brittany prempin
I am a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying electron movement through protein-like molecules called peptoids. As a polymer chemist, my working hours are spent on hyper-focused experiments, but my free time reveals a broad-thinking creative who begins sentences with “Did you know…”.
I sew with second-hand materials, make pottery, bake aesthetic desserts, and grow vegetables in a community garden. I love finding unexpected connections between my hobbies and science concepts, staying up late researching everything from textile weaving techniques to NASA’s golden record.
My career objectives center on inspiring curiosity about our interconnected world while actively working for change and restorative justice, pushing boundaries to make space for those traditionally counted out.
My path to science began in a diverse immigrant community of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where I grew up as a naturally curious child who wanted to know a little bit about everything. I spent countless hours watching How It’s Made on the Discovery Channel, devouring books at my local public library, and experimenting with different crafts. I have always been drawn to puzzles and the mechanics of how things work.
During my environmental science course in high school, everything changed. Learning about climate collapse, environmental racism, and health disparities revealed the critical relationships between science and society, lighting a fire within me. I discovered that science could be an agent for positive change. My fascination with materials chemistry crystallized when I read Kohei Oda’s paper about an enzyme in Ideonella sakaiensis that can degrade PET plastic. The idea that scientists could exploit existing biological machinery to solve human problems outside of biomedical contexts blew my mind open. I entered college intending to be an environmental science major, determined to tackle pressing environmental issues. However, as I progressed through my first year, I realized that chemistry and materials science held the keys to solving these problems. This revelation shaped my academic trajectory and catapulted me into a PhD program in chemistry.
Yet I’ve always gravitated towards the social side of science— thinking about who gets to be a scientist and why so many people just like me are counted out of the fold. I have actively sought out other scientists and scholars who are agitating for positive social change and inclusion in the sciences. This has propelled me into science communication. I strongly believe in connecting science concepts to the values and experiences of audiences and talking about science in a way that is culturally relevant and accessible. I want to get people informed and excited about science. I am being pulled out of academia by my desire to talk to the public about science instead of only to other scientists. Science and engineering innovations struggle to break into public consciousness, and they only succeed when skilled communicators bridge that gap through effective translation.
Brittany Prempin is a PhD Candidate in Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she is currently researching how molecular structure influences charge transport in bioinspired oligomers. She is a recipient of the NSF GRFP and the Illinois Sloan Foundation Scholarship. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry from Duke University in 2021 where she was a Duke SPIRE Fellow and a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar.
She has led initiatives through NOBCChE, Encouraging Tomorrow’s Chemists, and the Beckman Institute to support historically marginalized students and bring hands-on science demonstrations to local schools. She is particularly interested in translating complex scientific concepts in ways that inform and inspire audiences. Additionally, she has experience in research commercialization through a Commercialization Analyst internship at the UIUC Office of Technology Management where she analyzes new technologies for patentability and commercial readiness.
written word (selected)
Solving the mystery of an ancient enzyme could lead to new carbon capture strategies
University of Illinois Department of Chemistry
