News
A High Schooler’s Experiment to be Published in an International Scientific Journal (September 3, 2013)
- Date : 2014-01-06
- Views : 7153
-
Writer
Public Relations Team
-
Att.
![A High Schooler’s Experiment to be Published in an International Scientific Journal (September 3, 2013)](http://kist.re.kr/Data/editor/BScgtusK.jpg)
Seung-un Lee (18 years old), a high school student who participated in the science internship program of KIST Gangneung (Director Chung Bong-chul), a branch of Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), published his experiment done at KIST Gangneung in an international scientific journal.
KIST Gangneung reported that an article titled, “Efficient and Rapid Regio-selective One-Pot Synthesis of 1, 4-Disubstituted 1, 2, 3-Triazoles from In Situ Generated Potassium Arylethynyltrifluoroborates through Sonogashira Reaction” is accepted by the European Journal of Organic Chemistry (EurJOC), a globally renowned chemistry journal. This article includes a result of an experiment conducted by Seung-un Lee, a junior at Gangneung Myeongryun High School who participated in KIST Gangneung internship program for high school students. Seung-un is mentioned as the 3rd author in the article, which is scheduled to be published in the October issue.
The relationship between KIST Gangneung and Seung-un started when the Branch launched its internship program for high school students in summer 2011. Seung-un, a high-spirited and active high school student, found his life-time vision while watching white gown-clad researchers working busily in laboratories.
On the other hand, researchers were deeply impressed by Seung-un as well. For example, when researchers explain to the internship students the principle of thin-layer chromatography (TLC), used to separate mixtures from solution, Seung-un, with his curious mind, applied samples such as coffee and green tea on TLC plates and tried to find out similarities and differences of TLC results of each sample.
Not to mention being one of the active participants, Seung-un, after successfully completing the program asked to join in on some of the experiments conducted at KIST Gangneung. Ham, Jeong-yeop, Head of the National Medicine Center at KIST Gangneung, allowed Seung-un to participate in experiments with the precondition that he must carry out researches with other researchers equally. Under the supervision of Kim, Tae-jung researcher, Seung-un became a member of the research team that developed new organoboron compounds during the 2011 and 2012 winter breaks working over many midnights conducting experiments while referencing various technical documents. As a result, good results were obtained after many trials and errors.
He conducted an experiment to generate potassium arylethynyltrifluoroborates via Sonogashira reaction. Potassium arylethynyltrifluoroborates are intermediates used to develop a new method in synthesizing Triazole compounds and therefore, is of great importance in the article. Triazole compounds are widely used for chemical as well as medicine for cancer, osteoporosis, and dementia. Alkyne compounds are precursors for Triazole compounds but expensive and volatile. Potassium arylethynyltrifluoroborates generated by Seung-un are highly valued for several advantages: They are stable and inexpensive as well as versatile in creating various Alkyne compounds, which means Alkyne compounds can be generated from inexpensive base materials.
![A High Schooler’s Experiment to be Published in an International Scientific Journal (September 3, 2013)](http://kist.re.kr/Data/editor/vjWhlOrO.jpg)
Seung-un said, “The internship program at KIST Gangneung was a life-changing experience to me. Before the program, I just studied to be accepted to one of the elite universities, like most other high school student in Korea. However after the internship, I decided that I will major in natural sciences and become a scientist in order to develop treatments for rare and incurable diseases and conduct researches into vital phenomena of human bodies. Now, I study with that goal mind always.”
KIST Gangneung is located in Kwang Won Province and one of its goals is to discover and foster local talents in science and technology. As a part of this objective, KIST Gangneung operates programs for kindergarten children and elementary school students as well as an internship program, which provides an opportunity for high school students to experience research labs, joint research between academia and research institute, and master’s and doctorate courses in order to truly have hands-on experience of becoming a researcher in the science and technology field.
The internship program was first launched in 2010 for local high school students wanting to major in natural sciences and engineering in universities. The program is held for two weeks during the summer and winter breaks. Students participating in the internship program set various research goals with the KIST members and conduct research and experiments in KIST research labs getting a hands-on experience. The internship program provides the students with an opportunity to experience future careers in science and technology.
Since 2006 KIST continuously provided various programs for young people who are the future of our generation. As a part of this educational sharing project, “Nano Trucks” that travel to low-income, disadvantaged areas to meet children and “Mentoring Program” (including internships and science camp) to disseminate science-related knowledge have been carried out.