STUDENT NEWS was in the final stage and about to be published. However, my research had to be suspended for three months during that time. Thankfully, everything got back on the right track after the lab was reopened. Neither safety rules nor supply request fulfillments made any trouble for me. With the great help of my advisor, Dr. Vicic, I wrapped it up and got the paper done in the next two months--and it was accepted by Organometallics (ACS) in October. Q: What was your last day in the lab in March of 2020 – and what was your first day back to the lab? My last day in the lab was March 20. I still remember how frustrated I was when we were kicked out of the lab by COVID-19. I never expected the spread would be so fast that it even permeated our peaceful Lehigh and Valley. The end of March was supposed to be the end of winter. However, I felt no warmth, but endless cold and helpless from the bottom of my heart. After all, no one knew when it would be over and how far it would go. The only thing we could do was stay at home and pray. My first day back to the lab was June 16--after exactly three months shut down. I was so excited when we were told by our Primary Investigator (Dr. Vicic) that we could finally come back to the lab. I was itching to get back to the real research and running reactions in the glove box. It was a good feeling to see my colleagues and advisor in person (even from a 6-ft. distance) rather than just from a 3" x 3" screen window in Zoom. The first day I got back and saw our full stack of personal protective equipment (PPE) prepared by Dr. Vicic, I knew we could get through and conquer COVID-19 together by following safety rules; that we we didn't need to fear it anymore. Q: Were you working as a TA or RA during this time? And if a TA, did you continue to virtually meet with students? I was a TA of CHM030 (General Chemistry Lab) in Spring semester and an RA in Summer. I didn’t have any experience of meeting with students. All we had to do was to grade their lab reports online and try our best to answer their questions by email. Q: What is it like to be working with students this Fall (i.e. do you use technologies like Zoom, Panopto, or other technologies to stay connected to Lehigh and any students you are responsible for assisting?) I’m currently a TA of CHM030 (General Chemistry Lab) in this Fall semester, and we’re using Zoom to host office hours with students to answer any of their questions. We’re also using Zoom to have TA meetings with course instructors each week. This technology definitely helps a lot to stay connected for both the TA's and the students, even if sometimes it still has limitations like the unstable network issue. Q: Are working on-campus in the Fall 2020 semester--and can you briefly describe what that atmosphere is like? I’m currently a TA of CHM030 (General Chemistry Lab) in the Fall semester. The atmosphere on campus was overall reassuring in the first few months of the semester. The policies at both university level and department level are solid and we can easily find PPE everywhere on campus. All students and faculty members I worked with followed the rules, like keeping social distancing and wearing the mask all the time--which makes me feel pretty safe to work on campus. Q: Since COVID-19 is affecting the entire world, how has it impacted your family? As an international student at Lehigh, I haven’t gotten a chance fly back home since I started my Ph.D program, so my mother visited me during this last Christmas in 2019. However, she wasn't able to get back to China due to this global pandemic. Her flight ticket was cancelled twice and the travel ban made it like a lottery to most people. As a 65-yearold lady, her doctor also didn’t advise her to take the risk of a more than 12-hour flight. I applied for an extension to her visa so she was "legal" to live with me during that time. I really appreciate her full support which lets me really focus on my research. (Note to readers: Teng informed us that his mother was able to fly out on a 15-hour flight and arrived home safely on December 7, 2020.) Q: What is your research focus in the Vicic lab–and have you been able to continue your research on a “normal” basis – or are you feeling that things like social- interaction restrictions and social distancing are impacting the progress you are able to make with your research? My research focuses on organometallic fluorine chemistry at transition metals, especially cobalt and nickel. Before the whole campus was closed in March, my project TENG XUE - VICIC RESEARCH LAB A Grad Student's Perspective on the COVID-19 Impact Department of Chemistry · Page 19
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==