#SoCaltech: Krista Dong

“Wellesley, where I did my undergrad, was a super small school, but Caltech is even smaller. For graduate school, I was looking for a vibrant community, and I felt like Caltech had that built in because it’s so small that it gives you the chance to really get to know people. If I have a problem, and I know someone’s worked on it or has worked on something adjacent—even with people that I don't know super well—I know I can pop by and ask them a question. More often than not, they’ll say, ‘Come on down, and we’ll talk about it.’

I’m grateful to win the Bob and Helen Grubbs Fellowship because it helps enable the research I do with Hosea [Nelson, professor of chemistry]. I never met Bob Grubbs, but he started a longstanding tradition of summer camping trips where his research group would go and spend time in the Sierras. I went last summer and met some of the original members of the group, as well as Bob’s wife and daughter. I’ve only ever heard great things about him and his mentorship and the way he treated his students. It’s an honor to receive the first scholarship named for him.”

Chemistry graduate student Krista Dong is the inaugural recipient of the Bob and Helen Grubbs Fellowship. Dong investigates the reactivity of vinyl carbocations. Carbocations—positively charged carbon molecules—are important to the creation of new chemical compounds that could be used in products such as explosives, paints, and solar panels.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.