Molly is a fourth-year undergraduate researcher from Bradenton, Florida, and she is double majoring in chemistry (BS, Honors) and art history (BA). While she is devoted to synthesizing fascinating polymers, she also prizes science outreach and communication as part of her scientific life. Increasing science literacy and diversity in her field is one of her primary goals as a scientist, and to this end, she works with the SMART Science program, teaching local middle school students about how science is created and disseminated through doing cool experiments and talking to guest researchers. Otherwise, Molly is also a ballet dancer and an avid cat lover.
Spirit bird: Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)
Synthesizing, optimizing, and manipulating properties of poly[n]catenanes, a class of interlocked molecules. Long-term future work consists of incorporating poly[n]catenanes into polymer materials and investigating potential energy-damping properties of these polymers.