Graduate Student Highlight: Steven Huss
Each week, the Department of Chemistry highlights a graduate student who is doing interesting and exciting work within the department. In this installment of our highlight series, we are featuring Steven Huss, who is a fourth-year student in the Elacqua group.
Steven works mainly on two projects that aim to synthesize polymers or polymer-like molecules that have higher order functions. The goal of one project is to synthesize new types of carbon nanothreads, originally discovered in 2015 by late Penn State Professor of Chemistry John Badding. These one-dimensional primarily sp3 polymers are produced by pressure-induced polymerization of unsaturated molecules, such as benzene or furan, at gigapascal pressures. Their diamondoid-like backbone gives them a high predicted tensile strength and flexibility. In his other project, Steven is working to synthesize polymers with photoredox-active groups, electron-relay cocatalyst groups, and crosslinkable groups off the backbone of the polymers. With appropriate conditions, the Elacqua group can crosslink these polymers so that one polymer chain will crosslink only with itself, producing a Single-Chain Polymer Nanoparticle (SCNP). The Elacqua group has found that efficient colocalization of the photoredox-active and electron-relay molecules can be done using this confinement, and this leads to enhanced reactivity in the photo-mediated reactions that the group has studied.
Outside of the lab, Steven is involved with the Department of Chemistry’s graduate student open house and orientation. He has also served as a mentor for prospective students.
This week, we met virtually with Steven to discuss his life in and outside of the lab! Please enjoy our interview with Steven Huss.
Question: How did you get interested in chemistry?
Answer: I discovered my love for chemistry all the way back in my high school chemistry classes. I was introduced to a book written by the Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman called “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman.” His views on the world, science, and curiosity sparked a unique interest in me, and, while I did not follow his footsteps in physics, I found true passion in chemistry.
Q: What inspires you as a scientist?
A: My inspiration as a scientist lies in discovery and synthesis. What drives my science is when I can discover or synthesize something new and get the opportunity to tell the scientific community about it. Whether my original hypothesis was right or wrong, what drives scientific research forward is first curiosity and then reporting your results to the community so others can build on your results.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of? (Either as a scientist, or otherwise)
A: At this point in my career, the accomplishment that I am most proud of is my first science article, which I wrote and published in my group on the synthesis of furan-derived carbon nanothreads. This was the first opportunity I was given to share my research results to the scientific community and the public.
Q: Why did you decide to come to Penn State?
A: Besides being closer to my hometown, what really drove me to come to Penn State was the collaborative research environment. It is very common to hear a group in the chemistry department working with each other and other groups in different departments such as chemical engineering, physics, and biochemistry and molecular biology. I believe collaboration with those who have a different expertise leads to different perspectives and important scientific findings.
Q: Where did you grow up? (Tell us a fun fact about your hometown if you want)
A: I grew up in West Chester Pennsylvania, about three hours away from Penn State. One fact I love to tell is that scenes from the movie Marley & Me were filmed in downtown West Chester.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: In my free time, I like to brew and make my own beer and wine. I also have recently gotten back into growing my own hot peppers, both of which take a lot of patience that sometimes I don’t have because I want to taste everything way too early.
Q: What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
A: When the chores are done, I love to play some video games and walk around the park right next to my apartment.
Q: What’s your dream vacation?
A: My dream vacation is either visiting Italy or France. They’re both known for their amazing food and wine but also beautiful views like Positano, Italy or, of course, Paris, France. If I could spend a week or two in either country, I know it would be an amazing time.
Q: If you could have dinner with anybody (living or dead), who would it be and why? (And what would you eat?)
A: I think since I have always had such an interest in him, I would choose Richard Feynman. There are some wonderful videos of him online, and I feel if I had one hour with him I would either gain some great insights or my brain would be overwhelmed. I think we would have some pasta and wine together.
Bonus Question: Do you have any fun science trivia to share?
A: Until 2019, the kilogram was defined by a golf ball-sized object called the International Prototype of the Kilogram, which is made of a ninety percent platinum and ten percent iridium alloy. It was housed in a vault in France, and three independently controlled keys were required to open the vault. Now, the kilogram is defined in terms of the Planck constant.
Thanks to Steven for these interesting and thoughtful answers! We hope you enjoyed this interview. Stay tuned for more graduate student highlights in the weeks to come!