Josie K Welker
Personal Information
Senior Chemistry major, Environmental Studies minor
Hometown: Lewistown, Illinois
Contact info: jwelker@monmouthcollege.edu
Expected Graduation Date: May 2021
Resume: Resume
CV: CV
Graduate School: University of Iowa
Program: Chemistry PhD
PI: Dr. Elizabeth Stone
Undergraduate Research Activities
Chemistry Research with Dr. Brad Sturgeon (Fall 2018 - Present)
Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (Spring 2021)
- The focus of this project is to analyze the fatty acid content of several different types of oil using GC-MS analysis. I chose to do this project to gain experience and skills involving GC-MS in preparation for my graduate program.
- The spring semester of my senior year, I enrolled in an introductory computer programming course. Due to this interest in coding and programming, I began a project involving the coding of a Raspberry Pi for the Chemistry Department's fish tank, that was previously being done by Jeffrey, a former student.
Volatile Organic Compounds (Fall 2020 - Spring 2021)
- The goal of this project is to become familiar with air sampling techniques, analyzing GC-MS data, and hypothesizing the cause of each VOC in the atmosphere.
Chemical Oxidation of HPA (Fall 2019 - Spring 2020)
- The goal of this project was to familiarize myself with the process of chemical oxidation on an easily oxidized substrate so I would bet better prepared for the chemical oxidation of oxybenzone.
Oxybenzone (Fall 2019 - Spring 2021)
- My current research focus is the oxidation of oxybenzone. This project began with the enzymatic oxidation and quickly moved to the chemical oxidation.
Ovoperoxidase from Sea Urchins (Spring 2019 - Present)
- This project allowed me to continue peroxidase work while adding in the new element of working with live biological sources of ovoperoxidase. This project also allowed me to collaborate with another group in order to isolate the enzyme.
Peroxidase Assay via UV-Vis (Fall 2018)
- The goal of this project was to teach me how to prepare and analyze enzyme catalyzed oxidation reactions using UV-Visible Spectroscopy and the data analysis software Igor.
Alternate Plans for the Summer 2020
- Since my REU was cancelled, I needed another way to advance my education.
- Audited the course Ecology: Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation by the American Museum of Natural History & Howard Hughes Medical Institute Timeline through coursera.
- Instructor - Dr. Ana Luz Porzocanski, the Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History
Summer Stevens Research Fellowship Program for the Summer 2020
- I was accepted to the Summer Stevens Research Fellowship Program at the University of Missouri (Mizzou).
- Mentor - Dr. Wes Bernskoetter
- The research experience was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Doc Kieft Summer Research 2019 with Dr. Brad Sturgeon
- I worked on two separate projects during my research in the summer of 2019.
- The first project was using High Performance Liquid Chromatography to analyze the concentration of caffeine in different samples of coffee. This project allowed me to become more familiar with the HPLC before moving on to my next project.
- The second project I worked on was quantifying the concentration of HPA remaining in solution after a reaction between hydrogen peroxide, horseradish peroxidase, and HPA was completed. The instrumentation used in this project included both the HPLC and the UV-Vis.
Summer 2017: Summer Opportunity for Intellectual Activity (SOfIA) with Dr. Christine Meyers
- This research had a historical focus, but tied in ground penetrating radar technology as well.
- Research with three other freshman on locating the remains of Nizzie, the elephant of the magician the Great Nicola.
- Visited many museums and cemeteries to do background research on the Great Nicola.
- Brought in an expert archaeologist, Shay Ottman, to use a ground penetrating radar to detect the presumed location of Nizzie.
Article about the SOfIA Research
Presentations
August 2017: SOfIA Presentation Monmouth, IL
Poster Titles: A Magician in Monmouth?! and An Elephant in Monmouth?!
July 2019: Doc Kieft Summer Research Presentation Monmouth, IL
Title: Enzymatic Oxidation of Biophenols
October 2019: Illinois-Iowa Local ACS Section Conference Davenport, IA
Poster Title: Enzymatic Oxidation of Biophenols
Was signed up to present Oxybenzone research at the 2020 National ACS Conference in Philadelphia, but the conference was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Instrumentation Experience
The two instruments I have worked with most often are the HPLC and the UV-Vis. I feel quite comfortable using these machines, as well as troubleshooting the machines and software when problems arise. The following links contain information about my experience with these machines, procedures, and examples of data I have collected.
Interests
I was fortunate enough to join the Monmouth College Chemistry Department on a short study abroad trip to the Bahamas where I was able to gain first hand experience in the ocean environment.
The following link goes into more detail about the trip.
Career Goals
My goal is to attend a graduate school to pursue a PhD program in an environmental chemistry field. My research interests are focused around the fields of organic or analytical chemistry, but I am also comfortable with physical or inorganic chemistry. I am also interested in oxidation chemistry, but any type of chemistry in the environmental field is within my range of interest. Instrumentation I prefer to work with includes the HPLC and the UV-Vis, but I am also familiar with many other types of instrumentation.
Data Analysis Software Links
I have created these links for current and future Monmouth College students to visit when they are learning about these types of software.