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Issue 1 Fall 2020Art-Chem
Content01 Letter from the Editors 02 What is The Benzine?03 Nature’s Mother Earth Samantha Knott (Ge Group)04 Inspired by Micelles Samantha Knott (Ge Group)05 AloneKeyu Zeng (Fredrickson Group)06 Dreams of SpaghettiAmber Lim (Fredrickson Group)07 Alligators don’t have allergies, right? Kyana Sanders (Fredrickson Group)
08 UntitledAmber Lim (Fredrickson Group)09Escape This Burning HouseIzzy Foreman-Ortiz (Pederson Group)10 The Eye HungersIzzy Foreman-Ortiz (Pederson Group)11A Short List of Departmental Resources and Organizations12 Buoys to NowhereMorgan Howe (Pazicni Group)13 UntitledMorgan Howe (Pazicni Group)14 Way HomeKeyu Zeng (Fredrickson Group)15 Chipotle ChickenRylie Morris (Gellman Group)
16 Hexagonal Hamantaschen Katherine Parrish (Goldsmith Group)17Chai Tea Latte MixTesia Janicki (Schmidt Group)18 Superconduckting amphiphilic duckminster fullerenes for applications in sub and supermarine environments Paige Kinsley and Liz Laudadio (Hamers Group)19 How to register to vote as a new graduate student20 Let’s Meet a Scientist: John GoodenoughKendall Kamp (Fredrickson Group)21 Miscellaneous Crochet ProjectsMackinsey Smith (Goldsmith Group)22 If you knit your dog a sweater...Peyton Higgins (Buller Group)23 Caught exploringDominic Mattock (Wang Group)
24 Asleep at WorkManar Alherech (Stahl Group)25 Anti-Racist Pet PortraitsNatalia Spitha, Tesia Janicki, Angela Ablaberdieva(Jin Group, Schmidt Group, Instructional Faculty)26 Call for Submissions for The Benzine Issue 2The Benzine Team27 Who Can Submit to The Benzine?28 Thank You To...29 Meet The Editors
01Letter from the editorsWe are thrilled to release the first issue of The Benzine, a celebration of art and science in the UW Madison chemistry community. We’ve spent almost a year on this project, and to finally share it with you brings us joy. What we’re most proud of is the community which brought this zine into being. In these pages you’ll see artwork from X different scientists across Y groups. You’ll see original paintings, photos, poems and crochet creations. You’ll see talents that you never knew your colleagues had. We’re fortunate to be able to share this with you, and we’re grateful to all who submitted their work. To say the least, this has been a tough year. We hope The Benzine can do for you in some small way what it’s done for us - lift our spirits and remind us that community is more than a building. - The Benzine Editorial Board
02What is The Benzine?We’re an art and chemistry zine! Peer written, edited, reviewed, and published, we’re an outlet for you to express yourself and an avenue for you to learn something new, or see the world from a different angle. We’re here to celebrate the chemistry, art, poetry, hobbies and interests our department enjoys. We’re a place where you share, publish and promote what you care about in chemistry and beyond. We aim to approach our science with the same energy we bring to the rest of our lives. It’s easy to be overwhelmed in this field, and we don’t want to lose sight of the broader picture and forget why we love what we do. We recognize that each and every one of us is full of stories and ideas that stretch beyond the ordinary everyday of student life. Those stories deserve a place to be heard, and we want to be that for you.We want to try and move beyond the barriers – conscious or unconscious – that so often get between us. This department is built on the people it’s made up of. We want to lower the activation energy, so to speak, of forming the bonds that will knit our community together. We’re broad. Different. Alternative. We’re a mirror for yourself, we’re a window to the world. We’re what you make us. Take a chance. Get inspired.
The practice of using natural products for health and human disease has “given birth” to a new generation of possibilities.03Nature’s Mother EarthSamantha Knott (Ge Group) Oil Paint
A member of my group Kyle Brown and I work with a photocleavable surfactant he developed. This work depicts the order and beauty found in micelle formation for the solubilization of intact proteins.04Inspired by Micelles Samantha Knott (Ge Group) Watercolor and Sharpie
05Alone Keyu Zeng (Fredrickson Group) Watercolor
06Dreams of SpaghettiAmber Lim (Fredrickson Group)Ink, Digital
07Alligators don’t have allergies, right? Kyana Sanders (Fredrickson Group)Watercolor
This was my first serious attempt at water coloring, which is a hobby I picked up during the early months of the pandemic. Painting the yellow flowers kind of helped to bring the summer inside since I often couldn't go outside. If only I had learned this trick during my first two winters in Madison!
08UntitledAmber Lim (Fredrickson Group)Ink
09Escape This Burning HouseIzzy Foreman-Ortiz (Pederson Group)Pen on Paper@izzy_aka_gg
10The Eye Hungers Izzy Foreman-Ortiz (Pederson Group)Pen on Paper@izzy_aka_gg
11A Short List of Departmental Resources and OrganizationBook ClubThe Chemistry Book Club started life as an idea by Cathy Clewett in early 2020 and has now grown toencompass over 100 participants including students, staff, and faculty. Participants are organized into small groups to promote a welcoming and safe space to discuss difficult topics via honest conversations with colleagues. Each group is given the freedom to develop its own personality and schedule while reading the same selection of books as the rest of the Chemistry Book Club. Bookshave been provided to those who were not able to access them with funding from the Regents Diversity Award. Looking forward, The Chemistry Book Club will continue to enrich our community by sustaining the program and expanding beyond the initial 3 books which are: “White Fragility,” “How to be an Anti-Racist,” and “Feminism is for Everybody.”Contact:Cathy Clewett - clewett@wisc.eduDesiree Bates - dmbates@chem.wisc.eduAJ Boydston - aboydston@wisc.edu
CatalystEstablished in 2016, the Catalyst program supports participating students during their first year of graduate school. Targeted toward (but not limited to) underrepresented minority, low-income, and/or first-generation graduate students, the program consists of a peer-mentoring scaffold and a professional development seminar series that helps to create a sense of belonging and connection between participating first-year students and their peers, department, campus, and the Madison community.Contact:Desiree Bates - dmbates@chem.wisc.eduCheri Barta - cbarta@chem.wisc.edu
Graduate Student - Faculty Liason Committee (GSFLC)The Graduate Student – Faculty Liaison Committee, or GSFLC, was created to give chemistry graduate students and postdocs a voice in departmental affairs. Now it consists of subcommittees on outreach, professional development, community building and wellness, each planning events to support the graduate student and postdoc community. Some of our previous events include the Snout-Out picnic, trivia, Dogs on Call and Family Science nights!Contact:Peyton Higgins - pmhiggins@wisc.eduBrandon Hacha - hacha@wisc.edu
“Let’s Talk” Office HoursChemistry Let’s Talk will be provided by Josie Montañez-Tyler, LMFT, SUD. She is one of the two crisis specialists on campus and the Chemistry Department’s Mental Health Ambassador. What is Let’s Talk? Let’s Talk is a program for UW-Madison students that provides easy access to informal and confidential support and consultation with counselors from UHS Mental Health Services. Counselor consultants hold drop-in hours at sites around campus Monday through Friday. Any student is welcome at any site. No appointment is necessary and no fee is charged. Students are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign up using this link: https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6PTKbWKF0irkOABLast day to sign up for a session is the day before the session. Let’s Talk is not a substitute for ongoing counseling and does not constitute mental health treatment, but consultants can listen to specific problems, help explore solutions, and introduce you to what it is like to speak to a member of our staff. Contact: josie.montaneztyler@wisc.edu
National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)Are you a Black STEM student? Are you interested in fostering a community for underrepresented students in the UW-Madison community? If you answered yes to any or all of these, come check out UW-Madison’s chapter of NOBCChE, the National Organization for the professional advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers.Contact:Jamorious Smith - jsmith96@wisc.eduDanica Gressel - gressel@wisc.edu
Queer+ in Chemistry (QiC)Queer+ in Chem is a student-led organization that aims to build community in our department by hosting social events, seminars, and workshops that promote an inclusive campus climate for LGBTQ+ students & staff, as well as for all underrepresented groups. While QiC events are advertised to the Everyone or Students email lists, we do have a listserv (lgbtq@chem.wisc.edu)! We primarily use this email to send out polls for scheduling events or informing students of non-QiC events they may be interested in. If you’d like to be added to the listsev, or have suggestions for future events or workshops, just email one of the QiC organizers!Contact:Laura Elmendorf - lelmendorf@wisc.eduRay Czerwinski - rczerwinski@wisc.edu
Science is FunTo better connect science and society, Professor Bassam Shakhashiri and his group, the Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy, provide purposeful interactions with a wide variety of audiences in different settings. Our mission is to promote literacy in science, mathematics, and technology among the general public and to attract future generations to careers in research, teaching, and public service. We help people explore, discuss, and cultivate the intellectual and emotional links between science, the arts, and the humanities. We use electronic and print media, radio and TV, and in-person programming to reach youth, adults, professionals, community leaders, and elected officials. We facilitate explaining PhD scholarly research to non-science audiences. Online presentations, home experiments, faculty and teacher workshops, are among the offerings on our website (scifun.org). Ultimately, we aim to influence attitudes and behavior for responsible action. Science literacy enlightens and enables people to make informed choices, to be skeptical, and to reject shams, quackery, unproven conjecture, and to avoid being bamboozled into making foolish decisions where matters of science and technology are concerned.Contact: Bassam Shakhashiri - bassam@chem.wisc.edu
Undergraduate Research OfficeThe Chemistry Undergraduate Research Office provides resources, career support and advising for undergraduates who would like to become involved in undergraduate research or are currently involved in undergraduate research. This office also works closely with the faculty, staff, post-doc and graduate student mentors by providing guidance, support and mentor training for those interested in or who are currently working with undergraduate mentees. Dr. Barta, the director of undergraduate research, invites anyone with questions, comments, suggestions or interest in undergraduate research to stop by her office to chat!Contact:Cheri Barta - chem_ugr_research@chem.wisc.eduYoga For Chemists Yoga for Chemists is a series of free yoga classes led by Andjela Radmilovic, a fifth-year graduate student. Classes used to take place in-person, but moved online this past April to ensure everyone’s safety. Classes are unique in providing a no-pressure opportunity to practice yoga from the comfort of your own home. Online classes are 60-75 minutes long and are appropriate for all levels of yoga practitioners. Beginners are encouraged to join! If you’d like to join the yoga email list please contact Andjela. Contact: Andjela Radmilovic - radmilovic@wisc.edu
12Buoys to NowhereMorgan Howe (Pazicni Group) Digital Photograph
13Untitled Morgan Howe (Pazicni Group) Digital Photograph
14 Way HomeKeyu Zeng (Fredrickson Group)Digital Photograph
Since getting a slow-cooker I’ve been making more and more recipes that you can set and forget. Marinades have become my friend because they’re an easy way to make flavorful delicious meals without much effort. You simply marinade your protein of choice overnight then place in the slow-cooker and let it go until dinner. This recipe is one of my new favorites to create a mock-Chipotle burrito bowl.15Chipotle Chicken Rylie Morris (Gellman Group)
Ingredients (adapted from Joshua Weissman) 1 package chicken thighs2 dried guajillo peppers2 dried ancho peppers4-6 dried mushrooms1 ½ cup boiling water2 tsp coriander2 tsp cumin1 can chipotle peppers in adobo1 tsp cinnamon1 tsp saltJuice of 1 lime4 tsp of neutral oilThe guajillo and ancho peppers can be found at any specialty grocery store, spice shop, or can be ordered online. There is a Penzeys Spices near my apartment where I usually go for all of my spice needs. I also re-cently discovered Whole Foods carries whole peppers as well. The amount of flavor you get here for whole pep-pers instead of powdered or pepper flakes is definitely worth the investment.
Instructions1. Deseed the guajillo and ancho peppers. I would recommend investing in kitchen gloves for this task. You don’t want to accidentally rub your eye after handling the seeds of dried peppers. 2. Place the guajillo peppers, ancho peppers, and dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with about a cup and a half of boiling water. 3. Cover and let soak for about 10 minutes. 4. While soaking the peppers, combine coriander, cumin, can of chipotle peppers in adobo, cinnamon, and salt in the blender.
5. Zest and juice one lime and add to the blender. 6. Add rehydrated peppers and mushrooms along with about half the soaking liq-uid to loosen up the mari-nade to a pourable consis-tency. Blend until smooth. 7. While the blender is run-ning, slowly stream in about 4 tsp of neutral oil to create an emulsion. You should end up with a dark red marinade. 8. Pour over package of chicken thighs and place in refrigerator to sit at least one hour or overnight. 9. Once done marinating, place in slow cooker set to low for about 5-6 hours or set to high for about 3-4 hours. Shred chicken when done to make a great ad-dition to any burritos, bowls, or whatever other dishes you wish!If you don’t have a slow cooker, another cooking option is to sear the chicken thighs on the cooktop for about 3-5 minutes per side then bake in a 350° oven until they register 165 °F internal temperature to make sure they’re fully cooked.
16Hexagonal HamantaschenKatherine Parrish (Goldsmith Group)
My favorite afternoon sugar/caffeine supplement.Ingredients 1 c milk powder1 c plain dry creamer1 c vanilla dry creamer2 ½ c white sugar1 ½ c unsweetened instant tea3 tsp cinnamon2 tsp ginger2 tsp cloves2 tsp allspice½ tsp cardamomInstructionsCombine all ingredients and blend cup-by-cup into a fine powder. Store in air-tight containers (mason jars are good). To serve, use ~3 tbs per 8oz hot water. Stir.17Chai Tea Latte Mix Tesia Janicki (Schmidt Group)
One of the limitations of Buckminster fullerenes is the hydrophobic nature of carbon structures. Post-synthesis functionalization requires additional modification, and these surface chemistries may be unstable. We propose an amphiphilic alternative to traditional Buckminster fullerenes using sp2 duck as the major component. The process requires simply a jaunt in the park, and no additional processing steps. Exposing Buckminster fullerenes to high concentrations of ducks in the presence of stale bread chunks initiates the replacement of carbon with ducks. Sufficient feeding will allow the bread-exposed ducks to reach an excited state, at which point they can overcome the activation energy of atomic replacement. Duckminster fullerenes were characterized with cyclic voltammetry (CV), and CV traces were compared with that of traditional Buckminster fullerenes (J. Phys. Chem. 1990, 94(4), 8636) to confirm efficient exchange. We observed unbilleavable high current values on the scale of giga-amperes, which led us to consider potential future applications of the Duckminster fullerenes as superconducktors for both sub and supermarine computing. 18Superconduckting amphiphilic duckminster fullerenes for applications in sub and supermarine environmentsBill Mallard & Q.U. Acker [Paige Kinsley and Liz Laudadio (Hamers Group)]
One of the limitations of Buckminster fullerenes is the hydrophobic nature of carbon structures. Post-synthesis functionalization requires additional modification, and these surface chemistries may be unstable. We propose an amphiphilic alternative to traditional Buckminster fullerenes using sp2 duck as the major component. The process requires simply a jaunt in the park, and no additional processing steps. Exposing Buckminster fullerenes to high concentrations of ducks in the presence of stale bread chunks initiates the replacement of carbon with ducks. Sufficient feeding will allow the bread-exposed ducks to reach an excited state, at which point they can overcome the activation energy of atomic replacement. Duckminster fullerenes were characterized with cyclic voltammetry (CV), and CV traces were compared with that of traditional Buckminster fullerenes (J. Phys. Chem. 1990, 94(4), 8636) to confirm efficient exchange. We observed unbilleavable high current values on the scale of giga-amperes, which led us to consider potential future applications of the Duckminster fullerenes as superconducktors for both sub and supermarine computing. 18Superconduckting amphiphilic duckminster fullerenes for applications in sub and supermarine environmentsBill Mallard & Q.U. Acker [Paige Kinsley and Liz Laudadio (Hamers Group)]
19How to register to vote as a new graduate studentThe United States Presidential Election is November 3, 2020.If you are a U.S. citizen, will be 18 years of age on or before Election Day, have resided in Wisconsin for at least 10 consecutive days before Election Day, and are not currently serving a felony sentence, including probation/parole, you are eligible to vote in Wisconsin.For customized instructions about what you specifically need to vote, UW Madison offers an easy to use interactive tool at go.wisc.edu/StepsToVoteUW.More information is available at vote.wisc.edu including details on:- Eligibility- Acceptable Voter ID and where to get it- Voter registration- Polling locations- Early voting and absentee ballot requests
20Let’s Meet a Scientist:John GoodenoughKendall Kamp (Fredrickson Group)
21 Miscellaneous Crochet ProjectsMackinsey Smith (Goldsmith Group)
...your girlfriend will probably ask you to make her one too! I have never met a dog who loves wearing clothes as much as my dog Quincy does, so of course I had to knit him a sweater. My girlfriend, Brady, wanted one to match, and I finally finished it this summer! Our other dog, Eliot (photobombing in the background), hates clothes, so we have spared her from the matching sweater club.22 If you knit your dog a sweater... Peyton Higgins (Buller Group)
23 Caught ExploringDominic Mattock (Wang Group)
24 Asleep at Work Manar Alherech (Stahl Group)
25Anti-Racist Pet Portraits Natalia Spitha, Tesia Janicki, Angela Ablaberdieva(Jin Group, Schmidt Group, Instructional Faculty)
Anti-Racist Pet Portraits is a social media collaboration initiated by Angela Ablaberdieva (UW Chem MS ’19) to boost donations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. In its first month, Anti-Racist Pet Portraits has encouraged $1086.96 in donations to organizations ranging from The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness to The Bail Project and Black Girls Code. The “artist” team behind Anti-Racist Pet Portraits (which includes Chemistry’s very own Tesia Janicki and Natalia Spitha!) has been sketching pet portraits for individuals who donate to organizations fighting racial inequality. Typically, the drawings successfully represent the shape of an animal.You can find us on:Facebook (@ARPPortraits) Instagram (@antiracistpetportraits)
26Interested in submitting to The Benzine?We hope you enjoyed the work presented here in our first issue! If you are interested in submitting your original work, we are accepting submissions for Spring 2021. Anyone currently pursuing their education in Chemistry within the department is encouraged to apply. This includes postdocs, gradaute students, and undergradaute students. Send your submissions to: submissions.benzine@gmail.com You are welcome to submit new content or past work! We accept a wide range of original content including: • Paintings • Photographs • Creative Writing Pieces • Recipes• Poetry • Sketches • Memes
Postdoctoral researchers can!Graduate Students Can!...and undergraduates too!27Who can submit to the Benzine?
28Thank you to...Dr. Judith Burstyn, Dr. Arrietta Clauss,and Tatum LylesDr. John Berry and Dr. Zach WickensBruce GoldadeThe GSFLCOur PIs: Dr. Andrew Buller, Dr. Danny Fredrickson, Dr. Sam Gellman, Dr. Randy Goldsmith, and Dr. Sam PazicniOlga RieusechOur contributorsThe Benzine would not have been possible without your input, support and hard work. Thank you.
29Meet the EditorsRay Czerwinski – Ray is the best. She loves hiking, plays D&D, is an amazing writer, and has some wacky stories to tell about her siblings (seriously, ask her). Danica Gressel – Danica is a chemist, artist, music enthusiast, and ICON. Danica is always down to adventure with friends. Philip Lampkin – Philip is a hybrid between a chemist and a philosopher. He is always up for interesting discussions. Robin Morgenstern – Robin’s dedication to The Benzine, their friends, and chemistry is incomparable. They are cheesier than cheese curds, but we love them. Jairo Villalona – Jairo is the sort of person you keep in your life forever. An amazing cook, friend and chemist.