\u201cThat was the culmination of my interests,\u201d she said. \u201cThey took chemistry and they made a really soft fabric! After that trip, I started researching textile chemistry programs and that\u2019s what led me here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After graduating from Wheaton College in 2014 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Studio Art, Boes began working toward her Ph.D. in the <\/span>Fiber and Polymer Science program<\/span><\/a> at <\/span>NC State<\/span><\/a>\u2019s <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a>. She joined Dr. Nelson Vinueza\u2019s research group, <\/span>Vinueza Labs<\/span><\/a>, and dove into research using the lab\u2019s mass spectrometer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA mass spectrometer is like a high-tech scale that weighs molecules,\u201d she said. \u201cEach molecule is launched down a long tube, and it is possible to tell how much the molecule weighs by how fast it flies down the tube. Heavier molecules travel more slowly and lighter molecules travel more quickly. What’s special about mass spectrometry is that it can provide information about each molecule in a mixture, whereas other analytical techniques often provide bulk information about the mixture as a whole.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vinueza Labs specializes in mass spectrometry research in four areas: forensics, including the analysis of trace amounts of dye on fibers and the differentiation of real and counterfeit drugs; dyes, including the pursuit of more economical dye production and the study of antimicrobial properties found in naturally occurring biomaterials; carbohydrates, specifically cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, in their use with flame retardants to prevent the toxic leakage of those chemicals from garments; and biofuels, including optimizing the biofuel pretreatment process in order to make biofuels more economically and environmentally viable.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her dissertation, \u201cHigh Efficiency Mass Spectrometry Characterization of Biomaterials,\u201d is in the latter area, and focuses on \u201cresearching factories that make transportation fuels and other fossil fuel replacements out of plants.\u201d But her interest in biofuels has been a long-burning one; in fact, she has been dreaming of renewable energy since she was in fourth grade, when she and a classmate designed an electric car they believed would be able to charge itself.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrowing up in Ann Arbor (Michigan), which is a really liberal and green city, I\u2019ve enjoyed thinking about and being creative about renewable energy,\u201d she said. \u201cComing to the Wilson College of Textiles and getting to work unexpectedly on renewable materials has been really fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n She recently successfully defended her dissertation in front of her committee, composed of Dr. Stephen Michielsen,<\/span> Dr. Harold S. Freeman<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Dr. Nelson Vinueza<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Dr. Michael Bereman<\/span><\/a>, as well as friends, family and her fiance. She will finish out the semester working on research projects using the mass spectrometer. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her next move will not be linear. She plans to flex her creative muscles on top of her analytical bones with a career in science communication. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been finding, throughout the last four years, that I\u2019m more passionate about figuring out how to share science than actually doing it myself on the bench,\u201d said Boes. \u201cSo, with a background in graphic design, I would like to pivot and move into science communication with a marketing focus. I\u2019m really passionate about successful visual science communication, because I think it can break down some language barriers and share science in a more visual and easily approachable way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Boes has already built a foundation for a career in science communication, through her work on scientific illustrations like the \u201c<\/span>30 Elements<\/span><\/a>\u201d chemistry art print and t-shirt, facilitated by a Kickstarter campaign, and a pair of periodic table-themed socks<\/a> for the <\/span>American Chemical Society<\/span><\/a>. She also established the web presence for Vinueza Labs, including designing the website and logo and creating a series of research graphics to elucidate complex concepts.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the spring of 2016, she attended <\/span>ComSciCon-Triangle<\/span><\/a>, a Raleigh-area workshop for STEM graduate students about communicating science. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAttending that — on a whim — opened up my eyes to how science and communication really do intersect,\u201d said Boes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n She helped organize the next workshop in 2017, bringing in a science filmmaker, a graphic designer and a visualization and digital media librarian to expand beyond the workshop\u2019s usual focus on writing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was neat to be able to bring visual science communication to ComSciCon, and to learn from all these experts and be inspired by the students in the Triangle area that attended,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Boes has been practicing visual communication of a different kind for some time now, through her blog, \u201c<\/span>Lovely and Enough<\/span><\/a>,\u201d where she displays her handmade modern quilts and fabric designs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI started my blog my junior year of college,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to get into the blogging scene mostly to record what I was doing…Writing hasn\u2019t always been my favorite, and so it was an easy way to practice every week that felt non-intimidating.\u201d She has also kept up her Etsy store of the same name since before graduate school.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her design aesthetic is mid-century modern, \u201cwith strong, clean lines and lots of negative space.\u201d She carries that through to her illustrations, creating simple, memorable images that pack a lot of information into a few pixels. Her creativity, as well as her drive, analytical mindset and curiosity, has been encouraged by a family that values science and art in equal measure.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs one of two grandkids of people who are world travelers and engineers and musicians and computer engineers, I was encouraged to explore and be creative and make things from a young age,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mom has her Ph.D. in computer engineering, but is also an artist and a musician, so I\u2019ve had that double act of left-brained and right-brained set as an example for me from a young age.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n When Boes first enrolled in graduate school, her mother sent her two books on science writing. She constantly referenced the books during her studies, but they also helped her realize how opaque science writing can be to the layperson.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe books helped me realize that the way we write science is often really difficult to understand, even for someone who is in your field, and I think that\u2019s something that we could be better at,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause if science was easier to read, it wouldn\u2019t feel so intimidating.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Boes has been networking with several industry-related organizations and publications, and is excited about a career interpreting science and helping the public understand new research and its implications. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to not only getting experience and being surrounded by other people and learning from them, but also working for a company and being able to help them push their goals forward in a more focused way,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n But before then, she has a more immediate goal: marrying her longtime, long-distance fiance, Brent. The groom, director of exhibitions at Michigan\u2019s Calvin College, has been planning their wedding, set for this June.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n By Susan Fandel<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelsey Boes, poised to receive her Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science,<\/span> was studying textile printing during a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, when two of her passions collided. On a tour of a local textile museum, she came across a textile sample made from casein, a protein derived from milk.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was the culmination of my interests,\u201d she said. \u201cThey took chemistry and they made a really soft fabric! After that trip, I started researching textile chemistry programs and that\u2019s what led me here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After graduating from Wheaton College in 2014 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Studio Art, Boes began working toward her Ph.D. in the <\/span>Fiber and Polymer Science program<\/span><\/a> at <\/span>NC State<\/span><\/a>\u2019s <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a>. She joined Dr. Nelson Vinueza\u2019s research group, <\/span>Vinueza Labs<\/span><\/a>, and dove into research using the lab\u2019s mass spectrometer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA mass spectrometer is like a high-tech scale that weighs molecules,\u201d she said. \u201cEach molecule is launched down a long tube, and it is possible to tell how much the molecule weighs by how fast it flies down the tube. Heavier molecules travel more slowly and lighter molecules travel more quickly. What's special about mass spectrometry is that it can provide information about each molecule in a mixture, whereas other analytical techniques often provide bulk information about the mixture as a whole.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vinueza Labs specializes in mass spectrometry research in four areas: forensics, including the analysis of trace amounts of dye on fibers and the differentiation of real and counterfeit drugs; dyes, including the pursuit of more economical dye production and the study of antimicrobial properties found in naturally occurring biomaterials; carbohydrates, specifically cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, in their use with flame retardants to prevent the toxic leakage of those chemicals from garments; and biofuels, including optimizing the biofuel pretreatment process in order to make biofuels more economically and environmentally viable.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her dissertation, \u201cHigh Efficiency Mass Spectrometry Characterization of Biomaterials,\u201d is in the latter area, and focuses on \u201cresearching factories that make transportation fuels and other fossil fuel replacements out of plants.\u201d But her interest in biofuels has been a long-burning one; in fact, she has been dreaming of renewable energy since she was in fourth grade, when she and a classmate designed an electric car they believed would be able to charge itself.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrowing up in Ann Arbor (Michigan), which is a really liberal and green city, I\u2019ve enjoyed thinking about and being creative about renewable energy,\u201d she said. \u201cComing to the Wilson College of Textiles and getting to work unexpectedly on renewable materials has been really fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n She recently successfully defended her dissertation in front of her committee, composed of Dr. Stephen Michielsen,<\/span> Dr. Harold S. Freeman<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Dr. Nelson Vinueza<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Dr. Michael Bereman<\/span><\/a>, as well as friends, family and her fiance. She will finish out the semester working on research projects using the mass spectrometer. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her next move will not be linear. She plans to flex her creative muscles on top of her analytical bones with a career in science communication. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been finding, throughout the last four years, that I\u2019m more passionate about figuring out how to share science than actually doing it myself on the bench,\u201d said Boes. \u201cSo, with a background in graphic design, I would like to pivot and move into science communication with a marketing focus. I\u2019m really passionate about successful visual science communication, because I think it can break down some language barriers and share science in a more visual and easily approachable way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Boes has already built a foundation for a career in science communication, through her work on scientific illustrations like the \u201c<\/span>30 Elements<\/span><\/a>\u201d chemistry art print and t-shirt, facilitated by a Kickstarter campaign, and a pair of periodic table-themed socks<\/a> for the <\/span>American Chemical Society<\/span><\/a>. She also established the web presence for Vinueza Labs, including designing the website and logo and creating a series of research graphics to elucidate complex concepts.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the spring of 2016, she attended <\/span>ComSciCon-Triangle<\/span><\/a>, a Raleigh-area workshop for STEM graduate students about communicating science. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Posters](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20231108101454\/30-elements-poster.jpg\")
![\"Deconstructed](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20231108101113\/deconstructed-quilts-kelsey-boes.jpg\")
![\"Group](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20231108101113\/30-elements-group-shot.jpg\")