HIGH SCHOOL INTERNS
December 2, 2022
We are excited to welcome the new high school student interns in the Rico Lab. The new interns starting this year are Andrew Cooper and Victoria Stevens. Elim Horn will continue on his second year in the lab. According to their science high school teacher, Mr. Kameron Coates who was a previous member of the Lab, these students are highly motivated and top performers in the science classes. Thanks to Preston (MS) and Max and Jessica (BS) for adjusting their work schedule so that these interns can get involved in their research projects.
December 2, 2022
We are excited to welcome the new high school student interns in the Rico Lab. The new interns starting this year are Andrew Cooper and Victoria Stevens. Elim Horn will continue on his second year in the lab. According to their science high school teacher, Mr. Kameron Coates who was a previous member of the Lab, these students are highly motivated and top performers in the science classes. Thanks to Preston (MS) and Max and Jessica (BS) for adjusting their work schedule so that these interns can get involved in their research projects.
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GROUP MEMBERS PRESENT IN CONFERENCES
November 29, 2022
Students from the Rico Lab attended and gave presentations at various conferences. Naum Kirwa and Olamide Ogundele presented posters at the ACS Midwest Regional Conference in Iowa City, Iowa; while Naum Kirwa and Preston Clubb gave oral and poster presentations at the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Conference in Austin, Texas. Preston also joined the SNO NanoPitch Competition while Olamide reached the University-wide 3MT Competition (she was a qualifier from the CNAS 3MT Competition). These students were supported by MSU and SNO student travel awards. The Rico Lab is proud of you!
November 29, 2022
Students from the Rico Lab attended and gave presentations at various conferences. Naum Kirwa and Olamide Ogundele presented posters at the ACS Midwest Regional Conference in Iowa City, Iowa; while Naum Kirwa and Preston Clubb gave oral and poster presentations at the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Conference in Austin, Texas. Preston also joined the SNO NanoPitch Competition while Olamide reached the University-wide 3MT Competition (she was a qualifier from the CNAS 3MT Competition). These students were supported by MSU and SNO student travel awards. The Rico Lab is proud of you!
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NAUM DEFENDS HER THESIS
November 7, 2022
Congratulations to Naum Kirwa for successfully defending her thesis on Friday, November 4, 2022. Naum finished her BS Industrial Chemistry with a First Class Honours from Kisii University in Kenya. She joined the Rico Lab in Spring 2021. Naum also got an internship position as an Environmental Analyst at the City Utilities of Springfield in Summer 2022. She has given at least four oral and poster presentations in local, regional , and national conferences. She is traveling to Austin, Texas to give an oral talk at the 2022 SNO Conference. Congratulations Naum for a job well done! The Rico Lab is proud of you.
November 7, 2022
Congratulations to Naum Kirwa for successfully defending her thesis on Friday, November 4, 2022. Naum finished her BS Industrial Chemistry with a First Class Honours from Kisii University in Kenya. She joined the Rico Lab in Spring 2021. Naum also got an internship position as an Environmental Analyst at the City Utilities of Springfield in Summer 2022. She has given at least four oral and poster presentations in local, regional , and national conferences. She is traveling to Austin, Texas to give an oral talk at the 2022 SNO Conference. Congratulations Naum for a job well done! The Rico Lab is proud of you.
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ACS COACH
October 14, 2022
The Rico Lab will participate in the high school chemistry program of Kameron Coates at Willard High School. Dr. Rico will serve as ACS Coach and help develop or provide support to chemistry projects that Mr. Coates will start at Willard. The ACS Coach Program is a joint program of the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Chemistry Teachers. Mr. Coates was previous student of Dr. Rico and a former member of the Rico Research Group at MSU.
October 14, 2022
The Rico Lab will participate in the high school chemistry program of Kameron Coates at Willard High School. Dr. Rico will serve as ACS Coach and help develop or provide support to chemistry projects that Mr. Coates will start at Willard. The ACS Coach Program is a joint program of the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Chemistry Teachers. Mr. Coates was previous student of Dr. Rico and a former member of the Rico Research Group at MSU.
OLAMIDE PRESENTS AT NOBCChE
October 6, 2022
Olamide just returned from a week-long national conference of NOBCChE in Orlando, Florida. Olamide got student award from NOBCChE and MSU to present at this conference. In her vlog, she shares the exciting things she learned and experienced while attending the conference. She also met a previous student from our research group, Michael Abolade, who is currently pursuing PhD at the University of Connecticut. Congratulations Olamide and more presentations to come! Here is the link to her vlog: https://youtu.be/DMEdAH4yCY
October 6, 2022
Olamide just returned from a week-long national conference of NOBCChE in Orlando, Florida. Olamide got student award from NOBCChE and MSU to present at this conference. In her vlog, she shares the exciting things she learned and experienced while attending the conference. She also met a previous student from our research group, Michael Abolade, who is currently pursuing PhD at the University of Connecticut. Congratulations Olamide and more presentations to come! Here is the link to her vlog: https://youtu.be/DMEdAH4yCY
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PRESTON CLUBB GETS SNO STUDENT AWARD
September 23, 2022
SNO awarded Preston a conference grant to present his poster at 13th Annual SNO Conference in Austin, Texas. Preston will present the work he started when he was an undergraduate at the Rico Research Group. Preston worked on generational exposure of wheat to cerium oxide nanoparticles and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. Preston is a very active member of the Group having trained few undergraduates and high school students. He loves representing the Rico Group to high school to talk about his research. Congratulations Preston!
September 23, 2022
SNO awarded Preston a conference grant to present his poster at 13th Annual SNO Conference in Austin, Texas. Preston will present the work he started when he was an undergraduate at the Rico Research Group. Preston worked on generational exposure of wheat to cerium oxide nanoparticles and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. Preston is a very active member of the Group having trained few undergraduates and high school students. He loves representing the Rico Group to high school to talk about his research. Congratulations Preston!
WE ARE GETTING A NEW LC-MS
September 23, 2022
A new LC-MS funded by the National Science Foundation through the NSF-MRI program will soon be available at MSU. The Chemistry Department will get 6470B Triple Quadrupole combined with 1290 Infinity II LC from Agilent. The Rico Research Group will use the instrument on metabolomics and PFOS studies in environmental samples.
https://blogs.missouristate.edu/cnas-newswatch/2022/08/22/training-the-next-generation-of-scientists/
Image is from Agilent.
September 23, 2022
A new LC-MS funded by the National Science Foundation through the NSF-MRI program will soon be available at MSU. The Chemistry Department will get 6470B Triple Quadrupole combined with 1290 Infinity II LC from Agilent. The Rico Research Group will use the instrument on metabolomics and PFOS studies in environmental samples.
https://blogs.missouristate.edu/cnas-newswatch/2022/08/22/training-the-next-generation-of-scientists/
Image is from Agilent.
WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT CHEMISTRY RESEARCH?
By Preston Clubb
September 3, 2022
Our research group was invited to speak at Willard High School with Kameron Coates’ chemistry class about why we are motivated to pursue research. Through an informal discussion-based presentation, we spoke on what projects we were performing and how being exposed to hands-on research at a younger age allowed for opportunities that may not have been available otherwise.
Elim, current high school intern in our lab, also gave his perspectives on how internship helps him in his studies and career growth.
We received many questions from students and have been invited back next week to give talk to another class.
By Preston Clubb
September 3, 2022
Our research group was invited to speak at Willard High School with Kameron Coates’ chemistry class about why we are motivated to pursue research. Through an informal discussion-based presentation, we spoke on what projects we were performing and how being exposed to hands-on research at a younger age allowed for opportunities that may not have been available otherwise.
Elim, current high school intern in our lab, also gave his perspectives on how internship helps him in his studies and career growth.
We received many questions from students and have been invited back next week to give talk to another class.
MY BOOK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
August 3, 2022
August 3, 2022
PRESTON PRESENTS HIS SUMMER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
July 29, 2022
Preston presented his research activities in the Summer Research Talk Day in the Department. Preston performed a myriad of activities including his own project and other graduate student projects. He also worked with our collaboration projects with researchers from other universities (UC Irvine, University of Nebraska Lincoln, University of Florida, and Islamia University of Bahawalpur). We appreciate the tons of help from Elim Horn, an intern in our lab from Willard High School.
July 29, 2022
Preston presented his research activities in the Summer Research Talk Day in the Department. Preston performed a myriad of activities including his own project and other graduate student projects. He also worked with our collaboration projects with researchers from other universities (UC Irvine, University of Nebraska Lincoln, University of Florida, and Islamia University of Bahawalpur). We appreciate the tons of help from Elim Horn, an intern in our lab from Willard High School.
OLAMIDE OGUNDELE RECEIVES NOBCChE CONFERENCE GRANT
July 28, 2022
Olamide receives grant to attend and present a poster at NOBCChE (National Organiztion for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers) Conference in Orlando, Florida in September 2022. The Advancing Science Conference Grant is awarded to those who have been "identified as one of the country's best and brightest upcoming scientists". She will be presenting her work on generational exposure of wheat to perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, which she immediately started working on when she joined the Rico Lab in Spring 2022. Congratulations Olamide!
July 28, 2022
Olamide receives grant to attend and present a poster at NOBCChE (National Organiztion for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers) Conference in Orlando, Florida in September 2022. The Advancing Science Conference Grant is awarded to those who have been "identified as one of the country's best and brightest upcoming scientists". She will be presenting her work on generational exposure of wheat to perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, which she immediately started working on when she joined the Rico Lab in Spring 2022. Congratulations Olamide!
NEW PAPER PUBLISHED
July 25, 2022
Our collaborative work with Professor Adeyemi Adeleye's group titled, "Impacts of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid on plant biometrics and grain metabolites of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)" has been published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances. Congratulations to Polycarp Ofoegbu for leading this project and the support of the group especially Dane Wagner and Preston Clubb. Congratulations also to the other co-authors Oluwasegun Abolade, Ian Sayers, and Zachary Dobbs. Big thanks to Dr. Adeleye and Dr. Zenobio from the University of California Irvine for the analysis of PFOS in plant materials.
July 25, 2022
Our collaborative work with Professor Adeyemi Adeleye's group titled, "Impacts of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid on plant biometrics and grain metabolites of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)" has been published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances. Congratulations to Polycarp Ofoegbu for leading this project and the support of the group especially Dane Wagner and Preston Clubb. Congratulations also to the other co-authors Oluwasegun Abolade, Ian Sayers, and Zachary Dobbs. Big thanks to Dr. Adeleye and Dr. Zenobio from the University of California Irvine for the analysis of PFOS in plant materials.
PRESTON CLUBB RECEIVES THE ACS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT AWARD IN ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
June 25, 2022
Preston joined the Rico Lab in Summer 2021 and has shown great enthusiasm and commitment in working in the lab. He truly deserves this accolade. The citation reads: "Preston went above and beyond what is expected of an undergraduate student. He helped graduate students and volunteer teacher with their experiments, mentored a high school student, and assisted in implementing CURE in environmental chemistry course. Preston performed studies on generational exposures of wheat to cerium oxide nanoparticles and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and started preparing a manuscript from this study. He already co-authored two publications (one published and another under review), and presented several posters in local, regional, and national conferences. Preston received the 2022 Department’s Outstanding Environmental Chemistry Award and will pursue an MS in Chemistry in Fall 2022."
June 25, 2022
Preston joined the Rico Lab in Summer 2021 and has shown great enthusiasm and commitment in working in the lab. He truly deserves this accolade. The citation reads: "Preston went above and beyond what is expected of an undergraduate student. He helped graduate students and volunteer teacher with their experiments, mentored a high school student, and assisted in implementing CURE in environmental chemistry course. Preston performed studies on generational exposures of wheat to cerium oxide nanoparticles and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and started preparing a manuscript from this study. He already co-authored two publications (one published and another under review), and presented several posters in local, regional, and national conferences. Preston received the 2022 Department’s Outstanding Environmental Chemistry Award and will pursue an MS in Chemistry in Fall 2022."
