The Office of Student Research is proud to feature Tinsae Alem in this week’s “Scholar Story".

Tinsae Alem is a junior Chemistry major with a minor in Biology. In the future, Tinsae plans on going to graduate school and wants to earn a Ph.D. in pharmacology.

For the past three semesters, Tinsae has participated in independent research for computational chemistry. Currently, Tinsae is participating in Longwood’s Senior Thesis Program. For this research, she is studying molecular electronics to develop a better understanding of what affects the rectification ratio and current flow in a diode.

Tinsae became involved in this independent research to truly dive into chemistry. Tinsae reflects, “I knew taking the chance of learning new skills, such as computational chemistry, was a good idea as a freshman and here I am doing my senior thesis project on it as a rising senior. Also, I wanted to challenge myself, so it can prepare me for graduate school and my future career path.”

Tinsae finds that participating in research has had positive and challenging aspects. For example, she found that presenting her research at the Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry during Covid, was a great experience to show others what she had researched and she challenged herself to present it online.

The most important lesson learned from her research experience was to stay positive and not be discouraged. “Trusting the processes is very important in experimental environments. My favorite part has been my interactions with the research professor, Dr. Benjamin Topham. Having this kind of professor next to me made my research experience exciting and valuable."

Congratulations to Tinsae for her successful research!

If you would like to have your research featured in a “Scholar Story”, or if you would like to learn more about getting involved in research at Longwood University, please visit Longwood’s Office of Student Research website http://www.longwood.edu/office-of-student-research/

or contact Amorette Barber, Director of the Office of Student Research (osr@longwood.edu or barberar@longwood.edu)