Alice Wong '13, an honors chemistry major from Oakland, Calif., is the recipient of the American Chemical Society's summer undergraduate research fellowship (SURF).  As one of just 14 awardees from around the country, Wong will receive funding to carry out her own summer research at Swarthmore this summer, as well as attend events in the fall that include an award session, various scientific talks, and a poster session where she will present her findings. SURF recipients are chosen based on their research proposals, academic records, faculty recommendations, and passion for laboratory science. 

Wong's SURF will allow her to continue to work in Professor of Chemistry Robert Paley's lab, where she conducted research for 10 weeks last summer. She plans to write about her results in her senior thesis, "Diastereoselective allyl silane-iminium ion cyclization directed by a planar chiral iron(0) tricarbonyl diene complex."

"This project works towards the goal of natural product synthesis," Wong says. "The invention of methods for the synthesis of these complex molecules continues to be essential in the development of new medicines."

In addition to her enjoyment at the lab bench, Wong also enjoys seeing how theories are put into practice in the creation of new projects. "I look forward to improving my lab skills this summer," she says, "and to the good times I will be having in the hood with my labmate, Jake Tracy '13."