In addition to the program’s core course work, students have the opportunity to become involved in faculty-led research at early stages of their undergraduate career. In the last five years, faculty in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Program have published 30 publications, which include more than 65 Bard undergraduate coauthorships. All of the faculty members in the program also conduct research with Bard undergraduates (an average of 28 students each summer over the last five years) as part of the Bard Summer Research Institute. Many students in the program present their research work as talks and posters each year at National and Regional Conferences.
The Program has an excellent record of student placement after graduation. Chemistry and Biochemistry alumni have pursued studies at the graduate and medical school level. Others have obtained employment in academia, science editing, and as industry professionals in pharmaceutical, manufacturing, biotech, and health-related fields.
“While I was at Bard, all I wanted to do was finish my undergrad degree and go to medical school. But while I was at Bard, I started working in the labs, first just as a helper to clean glassware and organize the lab space. Then I did research with Professor Swapan Jain. And I loved it. It was a great challenge to think of a scientific hypothesis, troubleshoot experiments and interpret results. So I decided to hold off the med school and work in labs to gain more research experience. I worked as a research assistant at Weill College Medical College in New York City in the gene therapy lab. Again after loving that research field, I decided to pursue grad school.”
“The Chemistry Program is a small, tight-knit community,” says Patricia Sicat. “And you’re all struggling with the same thing!” she laughs. Her most rewarding class so far has been Physical Chemistry, taught by Professor Chris LaFratta, her adviser. “It was hard, but he was there to help. I have a problem with asking for help,” she admits, “and he would come up to me first because he realized that I hated to ask. He knew because it’s such a small group.”
For her Senior Project, Patricia is researching plastic-degrading enzymes with Professor Atahualpa Pinto at the Bard Summer Research Institute. Patricia will be a teaching fellow for Citizen Science next year, and she's eager to apply what she's learned working with Bard faculty in the labs.