Faith Longnight has been selected as the first recipient of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department’s Percy Julian Scholarship, a new department scholarship award for chemistry and biochemistry majors at the University of Oregon.

Established in 2020 by a generous donation, the Percy Julian Scholarship seeks to support talented undergraduate scientists in their pursuit of a career in chemistry and recognizes their contributions to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM and their potential for further academic achievement.

We asked Faith to tell us a little about herself and her science.

I was born in California, but I was raised in Eugene for most of my life! I am a junior this year and am double majoring in Chemistry and Sociology. The part of science that I love most is the aspect of discovery. It feels like I am using the skills I have learned to solve a puzzle each time I answer a question and it is such a rewarding process!

Current Research

I am in the joint Darren Johnson and Haley lab under the supramolecular anion recognition project. I first got into a research lab spring term of my freshman year but once I found my true place within the chemistry department, I joined the Johnson and Haley lab. I have been in this lab since March of 2020 and have loved every minute of it. I am currently working on a project that studies the kinetics of a reaction with hydrosulfide (HS^–) with and without the addition of a supramolecular sensor. The goal of the project is to see if the presence of noncovalent interactions slow down the reaction with HS^–. This would give insight in how our bodies might slow down reactions with HS^–, which is a highly reactive molecule that is essential to our bodies’ function.

What’s next?

I am still undecided in what I exactly want to do in the future, but I know that I want to pursue higher education within chemistry. No matter what I end up doing I want to find somewhere where I can use chemistry and research to help benefit the community around me. I want to pursue research so that I can show others that might feel alone that they are worthy and to show that researchers of color are valid, and that diversity is vital within the sciences.  I am currently very passionate about both pharmacology and forensic chemistry and I hope to learn more about both career fields while I am finishing out my time here at UO.