Your time in college can be looked at as a time to acquire concrete skills that are documented by the fact that you have completed certain classes, certifiates, and/or degrees. By completing a research class, you will obtain some or all of the following skills.

Your time in a research group can be looked at as a time to contribute to a body of knowledge that can be accessed by future students in your group. Complete some or all of the skills below to help pass on your knowledge to future students in the group (and your teacher/advisor)!

Employers and future research advisors know that it's not just intelligence that makes a great resaercher. It's also hard work and consistency. You'll see some skills that are based on showing up and doing the work!

General Skills

Skill #A1: Get Trained in Lab Safety

1. This is a requirement of all students in a STEM undergraduate research group.

2. Complete the Keenan lab safety trainings. 

Skill #A2: Journal Article Reading

1. Watch and take notes on a journal article "Microemulsions of Nonionic Surfactant with Water and Various Homologous Esters: Preparation, Phase Transitions, Physical Property Measurements, and Application for Extraction of Tricyclic Antidepressant Drugs from Aqueous Media from the journal Nanomaterials." Video recordings to watch 

2. Speak with your teacher/advisor about an article for you to read together. Read the article together while taking notes.

Skill #A3: Create Presentation for Group Meeting

1. On an article on which you've already read (see above), create a presentation in Powerpoint, Google Slides, Canva, or a similar program

2. Either:

   • Present it to a meeting with your teacher/advisor OR

   • Record a video of yourself presenting and show it to your teacher/advisor

Level up Skill #A3: Create Presentation for Group Meeting- 5th Time

Complete a recording of a presentation about an article 5 times. Definitely worthy of another microcredential.

Skill #A4a: Poster Presentation of Your Project 

1. Work with your advisor to create a poster presentation of your work.

2. Present the poster at a poster session.

3. Either 4a or 4b is a requirement as a member of a research class.

Skill #A4b: Oral Presentation of Your Project

1. Work with your advisor to create an oral presentation of your work.

2. Present an oral presentation.

3. Either 4a or 4b is a requirement as a member of a research class.

Skill #A5: Attend Class On Time Throughout the Semester 

1. Consistently attend class throughout the semester. 

2. Communicate in advance as much as possible if there is a reason you will not be turning in your work. 

3. Communicate when you will be able to turn in your work.

Skill #A6: Turn in Your Work on Time Throughout the Semester 

1. Turn in your work consistently throughout the semester. 

2. Communicate in advance as much as possible if there is an issue with turning in your work.

Skill #A7: Develop/Update a Standard Operating Procedure

For a technique on which you are trained, work with your teacher/advisor to develop or update a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). 

Skill #A8: Mentor a Student

1. Mentor a student. 

2. Write up a one page report of how you mentored a student. 

3. Turn in report to your teacher/advisor.

4. Often a skill that returning students complete, but 1st semester students have been asked to be mentors.

Wet Chemistry Skills

Skill #B1: Learn a New Technique

1. Work with your advisor to learn a new technique.

2. Can be earned multiple times.

Skill #B2: Collect a Control Data Set and a New Data Set

Once you learn a new technique,

1. Collect a "control" data set," a data set that has already has data in the literature.

2. Compare your data set to the control data set. 

3. If there are significant differences, talk to your teacher/advisor about why the data sets are different and how to fix it (if applicable).

4. Your technique is now validated!

5. Collect a new data set using the same technique and analyze the results in terms of your project.

6. Can be earned multiple times for different techniques

Level up Skill #B3: Collect an 5th New Data Set

Using a previously validated technique, collect an 5th data set. This is a separate milestone. Power boost!

Skill #B4: Serve as Lab Safety Coordinator

1. Get trained as lab Safety Coordinator.

2. Be familiar with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for work in your lab.

3. Be familiar with chemical disposal requirements for the work in your lab.

4. Know the location of the Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for the chemicals being used in your lab.

5. Be responsible for maintaining lab safety for at least one lab for 8 weeks during a semester.

Computational Chemistry Skills

Skill #C1: Submit Your First job to the Supercomputer

Skill #C2: Build a Molecule or Transition State and Optimize Its Energy

Level Up Skill #C2: Estimate The Energies of Reactants, Products, Transition States, and/or Intermediaries for a Reaction That is Part of Your Project