From the Editor’s Desk: Why is Research Important?

Stocking the Spring 2025 edition of Carolina Scientific in the Union

Hello everyone!

My name is Natalie Druffner, and I currently serve as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Carolina Scientific, along with the incredible Reagan Gulledge. I wanted to kickstart this school year by getting you all excited about research at Carolina! So, I thought, how better do this than write a reflection on my journey through the world of chemistry and research at Carolina? Sit back, relax, and think about research with me! 

First, let’s rewind four years.   

Four years ago, I was nervous about applying to college and even more nervous about choosing a major that would make all that expensive college tuition worth it. All my high school classes seemed interesting, but there was something unique about my AP Chem class. AP Chem was so difficult for me, yet I never found myself wanting to quit. In chemistry, there was always something new to uncover and so much to use that knowledge for. I was hooked!  

Not too long after, I found myself at Carolina, sitting in my CHEM 101 class. Nothing I learned that first year was particularly revolutionary, but, through all the 6:30 AM exams and time spent on the Mastering Chemistry website, I began to understand that much of chemistry is simply describing how the things around us interact. Positive attracts negative, and vice versa. Objects absorb and reflect certain wavelengths of light, which is why we perceive them as a certain color. Systems seem to want to reach a happy place called equilibrium. Learning more chemistry made me feel that I could describe the world around me more accurately and precisely. In some sense, I felt that every situation or problem in life could be understood, at least at a scientific level. 

A poster presentation on my research project from last November!

And then, my sophomore year came. Sure, I had to deal with 6:30 AM Orgo exams and trudge my way through analytical and inorganic chem, but this was the year I also joined a lab! I had heard from various other STEM students that undergraduate research was a key part of their academic experience, so I looked for a lab and found a great one. I’ve been in the Jackson Lab in the Chemistry Department for almost two years now. When I first started attending group meetings, I had no idea what anyone was talking about. They were describing things I didn’t understand then but am now much more familiar with. My exposure to chemistry research is when I first began to understand what scientific research is, at its core. Research involves trying to explain “why” certain phenomena occur using current techniques and methodologies in order to build new understandings about the world around us. 

A typical day using electrochemistry in my lab

Learning chemistry through classes and research has also inspired me to find life lessons in everyday life. Now, I look around and appreciate our amazing natural world because I have a stronger sense of just how complex it is. When I recognize a problem that needs to be solved, I feel hopeful that there’s a solution because I have met people who can solve difficult problems. I’m also less afraid to be the least “smart” or educated person in the room. I’m okay with not knowing or understanding everything instantly because I know that most fields can’t be mastered in an entire career, or even in a lifetime. 

The discovery, collaboration, and hope I have experienced in the past few years are not unique to my major, classes, or research group. They are central to all scientific research that happens at Carolina. If you’re a STEM student at UNC, it’s inevitable that you will interact with scientific research at some point in your college career, but what about all the people who have no idea of the scientific discovery and innovation that happens here? This is what we address at Carolina Scientific. In sharing the stories of scientific researchers at UNC, we aim to instill in our readers a deep appreciation for the natural, physical, and life sciences, a desire to tackle problems with ingenuity and resilience, and a bright hope for the future. 

With that, I invite you to engage with Carolina Scientific in some way, whether that means simply reading our content, or writing, editing, or designing for us. Scientific research is a beautiful story of human innovation and resilience, and you can be part of that story! 

Equally as important as research is repping Carolina blue :)