March 9, 2006 – Jennifer L. Greaux, a 20-year-old chemistry major at the University of the Virgin Islands, won one of the top awards at the National Research Conference of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) in February.
Greaux, a native of St. Thomas, was among 600 undergraduate students from more than 85 participating U.S. schools at the Feb. 9-12 HBCU-UP conference hosted by Bowie State University in Baltimore, Md. She took a second place award in the chemistry category of the conference's poster competition.
Five other UVI students also entered the various poster competition categories: Keridon Williams in bio-informatics, Andre Francis in biochemistry/crystallography, Latoya Brathwaite in biology, Digna Washington in chemistry and Lissette LaPlace in mathematical biology. The contingent was accompanied by UVI professors Dr. Rosalie Dance and Dr. Robert Stolz. The National Science Foundation sponsors HBCU-UP.
Greaux's winning poster — titled "Quantitative Analysis of Various Organic Samples by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy" — was based on research she conducted during a summer program at the University of Mississippi in 2005.
Her research goal is to "establish a quick and efficient method to analyze samples found at crime scenes, such as pills, powders and liquids," Greaux said. She became interested in forensic toxicology after discovering chemistry. "When I first came to UVI I was an education major. Then, I took a chemistry class and decided to change my major."
In the future, following graduation from UVI in May and then graduate school, Greaux hopes to work in either a crime lab or for the federal government. "I feel this is an area where I can make a contribution. It's a great field, doing research and solving crime," she said.