This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Welcome to my third installment of You Should Know, where I give my own #ScholarSunday salute to Science Bloggers and Blogs you may not yet know about.
Introducing ... Dr. Raychelle Burks and thirty-seven.
Dr. Burks blogs and vlogs about chemistry - chemistry of all-sorts. The blog, thirty-seven, is a nod to her alter-identity Dr. Rubidium, rubidium being the 37th element on the Periodic Table. She blogs about her adventures in research, teaching, and outreach. She writes a lot about chemistry of pop-culture (zombies, Game of Thrones, etc.) and crime, so these two general areas get featured a lot!
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Dr. Raychelle Burks earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Presently she is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Department of Chemistry at the Doane College and Center for Nanohybrid Functional Materials at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
In her own words ...
I am an analytical chemist working on a testing array targeting small molecules of forensic interest.
Links to her engaging material.
Chemistry and the Death of King Joffrey - yes, she is all about #DemThrones
Killers that sux - a breakdown of the chemical succinylcholine used to temporarily paralyze and sedate patients for intubation.
Chemistry for the Zombie Apocalypse - for the Walking Dead fan, she gives the most important science you will need to carry with you into this chaotic future madness.
In addition to Dr. Burk’s chemistry research and online outreach activities, she proposed and launched the first ever DIYSciZone at Geek Girl Con 2013 in Seattle, Washington. The DIY or Do-It-Yourself zone was a hands-on science learning zone with nearly a dozen activities lead by chemistry and biology researchers and educators for the kids (and adults) who attended this very family-friendly girl-centric comic and character conference. She flexes her zombie chemistry expertise in the Curly Hair Mafia - a smart brown lady circle that reviews Horror, Sci-fi, and Fantasy TV shows and Movies. She is also a co-founder of the National Science & Technology News Service - a media literacy projects to connect journalists with African-American STEM professionals to serve as sources for science, tech, environment and health news stories.
You can engage Dr. Burks and her many projects at the following social media services:
Twitter: @DrRubidium and @DIYSciZone and @CurlyHairMafia
Connect with her and be sure to leave a comment. Tell her you found him via The Urban Scientist (me, @DNLee5) and #ScholarSunday.