Lot's Wife Edition 5 2015

SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 31
What’s Up Doc?
Anita finished her Bachelor and Masters degrees in organic and
physical chemistry at Northeast Normal University in China
before coming to Monash for her PhD in organic science in 2011.
Her supervisor Dr. Steven Langford suggested that her work
with gas separation and the design of porous materials was
interesting. Anita has so far had her research findings published
in journals such as Crystal Engineering Communications and
Organic Chemistry Communications.
INTERVIEWED BY SUNNY LIU
SHUANG (ANITA) WANG
What’s the current area of your research?
My current focus is on organic synthesis. My project involves
the synthesis of porous materials. My supervisor initially
brought up this idea, and I further developed it into the full
shape and added the application of solvent gases absorption.
It was a challenge for me to do organic chemistry. My major
project is the synthesis of powerine, which is very hard to
synthesize. I found out that this kind of material can be
applied into gas absorption. It can selectively absorb CO2 by
mixing nitrogen or water molecules, so it can be applied to
the area of vehicle emission, because it absorbs CO2 rather
than other gases.
Have you done any related research before?
Yes. I did my masters degree on metal organics, which is
related to what I’m involved in at the moment. My current
area is different from what I did before because it’s still in the
early stages and is not very well developed; this is a supermolecular
porous material.
Coming from a Chinese background, have you found any
differences in the way research is conducted at Monash?
Very different. Working at the lab here is a very independent
process. There’s teamwork as well, but most of the time you
have to be self-independent.
Is there enough support and resources for you at Monash?
There are a lot of resources and support at Monash. For
certain research, you need a lot of techniques to characterise
your compound. It’s not necessarily like, in one group, you
have all the instruments you need. You need to communicate
with other groups and find what you want.
A general stereotype of PhD students is that they can’t
"switch off" their brain. What do you say in response to
that?
I think it is true that some of us are like that. But still we can
have a lot of activities in our leisure time. I play the piano
sometimes to just release myself. It’s very important to
communicate with the outside world instead of only focusing
on your work. You can get some research ideas from others.
Does conducting research make you feel disconnected
from the outside world?
Yes, sometimes we don’t even have time to read news or
attend activities that are outside the chemistry world. But
when you do something that nobody has done before, the
sense of accomplishment brought by experiments outweighs
the solitude.
Have you faced any gender-related stereotypes or
discriminations as a woman in science?
I’m just really focused on what I’m doing. We all have a good
attitude at work so it separates our personal emotions.
There is about an equal divide between the number of men
and women in the School of Chemistry. So there is a gender
diversity and we are all equal.
What’s the most rewarding part of your research
experience?
Doing research in chemistry has helped me develop my selfindependence,
working abilities and creativity. I face a lot of
difficulties during my research, because no one has done this
before and no one knows what will happen next. Finding the
right solution for the problem really helps me with my logical
thinking and communication skills.
Do you plan to research in the same area when you finish
with your current project?
I plan to change to a new field, because to be a scientist, the
research you are involved in is very important. I already have
the experience in organic chemistry and a variety of research
background can be useful. My dream is to do research that
can really make a difference in its application.