Increasing the Exposure of Organic Chemistry Students to the Work of Female and Minority Researchers

Visual cues can significantly impact students’ sense of belonging in STEM disciplines. This project aims to increase the exposure of organic chemistry students to the research and images of female and minority chemists at MIT. To accomplish this, we will create a set of examples featuring pictures of MIT organic chemistry researchers at work that link to specific skills and reactions in the Organic Chemistry I (course 5.12) curriculum. The researchers will include a diverse group of chemistry graduate students, UROPs, and postdoctoral associates. This set of visual examples will fit easily within existing class material to bring the faces of MIT researchers into the organic chemistry classroom. In addition to increasing the visibility of all types of organic chemistry researchers, the examples will strengthen the link between the introductory organic class and the cutting edge research at MIT.