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When Research is a Passion

Daniel Graham '10

“The chemistry department is a very close community,” says Dean’s Award-winner Daniel Graham. “I feel like I know the professors and can approach them at any time with a question.”

A teaching assistant for organic chemistry lab, Graham is researching energy-related inorganic chemistry, making transition metal complexes, and probing them for catalytic reactivity. A Schiff Fellowship supported his travel to conferences, and the Undergraduate Research Program funded summer housing, enabling him to stay on campus and conduct research. He has presented posters of his research five times.

“I’ve discussed chemistry with people from all over the world and met well-known chemists and possible future grad school advisers,” says Graham, adding that because of his experience at Brandeis he knows exactly what he wants to do with his life.

He plans to earn a Ph.D. and run his own research group as a university professor.

Finding a healthy combination

Anum Irfan Khan '10

Anum Irfan Khan arrived at Brandeis from Karachi with an admissions letter, two suitcases, and a one-way ticket, she says. The program titled “Health: Science, Society and Policy” had caught her eye from half a world away.

“It combined so many of my interests, including sociology, psychology, public policy, biology,” she says. “I didn’t know if I wanted to become a doctor, but I was interested in international and public health.”

Khan is currently pursuing a double major in HSSP and Environmental Studies, with a minor in business. She is also director of Academic Affairs for the Student Union, making her a principal student representative to the Provost and Dean of Arts and Sciences.

Khan says her Brandeis experiences and internships “feed off one another.” She has interned with the Pakistani NGO GreenStar, testing behavior-change communication strategies, and with the World Wildlife Fund, the University of Toronto and UNICEF Canada.