No te bo o k • Vo l u m e X X X • 2 0 22
STUDENT SUCCESS
2022
actions. She is currently working toward
ibly grateful for all the opportunities the Col-
publishing this effort in the near term.
lege of Science has afforded her during her
In an effort to expand the breadth
undergraduate studies and the supportive
of her research experience, Tyler participated in an NSF-funded REU program at the University of
community of scientists she has been able to surround herself with. Outside of the lab, Tyler enjoys hiking and
Minnesota during the summer
rock climbing. She is always looking for vegan
of 2021. Working with Professor
recipes to cook and loves trying new restaurants
Ian Tonks, she evaluated cobalt
around Salt Lake City.
catalysts for the hydroesterification of small molecules. During the fall of 2020, Tyler applied for the Goldwater Scholarship and earned the award in March 2021. Alongside the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, Tyler TYLER BALL - CHEMISTRY
has earned various awards through the De-
College of Science Research Scholar
partment of Chemistry and the College of
Tyler Ball is a first-generation college student who grew up in Salt Lake City. She
Dean’s Scholarship and the Leon Watters
enrolled at the University of Utah in 2018 and
Memorial Award.
participated in the ACCESS Scholars program as
Tyler’s learning is propelled by her pas-
a member of the 2018-2019 cohort. Through the
sion for sustainability. During her sophomore
ACCESS program, Tyler was introduced to broad
year, Tyler became involved with our American
topics related to sustainability which cemented
Chemical Society Student Chapter’s Green
her desire to pursue a degree in chemistry. The
Chemistry Committee (GCC). The GCC helped
program also enabled her to get involved with
to introduce Kimberly Clark’s glove recycling
research during the second semester of her
program into teaching and research labs in the
freshman year – she joined Dr. Matt Sigman’s
chemistry department and recently worked
ELIJAH COUNTERMAN - MATHEMATICS
lab in January 2019.
with the College of Science to introduce mask
Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher
Her first research project was a mecha-
recycling into lab spaces. Tyler’s involvement
Counterman has been working on using
nistic study of the oxidative addition of cobalt
in the GCC has also helped her to focus on
models to answer some fundamental ques-
complexes into benzyl bromides using electro-
outreach efforts – she has organized multiple
tions in pharmacokinetics. “These models use
analytical techniques, which was published in
outreach events this year, with the hope of earn-
random variables to mimic the unpredict-
the Journal of the American Chemical Society
ing a Green Chemistry Award for the student
ability and forgetfulness of human beings.”
in October 2019. She was hoping to expand on
chapter through the national ACS organization.
said Counterman. The models Counterman
this project using different substrates, but the
4
Science, including the College of Science
Going forward, Tyler will be pursuing her
used were developed from some of the work
COVID-19 pandemic pushed her to start a fully
PhD in chemistry at Cornell University. Her
of renowned Hungarian mathematician Paul
computational project in the spring of 2020.
emphasis will likely be in green catalysis with
Erdős and others in the 1930s.
Tyler began a project using Symmetry-Adapted
an application to polymer synthesis and her
“I’m interested in the research because I
Perturbation Theory to study trends within and
studies will be funded by the NSF Graduate
plan to graduate from the U next spring and
between different types of non-covalent inter-
Research Fellowship Program. She is incred-
attend medical school in the fall of 2023,” said
