Dear Lann, During UG course you can do any experiment that is colourful with less calculations, safe, liquid based projects that are easy to handle. I may suggest simple inorganic experiments for UG students that involves a crystal growth or tit rations estimating equivalent weights of a mixture of solvents, inorganic or organic coatings, etc ideal. Few problems in polymer synthesis would be fascinating. The aim of this project is to familiarize chemistry research fundamentals to a graduating student to enthuse research.

Rathinam Chandramohan

Hi Yvonne,

I know it's easy to say but... when I was an undergraduate, I just picked the field which I found most interesting from lectures (which in my case was med chem). If you have a particular field you find the most interesting, then go for it! If no particular field stands out to you right now, then think about what type of lab work you would like to be doing (e.g. synthesis or analytical work). Best of luck for your studies!

Mark

Dear Yvonne

Firstly, we need find our field of interest and depth knowledge. Then update your knowledge according to the current research and find out it has any future.

I m a graduate in Biotechnology the main concept of learning chemistry is the concept... so its better to get through with the concept

At our university we have something called "Forschungspraktikum" (research internship). It takes about 3-4 weeks and you get to do some work for a graduate student or postdoc. It allows the students to try out the different disciplines and it really helps them to choose!

Maybe there is something similar at your university or you can just ask for internships at different institutes/workgroups?

For me, since the first year, analytical chemistry was the most attractive option. It had the greatest overlap of all other disciplines and I was fascinated by the "puzzling" of methods and concepts for analytics.

But, it does not really matter which field or discplines you choose (this is even more true looking at your education state: you are young). They all overlap more and more nowadays. And: if you choose something which does not suit you, you can always change the field. (Also, new fields develop now and then.)

My advice: Go with your gut and simply choose one, which you think you might like. Go ahead with it (master your final project) and change the field afterwards (at the next level) if you do not like it or if you found something new.

Hey even i m trying to do PhD and further studies from some nice university abroad ... mostly i m looking in Australia ...

My area of interest is Biochemistry ... beacuase it is very interesting subject

All I can say choose field which interest you most.

You may look for the type of chemistry which is "easier to solve problems".

One may like to work in some field, being not capable to deal with the study and the problems solving.

Be careful, take your time, look around, you are not in a hurry. You always may switch from one field to another, to test your capabilities.

Good luck:)

Hey Yvonne!

This is just my experience, but when I was an undergraduate, I was totally into inorganic. But then I got a position in the government, and it's all about analytical chem, so I had to leave that scientific initiation behind and start to work in this area. It turns out that I was able to find really cool research lines in it.

So, what I mean is that it is not a good thing to rule out a field without getting to know some of it.

I kind of agree with Sven, research fields tend to overlap more and more, but that is a path that not all researchers and not all institutions seem to be taking. In my institution, I'm doing MSc now, and what we see is a conflict of generations over that (even though they don't admit it).

I am an organic chemist, and I can tell you that the Organic Synthesis is the most difficult to do in a chem. lab. The choice is yours :)

Cery interesting question. I may suggest you read more and find in which part of the subject you are interested. Try to know the challeges in that area and go for a broad reading at encyclopedia and then search for popual articlesin journals like nature, new scientist and science, You can find your research area your own

Thanks for dreaming of research at UG itself.

My advance congrates to you for your break through research output in your area of interest.

This is an important question for young scientists. I suggest you talk with professors at your institute; maybe even better talk to their grad students. Ideally, see if you can get involved with undergraduate research projects. My undergraduate university had something similar to Forschungspraktikum mentioned by Sven. I imagine that most profs will let you at least spend time in their labs to get a feel for the work even if they don't let you conduct formal research.

This was very helpful for me. I initially thought I wanted to be a biochemist until I spent 6 weeks in a lab. I *hated* it. I had another chance to do some computer modeling and really got into it. Now I am a professional modeler.

Follow your passion. All area of science is difficult, and I feel Organic Chemistry is more demanding and require hard work. I personally feel you should try interdisciplinary research. If you are bio oriented, go for Bioorganic, Bioinorganic, biochemistry etc. If you are mathematic oriented, you can try physical chemistry, materials research or computer simulation. Basic science is not that rewarding, though it is vital

Hi. I can say that I have random experiences in choosing subject areas for research but right now, I am very much interested in Biochemistry, although I am a student of Chemistry Education. I figured out that I love Biochemistry after being exposed to different research areas in social research, community research and even scientific research. Biochemistry is like the heart of biomedical disciplines. I am also a nurse and I realized that a strong background in Biochemistry helps you a lot in understanding the nature of diseases, drug interactions and even explaining important interventions to your patients. In other words, choose a path that you enjoy and discover more as a potential "answer" to the common problems in the society. Learn by observing your community, their problems, and your ability to help solve these problems through your chosen field.