The main object of her attention will be something called a mellitic triimide, a molecule built of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen that she and her adviser, Darren Hamilton, Mary E. Woolley Assistant Professor of Chemistry, created during independent research. They believe that the threefold symmetric molecule could have an impact in the development of liquid crystalline materials based on complementary components, matched via a process of molecular recognition. Says Hamilton, "We're looking to modify the properties of existing liquid crystals using Katie's material, because it's the perfect partner. Don't think of it as a single molecule, think of it as a beginning point."

When McMenimen accepted an invitation to work with Hamilton on the project in the fall of 2000, she already knew her way around a lab, thanks in part to her summer work in a food safety lab back home in Iowa. W. Donald Cotter, associate professor of chemistry, suggested the collaboration, based on her work in his general chemistry course. McMenimen's motivation, determination, and humor stood her in good stead during the sometimes laborious molecule project. As with so many scientific discoveries, hers was based on a bit of erroneous deduction. Hamilton thought he had cast-iron proof that the mellitic triimide molecule they were after had been extricated from the "gruesomely insoluble postbaking residues" that had resulted from their experiments, when in fact his data pointed to a closely related molecule.

"It took Katie a long time to show that what we wanted was still in there," Hamilton says. Through a series of chemical and physical processes, however, she eventually succeeded in removing the mellitic triimides from the residues. "It's a very, very impressive achievement. I can think of no piece of work that I've done in all my time as a chemist that's challenged this for complexity of isolation. It's very much her achievement." Hamilton and McMenimen are now pursuing the study in collaboration with Lee Y. Park, associate professor of chemistry at Williams College, whose work centers on the synthesis and characterization of liquid crystal materials.

Only time will tell whether the new molecule will change the world of liquid crystal technology. But it has certainly changed McMenimen's world, gaining her a place in the world's premier chemistry journal, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and landing her this past summer at the University of Cambridge, to work with one of Europe's leading chemists in that continent's largest chemistry lab.

The Journal article represents an extraordinary feat in itself: In a field where nearly all scientific discoveries, particularly in small colleges, are the products of the efforts of teams of people, McMenimen and Hamilton are the sole authors. "This will probably be the only time in my life when I publish a paper with only one other author," Hamilton says. "And I'm here only because I stood around and told her what experiment she should try." "I absolutely loved it," McMenimen says of her research with Hamilton. She credits the College's approach to the sciences, where "results are important, but it's not as pressured as at a purely research institution. It's much more of a learning environment."

As for McMenimen's future, she hopes to publish one or two more papers before receiving her degree in biochemistry in May and heading to graduate school. She's considering the field of patent law, or perhaps biotechnology consulting. With the experience she has had, "she won't be terrified of any part of what they're going to have her do" in graduate school, Hamilton says. "She'll just be ready to go."