![\"chemistry_main1\"](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/chemistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2014\/04\/chemistry_main1-300x160.jpeg\")
Brian Krohn originally came to Augsburg to study film, but after only one semester without any science classes, this lifelong scientist felt \u201cso deprived\u201d that he officially changed his major to chemistry.<\/p>\nBrian Krohn originally came to Augsburg to study film, but after only one semester without any science classes, this lifelong scientist felt \u201cso deprived\u201d that he officially changed his major to chemistry.<\/p>\n
Growing up in Cloquet, Minnesota, Brian was always working on random projects \u2014 an electromagnet, a go-cart, various potato cannons, numerous attempts at tree forts, a lamp made from a car headlight, and a 15\u2032 tall trebuchet. He even built a banjo from a mail-order kit. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to waste the money on buying a banjo, because I am musically inept, but I wanted to learn how to play one,\u201d he said. He learned a couple of songs, but ultimately his interest in the banjo waned.<\/p>\n
Though chemistry was his area of study, he was unsure where the degree would lead him. \u201cI thought with a degree in chemistry, I could only be a teacher or a pharmacist,\u201d he said. Then in the summer of 2006, Brian received a grant to do research, one of his passions, from Augsburg\u2019s Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) program. He and his adviser, chemistry professor Arlin Gyberg, were both interested in biodiesel, so Brian set out to find a more efficient way to produce the fuel.<\/p>\n
Brian describes the research process as difficult but exciting. \u201cYou have to really dig into the whole process and read all the literature to join in the conversation about your topic before you can figure out what you can contribute,\u201d he said. Whereas most undergraduate researchers \u201cdo what they are told, like calibrate a machine all day\u201d according to Brian, he had more freedom to explore and experiment.<\/p>\n
Brian says it was his research and connections through Augsburg, not the discovery itself, that opened doors for him. In fact, he said this opportunity might never have been available if not for McNeff\u2019s tie to the College. \u201cIt\u2019s almost unheard of that the vice president of research would sit down with his former professor and an undergraduate student,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The future holds many possibilities for this talented Auggie. Brian will present his research to legislators in Washington, D.C. for the annual \u201cPosters on the Hill\u201d program, and he was awarded the prestigious Goldwater scholarship for students who show promise in science and plan to pursue PhDs. But before he starts graduate school, Brian has plans to explore the world by studying abroad and doing service work.<\/p>\n