But if they have the interest, any average person could tap that app, too.<\/p>\n
They can examine the data from experiments already run, automate processes to run experiments of their own, and contribute to those ongoing projects, all through the app.<\/p>\n
That easy access to active and developing science at UConn is completely by design.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are trying to do is to open up access to being able to do research,\u201d says Gilmore, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at UConn\u2019s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest limitations to being able to participate is not having access to the kinds of tools and technology that are necessary in order to do that science.\u201d<\/p>\n
A lot of chemistry training, he explains, involves learning and practicing how to conduct chemistry experiments, which can be limited both by location and the availability of equipment, as well as an individual\u2019s aptitude for learning those physical and technical skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in theory, training should be about teaching you how to think, be creative and problem solve, and to come up with wonderful new solutions for things,\u201d Gilmore says.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s that limiting dynamic that Gilmore and his team hope to change \u2013 one chemistry lab and one automated tool at a time \u2013 through this app, and through a unique and growing outreach program aimed at engaging Connecticut high school students who are interested in science.<\/p>\n
Changing the Game<\/strong><\/p>\n Gilmore is an organic chemist and a flow chemist. He came to UConn in 2020 after completing his post-doctoral fellowship and then working as a research group leader for six years at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces<\/a> in Germany.<\/p>\n Flow chemistry differs from traditional, or batch, chemistry in that the process involves reactants continuously traveling through tubing using pumping systems. The advantage of flow chemistry, explains Gilmore, is control.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now have a stable set of conditions that we pass our solutions through,\u201d he says, compared to batch processes. \u201cTraditionally, we do chemistry a lot like cooking. You basically throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, heat it up, and hope it works. Flow chemistry is more like an assembly line, getting the same product every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Conducting experiments using flow chemistry systems has typically meant that chemists needed not only access to the equipment but also the knowledge and skill to operate it. Chemistry has the potential to be dangerous \u2013 some reactants are caustic or flammable. Gases can be toxic. Things can blow up, both literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n But in chemistry, as with so many fields, technological advancements are changing the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s lots of technology has been developed over the last 10, 15 years or so looking at automation, cloud computing, and everything that we can do online,\u201d Gilmore says, \u201cwhere we basically outsource everything from a technology standpoint, and we then have this interface that allows more of us to actually do things. We’ve taken the same approach, using automation and advanced instrumentation to remove the skills and expertise required, allowing more of us to do chemistry. We can simply tell it what we want to do, hit go, and the system does the rest.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what we realized is that if we can control that from a computer, that means we can control it from anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n When Gilmore says \u201canywhere,\u201d that\u2019s exactly what he means \u2013 anywhere could be his office on the other side of the Chemistry building, or in the dorms across campus, in another part of the state, or in another part of the world.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can be someone in Stamford doing this, but you can then also be someone in Bogota, Colombia, running these things,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it’s the same experience, and it’s the same data.\u201d<\/p>\n The system that Gilmore and his team built is called the Remote Research Network<\/a>, or RRN. The app is free to download<\/a>, and it\u2019s currently free to sign up, though they may begin charging nominal fees to cover the small cost of reactants used in the automated machines down the line as the network grows.<\/p>\n Participants who join the network can view all of its active research projects. They can schedule and run experiments of their own. They can converse with other researchers and add their own creative thoughts and ideas to a project.<\/p>\n All of the data generated through the experiments is considered open source and is stored on the network \u2013 everyone can see what worked and, just as important to Gilmore, what didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything that you run is open and live, and that, I think, is where we’re going to see the most transformational change in how we do science,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you’re looking at trying to bring in all of the beautiful data sciences that are being developed, and how we can continue to accelerate and figure out how we can solve more and more complicated problems, it doesn’t work if it’s just, \u2018Everything is great!\u2019 We need to know the full story \u2013 and that\u2019s something that\u2019s lacking in the way we share scientific data currently.\u201d<\/p>\n Also important is that absolutely anyone can participate. No Ph.D. necessary. No background in chemistry involved. A college degree or high school diploma isn\u2019t required, either.<\/p>\n Curiosity and interest are the only requisites.<\/p>\n Building Self Efficacy<\/strong><\/p>\n For UConn students, access to instruments through the RRN means that they can work on research projects remotely at any hour of the day \u2013 not just when someone who knows how to operate the equipment is around.<\/p>\n For other faculty at UConn, the RRN has the opportunity to break down barriers that might otherwise hinder research.<\/p>\n \u201cOftentimes, the reason that we collaborate is because, if I’m an organic chemist studying how to deliver RNA or something like this, and I don\u2019t know how to make something, I have to go knocking on people\u2019s doors saying, \u2018Hey, will someone make this for me?\u2019\u201d Gilmore explains. \u201cThen, I have to convince that person that this is interesting enough, and hope they stay motivated enough in order to make the things I need to do my science. That’s often where things just fall apart.<\/p>\n \u201cWhereas, what you could be able to do is say, \u2018I want to make this thing.\u2019 OK. I know I can use this automated platform, and it will remove all of the physical skills that are necessary in order to do this. That allows more people to participate and do the science they want to with fewer bottlenecks.”<\/p>\n It also allows complete outsiders to enter the process \u2013 including high school students.<\/p>\n \u201cThe overall idea for this is that if we can get more people involved, if more people can actually participate in research, then the higher the chances are that people can find that they are interested in this,\u201d says Gilmore. \u201cThey can build self-efficacy belief that \u2018I am a scientist. I can do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Standing](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/monitor-crop-240320b0078-300x200.jpg\")
![\"An](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/gilmore-9061-300x200.jpg\")