undergraduate career, for they were so instrumental in her development and growth.
