Arts & Sciences Student Selected to Present Research at ICNJ Science Symposium!

Felician University senior Ahmad Smith has been selected to receive an undergraduate research grant by the Independent College Fund of New Jersey (ICFNJ). For the past two years Ahmad has been a student of Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Alfredo Castro, and when Ahmad was in need of a professor to work with him on his senior research project, Dr. Castro was happy to take him under his wing. “Ahmad has always been a strong student, producing quality work, especially during labs. I was glad that he asked me to be his mentor. I trust him to take on this project and see it through to completion.”

The pair immediately got down to putting details together. Ahmad wrote the application, filled out the paperwork, submitted it, and won a place at a lab table of the prestigious science symposium to be held at the Liberty Science Center in the spring. It came as no surprise to Ahmad even when it took a bit of time to hear back on the decision. “When Dr. Castro presented this to me, I already knew we were going to get chosen,’’ said Ahmad, who added, “it wasn’t a matter of when or why. They could have taken as long as they needed to make the selections, I already knew they were going to email us back.  And the next day after I reached out to inquire about my application, they emailed us to confirm my proposal was chosen.  But I already knew they would.”

Part of the reason for Ahmed’s confidence was his time working closely with Dr. Castro who has already mentored four other students through the same process. “For students, it is a great opportunity to observe what neighboring institutions are working on. They can compare the caliber of research at Felician with that of the other universities belonging to the consortium,” said Dr. Castro.

The Independent College Fund of New Jersey is a consortium of 14 institutions that awards research grants to students, two grants per institution up to one thousand dollars. The money will be used to purchase supplies and equipment for the pair’s project called Supramolecular Complexes as Catalysts. Dr. Castro describes the project as fairly simple. It will involve using catalase, the enzyme or catalyst found in potatoes, (well known to quickly decompose hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas), and then testing it against a human made catalyst. Ahmad will synthesize the supramolecular complex in the lab and will compare its catalytic activity to that of catalase by quantitatively measuring the evolution of oxygen with a gas pressure sensor. “Is it going to be faster than catalase? We don’t know,” said Dr. Castro, who goes on to explain, “we’re going to test the human made catalyst against catalase and determine if, number one, is it a good catalytic agent for hydrogen peroxide decomposition? Number two, is it better than nature’s catalyst which is catalase from potatoes?’’ As per their exhaustive literature search, no one else has performed this particular experiment.

The symposium will  be held virtually from Monday, April 12– Thursday April 15. Dr. Castro and Ahmad are looking forward to standing side by side in presenting their work to the scientific community alongside other undergraduate students in the sciences who are also carrying out independent research. When this happens Dr. Castro will be right there beside his student Ahmad Smith cheering him on. “I’m very proud of him” said Dr. Castro.

Ahmad is pursuing a BS degree in Biology, planning to study physical therapy and one day open his own clinic.  He says his academic experience at Felician University has been and continues to be a good one. “That’s why I’m glad to work with Dr. Castro, and everyone else I worked with, up until this point, because they helped me build qualities I will need in the future.” Ahmad is specifically grateful for having Dr. Castro as his mentor saying, “Dr. Castro is definitely one of the best professors I’ve ever had. He’s always there for you, he’ll answer an email no matter what the time is, if you need help in the lab, or if you’re stuck, he will assist you. He’s always there and I know I can depend on him as needed during the research.”

Beyond what the project will add to the scientific body of knowledge, Dr. Castro says it will also help demonstrate that, “Although a small institution, not well known for its natural science department, we can compete and have representation at scientific events so that people get to know that Felician is not all about business, education or nursing.  There is also the sciences, and we can compete with the best of the best.”