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Campus Review
June 25, 2012
Minh-Thu Phan Studying Alternative Forms of Fuel
Chemistry Professor Working with Morrow
High School Student on Summer Research Project
by John Shiffert, University Relations
Clayton State Students Take Part in United Way’s Day of Action
Clayton State University’s Dr. Jonathan
Lyon is spending part of his summer
working with a student research project in
the University’s Laboratory Annex
Building (The LAB); a not unusual
assignment for an assistant professor of
chemistry. However, the student Lyon is
working with is anything but ordinary.
Minh-Thu Phan is a rising senior at
Morrow High School, and her summer
project, studying the interactions between
metal atoms and fuel alcohols, is funded
by a SEED internship through the
American Chemical Society. With her
$2500 stipend, Phan has been in The LAB
since the beginning of the month, working
with Lyon and 2012 Clayton State chemistry
graduate Patrick Drew. She expects to com-
plete her research by Aug. 3, after which she
will resume her high school studies, includ-
ing, not surprisingly, AP Chemistry.
Lyon describes Phan’s project as follows;
The motivation for the project comes
from several aspects related to alternative
forms of fuel. As an example, some of the
lightest parts of petroleum (e.g., methane)
exist as a gas in nature. Collecting these
gasses in the field and transporting them
to a chemical plant is extremely expen-
sive. If an onsite technique was available
to convert these gasses into a useable liq-
uid fuel such as methanol, then that could
be more easily transported to the plant via
existing pipelines. Our research project is
designed to provide information on
whether transition metal catalysts can pro-
mote the conversion of these gasses to
more manageable liquid fuels.
Lyon also notes that the current plan is for
Phan to present a poster on her research
project at the Natural Sciences Research
presentations that happen at the end of
each semester.
Phan’s opportunity to work with Lyon and
Clayton State came about starting in
November 2011, when Lyon received an
invitation to apply for a project SEED
internship through the American
Chemical Society, an invitation emailed to
Rising senior at Morrow High School, Minh-Thu Phan
Spearheaded by the efforts of Atawanna
L. Royal, campus activities coordinator in
the Department of Campus Life, Clayton
State University students joined in to help
the United Way celebrate its 125th
anniversary on Thursday, June 21, via the
United Way’s annual Day of Action.
Day of Action is a national strategic effort
on the longest day of the year, designed to
advance the common good. To celebrate
United Way's 125th anniversary in 2012,
there were 125 volunteer opportunities for
the Day of Action, ranging from sched-
uled projects at local nonprofits, to indi-
viduals doing something on their own for
a neighbor, or activities with co-workers.
At Clayton State, Royal and members of
various Clayton State student organiza-
tion are took part in a service project to
collect donations (bread, lunch meat,
cheese, sandwich bags) for St. Francis Table
Sandwich Ministry in Atlanta. The items
were collected on June 21, and the partici-
pants then volunteered at St. Francis Table
on Saturday, June 23, making sandwiches.
Underlining the scope of the Day of
Action, one Clayton State student leader,
Douglasville, Ga., native Christina
Greenwood, is taking part even though
she’s currently out of the country on a
study abroad trip in Jamaica.
Greenwood’s service project involves
painting sidewalk games at a Basic
School in Jamaica.
In another Day of Action service project,
the Student Veterans Association’s Diana
Peters volunteered with the USO in greet-
ing and assisting military members and
their families at Hartsfield-Jackson
Airport from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Clayton State’s involvement in Day of
Action comes through Ann Cramer, past
chair of the United Way Board of
Directors, and director Americas, IBM
Corporate Citizenship and Corporate
Affairs. Clayton State’s Commencement
Research, cont’d., p. 11
United Way, cont’d., p. 6