Science Journal Features Artwork by Pitt PhD Student Yasemin Başdoğan


a red see-through cross with little chemical/atom bits in it

Artwork by a Pitt researcher was featured on the back cover of Royal Society of Chemistry journal, “Chemical Science.”

Yasemin Başdoğan — a PhD student in the lab of John Keith, assistant professor of chemical engineering and R.K. Mellon Faculty Fellow in Energy at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering — designed the image, which shows several molecules reacting in a cross-shaped container slowly filling with a liquid. Başdoğan’s research focuses on improving the modeling of a complex chemical system called the Morita-Baylis Hillman reaction.

“Our model is like a paramedic team that comes with an ambulance: it’s a quick fix that can be really effective,” she said.

The image was developed using tools and skills Başdoğan learned in a course at the Swanson School taught by assistant professor Chris Wilmer called Advanced Scientific Visual Communication, with assistance from Pitt’s Center for Research Computing.