Volunteer Spotlight: Jade Fostvedt
Jade is a third year graduate student studying inorganic chemistry at UC Berkeley. She synthesizes molecules containing transition metals and uses them to turn abundant gas molecules, like carbon dioxide, into useful products. She has been volunteering with BASIS since 2017, teaching the second grade lessons “What’s the Matter with Gas?” and “CheMystery Liquids.” In addition to her work with BASIS, she teaches interactive chemistry lessons for Oakland seventh grade students through the Keeping Students Engaged in Science collaborative.
December 2019
Jade is a third year graduate student studying inorganic chemistry at UC Berkeley. She synthesizes molecules containing transition metals and uses them to turn abundant gas molecules, like carbon dioxide, into useful products. She has been volunteering with BASIS since 2017, teaching the second grade lessons “What’s the Matter with Gas?” and “CheMystery Liquids.” She also helps with the BASIS steering committee, and loves to develop new lesson plans! In addition to her work with BASIS, she teaches interactive chemistry lessons for Oakland seventh grade students through the Keeping Students Engaged in Science collaborative.
How did you wind up as a scientist?
Growing up in Vermillion, South Dakota, I spent a lot of time exploring by the Missouri River and asking a TON of questions. I was fascinated by the small things: up close, grains of sand looked just like the larger rocks surrounding my Mom’s garden. I 
wondered if the tiny rocks that made up sand could be broken apart into smaller rocks. How small could you go before there was nothing left? I also loved to watch the water rushing by the bank, especially the ripples and splashing droplets, and I had even more questions about the water. Why are water droplets round, and not square? What makes the ripples travel in circular patterns? If the water is clear when I put it in a cup, why does the river look blue? I didn’t know anyone who was a scientist, so I spent most afternoons in the public library, searching for answers. I split my time between the nonfiction section (especially the science and do-it-yourself shelves) and the sci- fi/fantasy section. Reading voraciously enabled me to travel to new worlds to explore my questions, and the more I learned, the more questions I had. Every time I found an answer, I would rush home to share what I learned with my younger sister and parents. I began to think of myself as a scientist: asking questions, finding answers, and sharing my knowledge with the people I love. I loved going to science class throughout elementary and middle school, and when I got to high school, I took my first chemistry class. My teacher introduced the periodic table on the first day of class, and I was hooked! I loved the fact that everything in the universe is made up of elements, and that those elements could be sorted into boxes and arranged according to their behavior. The idea that everything that exists behaves according to predictable patterns was thrilling to me: this was the answer to all of my questions! I decided that I would study chemistry as long as I could.
After high school, I decided to attend the University of South Dakota, located in my hometown of Vermillion, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. At USD, I started a book club and a chemistry club, and began working in a chemistry lab as an undergraduate research assistant (more on this later!). Through the chemistry club, I found my greatest passion: sharing chemistry with others! I designed and set up weekly chemical demonstrations for the club members, usually something colorful or explosive. I also had the chance to partner with local elementary and high school teachers to bring chemistry to the community. I reconnected with my kindergarten teacher, and we worked together to design a lesson on the behavior of gas molecules. The chemistry club ended teaching this lesson at an assembly for all of the kindergarten students in Vermillion! We also invited the high school A.P. chemistry students to join our meetings, and we synthesized gold nanoparticles with them and looked at them using the transmission electron microscope at USD – a unique lab experience for high school students!
Who inspired (or inspires) you and why?
I’m inspired by my first research advisor, Dr. James Hoefelmeyer. I first met Dr. Hoefelmeyer in my first semester at USD: he was giving a tour of the chemistry department, and he showed my classmates and I the department’s massive transmission electron microscope (it’s so big, it has its own room!). He was incredibly excited to share his passion for chemistry with us, and I was captivated by his enthusiasm. I asked if I could get involved in his research group, and I started working in his lab shortly after. I eventually started working on a synthetic inorganic chemistry project in his group, attempting to make a molecule with a silly name: a frustrated Lewis pair. After years of work on the project, I finally succeeded, and Dr. Hoefelmeyer was in the lab with me when I realized that I had made the molecule. I was gleefully holding a flask containing the product in my hand, and I will never forget what he said to me then: “You’re the only person in the entire universe to ever hold that molecule in your hand.” I was so excited, I almost dropped the flask! Dr. Hoefelmeyer’s passion for all aspects of science, ability to make any task fun, and the joy he finds in discovery inspire me every day.
Describe a unique, interesting, or pivotal experience you’ve had in your career.
Making my first new molecule, the frustrated Lewis pair, was one of the greatest highlights of my scientific career (see answer right above for full story).
Describe an interesting discovery or something you learned/are learning in your work as a teacher/scientist/engineer/etc.
Recently, I have been making molecules that contain a metal that most people have never heard of before – tantalum! I wanted to create a molecule that was very reactive, and I hoped to use it to break apart harmful greenhouse gases and turn them into something useful. I designed a molecule that had a tantalum atom in the center, surrounded by some very reactive methyl groups. Inorganic chemistry is full of beautiful colors, and my molecule is a bright, sunshine yellow color. When I placed my molecule under an atmosphere of carbon monoxide, the yellow solution quickly turned bright pink! I had so many questions: had my molecule reacted with carbon monoxide? What did it make? How can I find out? I purified the new pink product and grew crystals of it. Using a technique called X-ray diffraction, I was able to determine the structure of what I had made: my reactive tantalum molecule had split the carbon monoxide in half! The new product now had oxygen and carbon groups that came from the carbon monoxide. This was an exciting result: not only is carbon monoxide one of the worst greenhouse gases, it contains the strongest bond known! Now, I’m working to see if I can turn the carbon and oxygen groups into useful new products, such as monomers than can be polymerized, or chemicals that can be used in fuel cells.
Describe a goal you have, and why it’s important to you.
My current goal is to share a secret with as many young people as possible: anyone can be a scientist, and you definitely don’t need a fancy laboratory to do science! Science is a lens through which we can try to understand our world, and by asking questions and seeking your own answers, you are a scientist! Simply observing the clouds in the sky is science. Some of the best science happens in the kitchen: anytime you cook, you are doing a chemistry experiment. You can also do some pretty high-level science with supplies you can find in a grocery store – for example, I once made solar cells using TiO2 that I isolated from the white powdered sugar covering on hostess donuts, and wired a few of these solar cells together to power a light bulb! Science isn’t an exclusive club, and you don’t need formal training to understand scientific discoveries. I’m hoping to work in an informal learning environment, such as a science museum, so that I can continue to let people in on this secret. Science is for everyone!
Tell us about one of your favorite experiences that you’ve had in science outreach.
My BASIS team usually teaches second grade students, but recently we visited a third grade classroom at a school we had been to the previous year. When we walked into the classroom, we were met by a very excited group of students – we had taught these same students the year before, and they remembered us! They knew our names, where we work, and even remembered that one of our teammates is from England! They told us that they love science, and a few of them excitedly told us that they want to be scientists when they grow up. It was incredibly rewarding to see firsthand the impact that we had on these students.