Women of STEM

Though I loved SPE I was ready for a change so badly. I needed a new routine, a new set of skills to learn, and a new room.

My work life had become a sort of Groundhog day, or I guess for chemists...Moleday!

Now when I go to work it feels like an advanced chem class in college. Organic Instrumentation is made up of 4 women and 1 male analyst. They have all been working this job for at least a decade and are masters at their skills. 

Kim, Dave, and myself are all new additions to instrumentation. We have GC (gas chromatography), LC (liquid chromatography), and GC-MS (Mass Spec) instruments that we're learning. Kim and I are learning GC-MS analysis with 2 of the women that have been here the longest.  These women have been running gas chromatography instruments and developing methods as the E.P.A. adds new tests throughout the years.

They've seen the transition from paper graphs and calculators to advanced technical instrumentation.

When I go to work it's like talking to professors. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like work, but growing and learning all day.

They are my science mentors, and I try to gain just some of their wisdom. I greatly admire these women of technology.

They are teaching me how to run high productivity organics analysis laboratory, and they are showing the world what smart and respectable women scientists look like.

They are determined, independent, self reliant, and ambitious. I am grateful to work with these amazing women and learn what I can from them.

I often think how hard was it for them to learn technology in a man's world in their day?

I can only hope that one day I can inspire the same respect as a woman of science one day in future generations.

Vegetable Egg Rolls Make Work Worth It

Some days I regret going to work, but not today!

I work with one of the sweetest ladies. She's from Burma, and if anyone is willing to listen, she will share interesting stories about her life growing up there.

She became friends with Jim from our lab, and now the whole lab is lucky because they get together and make egg rolls for everybody.

I was lucky enough to work with these 2 generous people and become friends with them over the years, but even luckier that they think of me when they make food!
Jim makes a special batch of egg rolls for me, the vegetarian, and they are delicious!

The lab had 3 vegetarians (myself included) out of about 75 people.
My vegetarian coworkers all left but were eventually replaced by new ones.
Now when we have events at work, someone always thinks of adding a vegetarian option, and I am so grateful.
We've also noticed many people that aren't vegetarians prefer that option, tossing meat aside for that one meal at least.

I'm not a nag or a mean vegan about other people's food choices. I (usually) quietly adhere to my own set of values. It is such a good feeling to share your values and perhaps change some minds just by being who you are.

525 Beyond the Horizon

525.2

Ah 525.2 : The bane of my work existence.

Solid Phase Extraction Horizon 4790 automated extraction system.

These extractors are the most technical equipment we have in the organics lab.

It was vastly different from anything else we worked with, which should have made it interesting.

However, these extractors never really worked well for me. For 5 years I worked on these instruments and it was always a good chance that the samples would flood, not extract correctly, or worst of all fail. We run controls with each batch of samples.  

The control samples and client samples are then transferred to analysts up front, and put on a GC/MS. We went through multiple periods when the tests would run smoothly, but the controls would fail, causing all the samples to be invalid.

We did test upon test, checking all aspects of this method.  We performed experiments with changing the amounts of sulfate, drying times, and amounts of chemicals applied. Nothing ever seemed conclusive.

It was like the extractors had their own personality...and it clashed with mine!

Some of our new people couldn't pass the quality control tests for this method, so even after we hired new people for SPE I was still stuck with this method I hated.

I began to despise the word 525.

I finally moved up front after 5 long years with these extractors and started training in instrumentation.

I still couldn't get away from this method for months.

Finally somebody did pass the 

525 test and I was out of the organics room for good!

It was one of the most relieving moments of my work life.

I had visions of one day getting new equipment and smashing these extractors into tiny bits of plastic and metal like an office space moment.

The extractors never did work quite right all the time for my predecessor either.  We still haven't replaced the extractors...or splattered them into pieces.

I did however pass on the fun, and the art and drawings will continue on these hoods!

 Here's to 5 years of great doodles with my nerdy cool science friends. 

On the worst days in the organics room (which usually involve this method) may the hood art live on!

"Teachin the new kids how it's done."~Jim