University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 18 April 1997

Immersion's the best way to learn, says Jerome Wong

Undergraduate student experiences the world of research in one of University's top laboratories

By Michael Robb

Ask Jerome Wong how he likes to learn and he's unequivocal: immerse yourself in your environment and things will work out just fine. Although he's only 21 years old, the third-year chemistry student is able to speak authoritatively based on some pretty formative experiences.

When the young student arrived with his family from Hong Kong, for example, he was thrown into a junior high school class immersion style. He had to tackle his school work-and learn the language of instruction, English. A year later he was in the academic challenge program.

Fast forward several years, when he arrived at the chemistry department's doorsteps. Once again he sought immersion-this time in the world of research. On the strength of a laboratory experience he had the previous summer in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, he was assigned to a chemistry professor's laboratory. This wasn't just any lab, however. This was the lab of Dr. Norm Dovichi, one of the continent's top analytical chemists, the recent recipient of the University's top research prize, the J Gordin Kaplan Award.

Once again Wong was challenged to learn by immersing himself in a totally new environment. "I was very lucky," says the soft-spoken Wong. "I had heard that Norm was a brilliant scientist."

The undergraduate student found himself among 30 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. He worked closely with two, Dough Craig and Costas Stathakis. After his first summer in the lab, he was invited during the regular terms to work part time. He finished several research projects, became an integral part of the team and discovered he was able to apply what he was learning in class to the work he was doing at the bench. The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research awarded him two summer work scholarships. His presentation to the 10th annual undergraduate chemistry conference blew everyone away. And along the way, he earned the best presentation award in the analytical area.

"Being bright helps," he says, "but doing research requires more than that. You need to apply your common sense and think about what you're doing. You realize, no one's doing this-you're on the frontiers-so you really have to think about how you analyze the data."

Wong is about to immerse himself into another environment, this time the workplace. Wong, who is enrolled in the department's internship program, is about to travel to Montr,al to work in the Merck Frosst laboratories. "The more experience the better," he says, and, besides, it's a chance to learn another language. Just another immersion experience.

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