应对气候变化

Attending the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference is just one of many impressive opportunities 克里斯·杰克逊16岁 利用了他在山顶的时间. Some of his amazing activities are covered in this story we published in 2015. 我们最近采访了杰克逊，想看看他的圣. 爱德华的经历使他着迷. 了解他现在在加州大学伯克利分校做什么 超越山顶更新 在本文的最后
 

2015年11月, 45,000年外交官, 世界各国领导人, 科学家和研究人员聚集在巴黎, 法国, 《联合国气候变化框架公约. 克里斯·杰克逊16岁 was one of eight American Chemical Society students (and future climate-change researchers) selected from universities across the United States to observe and learn as 世界各国领导人 identified global targets for climate change.

早起

杰克逊不是一夜之间来到这里的. His research started his freshman year in the 自然科学s Living Learning 社区, where students in the same field live in a shared wing of a residence hall, take classes together and work on research with faculty mentors. 在杰克逊的案例中, the LLC experience led him to a six-week forensic chemistry research project under the guidance of now-retired Assistant Professor of 化学 唐Wharry.

在第一次经历之后, he found himself drawn to two very different research subjects, renewable energy and cancer — both pressing issues that would allow him to help people. “有些人做基础研究, 它的目的是提高科学认识和理论,他说. “但我更愿意做应用研究. 我希望我的研究能改变世界.”

回到校园, he immersed himself in computational chemistry research — a new form of research for him that uses computers to solve problems instead of hands-on experiments — with Professor of 化学 特里西娅牧羊人. He has also relied on the mentorship of Associate Professor of 生物学 and 化学 玛丽Kopecki-Fjetland, who serves as his academic adviser and helped him through the process of changing his major to biochemistry and back to chemistry again as he focused his interests.

更大的图景

杰克逊的生活并非一直都是科学. He competes for the Hilltoppers Division II varsity cross country team and is president of two student organizations, the Asian Student Association and the university’s chapter of the American Chemical Society. 他还负责服务中断经验, which means he is traveling this January with a group of students to serve a community in need.

持续关注

不知道该往哪个方向走, he applied to summer research programs all over the country and decided to follow the path that opened for him. 因此, he headed to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) National Laboratory in California for a summer working on solar cells. That experience cemented his interest in hands-on applied research and convinced him that renewable energy was the right choice. 第二年, he went after a research position at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, 阿拉巴马州, where he explored carbon dioxide reduction for the International Space Station.

回到校园, he immersed himself in computational chemistry research — a new form of research for him that uses computers to solve problems instead of hands-on experiments — with Professor of 化学 特里西娅牧羊人. He has also relied on the mentorship of Associate Professor of 生物学 and 化学 玛丽Kopecki-Fjetland, who serves as his academic adviser and helped him through the process of changing his major to biochemistry and back to chemistry again as he focused his interests.

更大的图景

杰克逊的生活并非一直都是科学. He competes for the Hilltoppers Division II varsity cross country team and is president of two student organizations, the Asian Student Association and the university’s chapter of the American Chemical Society. 他还负责服务中断经验, which means he is traveling this January with a group of students to serve a community in need.

“在我大一的时候, I joined the Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break in Biloxi, 受卡特里娜飓风影响的地区,他说. “现在, 两年后, 因为我开始从事气候变化研究, I can look back on my time in Biloxi and wonder if my science can help us manage natural disasters in the future.”

下一步

参加联合国气候变化大会, 他希望, will put him on a path to make a bigger difference in the world. 不仅仅是研究, he wants to move into the public policy side and raise public awareness of scientific concerns. He has already applied for a number of highly competitive scholarships and fellowships (and is in the running for both Fulbright and Gates-Cambridge scholarships) that will allow him to do that.

“有很多重大挑战，”他说. “我对可再生能源很感兴趣，但还有更多. 气候变化如何影响贫困? 健康? 政治? 我们如何与公众谈论这些事情? 这就是我想做的.

“我可以成为一名化学家，每天都做研究, 但从大局来看, 那不是最重要的,他补充道. “I don’t want to be remembered as a great chemist who did great things. 没关系，但这对我来说不是最重要的. I’d much rather be remembered as Chris, that guy who helped people.”

劳伦·利博维茨著

Beyond the Hilltop

Since graduating in 2016, Jackson continues to pursue his passion for science and service. Prior to entering a 化学 PhD program at the University of California Berkeley in August 2017, he spent a year volunteering abroad with an orphanage in Jamaica and with a foundation in Thailand that serves adults with disabilities and children at a school for the blind.

Jackson was awarded a highly competitive National Science Foundation 研究生 Research Fellowship ($34,每年5万元，为期三年). 加州大学伯克利分校, he serves as a 研究生 Student Instructor and 研究生 Student Researcher — 5-year appointments that cover his tuition, 费用及其他开支.

“伯克利分校, I conduct research on nanomaterials for optoelectronic applications, 比如太阳能电池或led,杰克逊说。. “I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of this work because it allows me to do fundamental science that also has direct ties to important energy applications.”

在教室和实验室外面, Jackson has leadership roles in graduate student organizations such as the Berkeley Energy & 资源 Collaborative, the Berkeley Science Policy Group and the 伯克利科学评论这是一本研究生办的杂志. “These groups allow me to interface with non-scientists and professionals in industry, 政府和许多其他领域,他说. “We work to communicate the science being done at UC Berkeley and translate it into language that can be understood by non-scientists.”