Student Stories Nan Shao
“When I was looking at schools, I wanted to find somewhere with a great department, but not a huge department. Students can’t focus on research at a huge school. UNL had the perfect mix – a perfect size department in the perfect size town of Lincoln.”
There are over 4400 graduate students at the University of Nebraska and a multitude of graduate fellowships given but Nan Shao, a PhD Student in Physical Chemistry with Dr. Xiao Cheng Zeng has been the student chosen to receive UNL’s 2008 most prestigious fellowship, the Presidential Fellowship. It is awarded only to those graduate students who have demonstrated the highest levels of academic performance. The purpose of the fellowship is to allow a graduate student to immerse themselves in scholarly and research activities during the final year of a degree program. The award carries with it a stipend, tuition, fees and health insurance payment.
Nan Shao came to UNL from China and loves the research opportunities she has been given as a student.
“I am studying the theoretical simulations of clusters by using quantum and empirical methods to look for the lowest energetic isomers with good chemical properties.What makes me excited to study at UNL is the computational chemistry, which could help people to explore the unknown world by the most accurate ab initio calculations. It’s something new and exciting, and something I really enjoy!”
“The lab I work in is very free. Of course research has to pertain to the research being covered in my professor’s lab, but if I want to do a little of my own research, I can pursue that knowing that Dr. Zeng supports me. There is a great environment for research here at UNL.”
Nan also has enjoyed learning from the other faculty in the chemistry department.
“The teaching here is very strong. I took three classes from Dr. Langell – she is a great teacher! Everyone loves her classes. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with the teachers I had here. All of the faculty is very trustworthy, helpful, and friendly. They are always willing to help if they can.”
Nan’s current work focuses around the theoretical simulation of chemistry. In the future, she hopes to continue to pursue this, and nanoscience simulations in particular. Throughout her tenure at UNL, Nan has published eight papers and was awarded the Chemistry Department Graduate Research award in 2008.
