SJSU RESEARCH FOUNDATION EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR AWARD 2022 ECIA Winners: Madalyn Radlauer and Rhonda Holberton “I have had the immense pleasure and honor of working with more than 40 SJSU students since I got to SJSU in 2017, including my current group,” Radlauer says. “During their time in the group, these students practice many lab-specific skills — chemical synthesis, air-free and water-free techniques, characterization and analysis of molecules, chemical safety, and specialized instrumentation — as well as more general skills like notetaking, science communication, working in groups, collaboration, troubleshooting, project planning, and management.” Madalyn Radlauer Assistant Professor of Organometallic, Inorganic, and Polymer Chemistry Madalyn Radlauer, assistant professor of organometallic, inorganic, and polymer chemistry, is leading a research group exploring how to design and create molecules that make chemical reactions easier. She says her work can be applied in numerous ways — like fuel production, pharmaceuticals, and medical diagnostic tools — and ultimately, this research will contribute to improving how chemical reactions behave. “ Our goal is to under- stand how the structure of these big molecules change the catalysis to enable challenging chemical reactions, which would make those reactions more efficient and sustainable,” says Radlauer. The research has also given students the opportunity to learn, grow, and explore chemistry in a new way, as they develop valuable skills that will help them throughout their careers. Radlauer is using this project as an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of her own mentors, who encouraged her in the same ways she strives to inspire the students assisting with her research. “It started with my high school chemistry instructor, Ms. Ekberg, who was an amazing role model and who gave me space to explore. In her class, there was more than a right and a wrong answer, especially in our lab experiences,” says Radlauer. “I was also very lucky to have a fantastic undergraduate research mentor, Bob Waymouth at Stanford University, who continues to be a great support of my career today. He got me started on the chemistry of polymers and chemical ca- talysis, and since my research experience in his group, I have always been working in those two subfields of chemistry. It was also my experience in his lab that inspired me to specialize in inorganic chemistry.” Rhonda Holberton, assistant professor of digital media arts in the department of art and art history, creates art that marries new media technology with theories related to ecology and body politics. This is how she sums up her work: “I think about the animations I create as virtual sculptures, the meshes are based on ‘real’ objects that have gone through multiple translations — both analog and digital,” explains Holberton. “My projects have led me to a diverse set of activities that takes cues from Irving Goffman’s breaching experiments including gold mining, electronic hacking and jamming, and casting of holes I dug in the remediated landscapes of decommissioned military bases.” Holberton’s work has been well-received, and was featured in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. She’s also received coverage in dozens of journals and Rhonda Holberton Assistant Professor of Digital Media Arts news publications. Holberton says her project has gotten this reaction because it gets to the heart of the connection between man and machine. “Great art expands the perimeter of the possible,” says Holberton. “My research and teaching practices utilize materials and platforms that physically connect human bodies through technology, highlighting the ways signals of digitally- engineered worlds have physical ramifications; how the extraction of materials from the environment that support technology are destabilizing the planet; and how we might write better rules for digital platforms that consider the external effects on all bodies and respect the most vulnerable ones.” In addition to making an important statement, Holberton feels her research has an important impact on the students she works with, thanks to the collaborative environment that has been created. “Student engagement and hands-on learning outcomes are central to the research-based collaborative initiatives I’ve embarked on at SJSU, and will continue to play a central role in each of my upcoming projects,” Holberton says. “I want to expose students to challenging techniques and provide professional exposure, while centering their experiences and using my project management and media skills to make the content more accessible.” ANNUAL REPORT 2022 19
