July 15, 2020
Graduate student, Sondrica Goines, won the 2020 Winifred Burks-Houck Graduate Leadership Award from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
In 2010, NOBCChE established the distinguished lecture, award, and symposium to honor Winifred A. Burks-Houck, the first female president of NOBCChE, by highlighting the leadership scientific achievements, creativity, and community service of a NOBCChE-affiliated professional woman and a NOBCChE undergraduate and graduate student working towards a degree in a STEM field.
Goines received her ACS certified B.S. in Chemistry from the College of Charleston in May 2018. At the College, she investigated the interactions between natural organic material and silver nanoparticles in natural waters under the direction of Dr. Katherine Mullaugh. Her passion for science and higher education led to her participation in tutoring and mentoring services, as well as college recruiting services for minorities like the South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation and the Office of Admissions Student Ambassador program.
Goines is currently a third-year graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry. The objective of her graduate research is to develop new electroanalytical tools to access the intracellular redox state in response to micropollutants under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Dick. Recently, she was awarded the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship to continue designing nano-electrochemical tools to discover more about the chemistry of life processes. During her time at UNC, she has continued to inspire others to pursue STEM careers as a member of the Department of Chemistry’s Graduate Committee for Professional Development and the Graduate Recruitment Committee. Not only has she taken steps to inspire within her institution, she also hopes to reach young professionals worldwide through her podcast – Curly Headed Chemist. Goines aspires to encourage our youth to defy the odds against them and work towards higher education in STEM through research.
The NOBCChE will hold an award recognition ceremony on September 25, 2020 at 4 p.m., to honor all 2020 NOBCChE award winners.