Levine guides girls into sciences

Mindy Levine, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Rhode Island, was one of 10 women throughout the country to receive a Rising Star Award from the American Chemical Society. Levine specializes in synthetic organic chemistry, and she has been awarded grants from The National Science Foundation as well as the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and the National Cancer Institute. Aside from her research projects, Levine also educates young women about chemistry and science-related careers. Among her outreach activities, Levine runs an annual, free chemistry camp for middle-school girls during April vacation at URI. She holds a B.A., M.S. and Ph.D. from Columbia University and she was a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

What are some ways to ignite young women’s interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education/careers?

Girls need to know that they can be scientists. They need to see that all kinds of people are scientists, including women, African-Americans, people with disabilities and parents. They need to understand that science is not scary, that it is OK to find it hard and that it provides powerful tools for explaining all kinds of phenomena that they see in everyday life.

Could you tell me about some current/recent research projects you have worked on?

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We are trying to develop sensor technology that can be used for a variety of food-safety-type issues, primarily to detect the presence of bad chemicals in the food supply. We are particularly motivated by reports that say that BPA-free bottles and infant cups contain BPA-like compounds that may be even more harmful than BPA, but that nobody knew about these compounds.

What are some current trends in the chemistry industry?

I think we are seeing a move away from big chemical companies and towards more small, startup-type chemical companies. People … want to bring ideas to market, so they start companies. Conversely, many of the big pharmaceutical companies are doing more and more of their work overseas and decreasing the size of their American workforce. People who have chemistry degrees or are thinking about chemistry degrees should be aware of all these small companies. •

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