COSAM News Articles 2019 May Alexandria Bredar Co-Chair for the 2020 Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions at the Gordon Research Seminar

Alexandria Bredar Co-Chair for the 2020 Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions at the Gordon Research Seminar

Published: 05/28/2019

By: Maria Gebhardt

Gordon Research Conferences are highly specialized conferences that attract high-level researchers in all fields of science. The event provides scientists with an engaging and stimulating environment to present their cutting-edge work with their colleagues.

A third-year graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Alexandria (Alex) Bredar, was elected to Co-Chair the 2020 Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions Gordon Research Seminar with Jacob Spies from Yale University. These conferences are specifically for graduate students and post-doctoral students that are held in conjunction with Gordon Research Conferences at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.

“Alex is an outstanding graduate student in my lab,” explained Dr. Byron H. Farnum, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Her research focuses on understanding charge transport mechanisms in p-type metal oxides. These materials are important for the development of a wide range of heterojunction solar cells as they are responsible for extracting current from the device and determining the maximum obtainable voltage.”

Alex’s current research interest focuses on heterogeneous electrochemistry and catalysis. During the 2018 EDAI GRS, a large portion of the conference was dedicated to photochemistry and spectroscopy, which helped her to solidify her interest in these areas.

“Alex attended the GRS in 2018 and made an immediate impression on her peers,” Dr. Farnum added. “When the time came to select new chairs for the 2020 GRS, Alex volunteered her name, eager to get experience in this realm and make new connections.”

Alex will be able to interact with researchers and plan the two-day conference for graduate students and postdoctoral students.

“I am truly excited to have been elected by my peers in the area of electron donor-acceptor chemistry to chair this seminar,” Alex shared. “My co-chair and I are particularly excited to plan a panel with career chemists to discuss the importance of science communication, with the opportunity for graduate students and post docs to learn ways to improve their communication skills.”

“The community of chemists that attend the Gordon conference are very personable and collaborative,” said Alex. “I really enjoyed this aspect of the conference and I wanted to find a way to stay involved in this network, beyond just researching in this field. Gordon Research Conferences and Seminars are really immersive experiences, and since it was the first conference I had attended, I jumped at the opportunity to put my name in for chair. People tend to think of scientists as reclusive, but it’s actually incredibly important that science is discussed and shared with our scientific communities. I’m glad to contribute to that important process in this small way and continue to meet and learn from incredible researchers.”

 

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