This month, at the 250th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition in Boston, Mass., the face of a new researcher was seen – the face of Wilkes University senior Khushali Parikh.

At the exposition, Parikh was recognized by the Division of Computers in Chemistry for excellence in her undergraduate research of the electronic structure and properties of copper dioxygen complexes.

According to a press release, Parikh began her research a year ago with assistant professor of chemistry Dr. Adriana Dinescu. Her research deals with organic chemistry, a subject that Parikh was not even familiar with before beginning her research. She was able to do it  with the help she received from Dr. Dinescu, who taught her “how to do computational work along with how to understand the structures from an inorganic point of view,” as Parikh is quoted in the press release.

Parikh indicates that Dr. Dinescu has been a very big help to her.

“After going to my first (American Chemical Society) national meeting in Denver in March 2015, Dr. Dinescu asked me if I wanted to present at the next meeting in Boston. I said yes right away,” Parikh said. “I wouldn’t have even had a chance to do this research without all the help of Dr. Dinescu.”

According to the press release, Parikh was urged by associate professor and chemistry chair Donald Mencer to apply for a position at Hawk Mountain Labs in Hazelton, an independent water testing lab, where she recently started working part time.

Parikh’s future shows great promise. “I am graduating this semester. I am planning on working in the industry to get hands on experience before getting my masters,” she said.