I forgot to write last Fall’s First Week edition (so here’s the one from 2024), probably because I was super-busy teaching two sections of G-Chem 1 and one section of Biochem 1. I’m not teaching any Honors section this academic year so last semester I had around 100 students across my three courses. We’re also using a new textbook and online homework system for G-Chem, and it was just my second time teaching Biochem. All in all, more prep work than usual. This semester, I’m teaching one section of G-Chem 2 and one section of P-Chem 2 with around 60 students across both courses. I’m now used to the G-Chem online homework system, and I like the new textbook. This, the semester feels lighter from a workload standpoint. Hurrah!
But I was still very busy last week because of the possibility of a government shutdown here in the U.S. (which turned out to be mercifully short, thankfully). I decided to write up my annual report for my current federal research grant and submit it about a month earlier than usual, in case the government shut down. There was some confusion about whether an administrative request that I sent via webform went through because the website was apparently having problems, but eventually some back-and-forth emails confirmed that they received my request and my report. And hence today’s post is happening at the end of Week 2 rather than Week 1 of the semester.
After the long winter break, I’ve been enjoying interacting with students in the classroom, in my office, or in the hallways or atrium of my building. I’ve been making an extra effort not to be overly quick or efficient in my interactions, and hopefully students feel I’m not rushing them when they have questions. We’ll see how that shakes out the rest of the semester. I feel I have more energy even though my first class starts at 8am (instead of 9am last semester), maybe because of the lighter load and maybe because I just feel freer. The first week of class I was still struggling with timing in my G-Chem class because I had rearranged the material to match the new textbook. This week I feel I did a much better job without rushing in the last 5-10 minutes of class. I’m not making many changes to the first eight weeks of my P-Chem class so that has been going smoothly timing-wise. (I will be making some changes to the latter half.)
I also feel I have time for research this semester! Last semester, I felt that I hardly made any progress on my own projects. I still helped my research students make progress in their projects, but didn’t have much time for my own. This semester, however, I’ve been getting in 5-10 hours of research or writing (working on a paper) per week, which has been very nice! One of my summer 2025 research students who continued working with me last semester is also a very capable writer so I invited her to write the first draft of the research paper featuring her work. The carrot is she gets to be first author! I have revised much of the text, but kept the overall flow intact. She also made all the Figures and Tables. (For many other papers, I make the Figures since I feel they look nicer and more consistent in size/shape, but this student is exceptional and detail-oriented.)
I’m not taking on any new service activities because over winter break, I found out that my sabbatical application for AY26-27 was approved! This means fewer committee meetings and more time this semester, probably contributing to my feeling freer! I’ve also decided to try presenting my work digitally rather than in-person at the upcoming American Chemical Society national conference, so I don’t need to block off travel time. More time freed up! I am reading a little more to try to fine-tune a plan for my upcoming sabbatical. There are so many interesting things to explore. Okay, that’s the end of Week 2, Spring 2026 edition. It may be my last such post as I’ve been reducing my blogging activities.
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