VALUES & RESOURCES

VALUES

My Personal Philosophy

Higher education presents limitless opportunities to create new knowledge and positively impact the global community. Nonetheless, as reflected in the disparate demographics between the US population and academic faculty members, there is an egregious underrepresentation of both women (ca. 18% of chemistry faculty) and of people of color (ca. 4% of chemistry faculty). These statistics reflect experiences of harassment, explicit and implicit racism, and discrimination that are prevalent in higher education.

I strongly believe that every individual should be able to pursue a STEM career. Broadening participation to include individuals with varied scientific training, experiences, and perspectives strengthens the research enterprise, enabling innovative, collaborative, and solution-oriented approaches to complex energy and materials challenges.

Ultimately, increasing the representation of marginalized groups will bring in new individuals with diverse viewpoints, motivations, and perspectives, producing a stronger workforce with ample evidence for a more successful and collaborative problem-solving mindset versus an alternative monolithic team.

Kurtis Carsch

Inclusive and Supportive Environment

In our lab, we strive to create and uphold an atmosphere where each member feels comfortable, heard, and capable of achieving their potential. Collaboration and open discussion are essential to our work, as science is not best done in isolation. We believe that every member's input, informed by their unique experiences, enriches our research and drives academic excellence.

Lab Culture and Practices

We are dedicated to building a lab culture centered on respect, open communication, and shared responsibility. Lab maintenance duties are distributed equally to ensure smooth research operations and a clean, safe workspace. We prioritize sustainable chemistry practices and regularly schedule lab clean-ups toward commitment to green chemistry.

Engaging All Voices

We are committed to training and educating the next generation of chemists while celebrating the diverse backgrounds and perspectives that enrich our community. If you are scientifically curious and passionate about chemistry, we invite you to explore our site and reach out to us. Together, we can create a more functional and dynamic scientific community at UT.

RESOURCES

NotVoodoo – Crowdsourced tricks and tips for bench-top synthetic chemistry.
Schlenk Line Guide – Advice for standard manipulations using a Schlenk line.
Glove Material Compatibility – Compatibility matrix between solvents and glove material.
Solvent Miscibility Table – Useful reference on recalling miscibility of different solvents
Solvent Physical Properties – Tabulations of melting point, boiling point, and dielectric constants.
NMR Solvent Impurities – List of NMR shifts for common organic solvents.
UNC Safety Net – UNC's Compilation of safety resources for experimental settings.
Kinetic Diameter & Polarizability – Useful physical properties for small molecule separation