麻豆传媒映画

Chemistry doctoral student Kristine Legaspi wants to make a difference, and she has a number of ideas on ways to do it. 

From uncovering new insight on chemical reactions to optimize therapeutics, developing environmentally friendly catalysts or crocheting science-inspired plushies to teach about complex chemistry topics, Legaspi鈥檚 main goal is to inspire others to take an interest in STEM.

Legaspi, a graduate student in 麻豆传媒映画 and UC San Diego鈥檚 joint doctoral program in chemistry, specializes in electrochemistry, studying the ins and outs of how chemical reactions occur. 

Most chemical reactions are triggered when electrons move. Understanding how electrons move and behave during organic reactions is the first step in developing life-saving pharmaceuticals. Scientists can then go on to create medications by fusing the perfect combination of elements into large, intricate networks of molecules equipped to target specific diseases. 

One of Legaspi鈥檚 current projects ties into this medical application of electrochemistry by focusing on trifluoromethylation, a process by which scientists add a group of carbon and fluorine atoms to molecules required in a new drug recipe. This addition helps facilitate safe and effective delivery of the medication inside the body.

Another focus of her work is transition metal catalysis, using metals from the middle block of the periodic table to create molecules that encourage chemical reactions. Legaspi particularly works to create catalysts out of inexpensive and abundant metals, like manganese or iron, offering more sustainable alternatives to catalysts commonly used today which involve rare and expensive heavy metals, such as palladium and ruthenium.

When she鈥檚 not in the lab, she is quite literally weaving together her passions for art, science and education. By crocheting pastel pink and blue beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks adorned with button eyes and smiley faces, she introduces others to difficult science topics in a fun, approachable way.

In this Q&A, Legaspi describes her path to science, advice for others in the field and how she hopes to break down barriers to STEM through her chemistry-inspired plushies.

When did you know you wanted to be a scientist?

I don't know if it was one specific moment. Science always came naturally to me, but I didn't necessarily feel a passion for it. I liked biology and chemistry in high school, so when I went to college, I just picked biochemistry because my family wanted me to go to medical school. As I started taking classes, I realized that I like the actual chemistry more than I like the idea of going to medical school. So I started taking classes that were a little more outside of the general track, learning about polymers, atmospheric and environmental chemistry, and the science of chromatography. Those really started to interest me and made me grow my love for chemistry.

What is your favorite part of being in STEM?

Being in the lab is really fun to me. Getting to actually see the 鈥渕agic鈥� of a chemical reaction come to life is really inspiring and makes me want to keep learning and discovering as much as I can. A lot of reactions are also very beautiful, so I like to see the progress from how one starts to what it looks like in the end. In the last couple years, outreach is something I've been having a lot of fun with too. I used to teach chemistry and I love doing that because it makes me happy to make a difference when it comes to other people becoming more interested in the material. I have so much fun allowing my artistic and creative side to be integrated into the science, and using that as a way to communicate to other people.

Why did you start crocheting chemistry-inspired plushies?

I'm part of the National Science Foundation Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry (NSF CSOE), and they team up with the STEM Ambassador Program (STEMAP) based at the University of Utah. The summer of 2023, we were tasked with designing our own engagement activity to introduce scientific concepts to the general public. They told us, 鈥淔ind something you like and relate that to your work.鈥� One of my hobbies as a kid was crocheting, and I saw it getting really popular on TikTok again. I picked the hobby back up and remembered why I liked it so much back then. I found some patterns online to make molecules and glassware plushies, and hosted a booth at the Maker Faire Orange County. Each plushie had an activity to connect them with chemistry concepts, like pipetting water and food coloring to make new colors, building your own molecule, or holding an entire mole of atoms in the palm of your hand. We got a ton of people of all ages, and they seemed to have a lot of fun with it 鈥� there were families with little kids, high schoolers, young adults, even educators coming by and saying, 鈥淭his might be a really cool thing I can use to introduce some of the concepts to my class.鈥� They picked up a couple of the patterns to bring to school and make with their students. 

What would you tell others interested in both art and science?

Channel your creativity and your sciencey side of your brain, and let them blur the lines. Science to me is art, and art can be a science. They're not mutually exclusive disciplines. There's a lot of beauty that can be appreciated in your science. I think a lot of people think about science as heavily mathematical, that everything is calculated and you can't really add creative aspects to it, but that's totally not the case. Me being creative and putting that creativity into my science is what got me here today. So I would definitely recommend to anybody who is interested in pursuing science, but is intimidated by how calculated it seems, to let your creativity flow and think outside of the box, because that's what makes a good scientist.

What advice do you have for students just starting out in science?

I wish somebody would have told me you don't have to pick one thing and stick to it forever. You can explore a lot of different things and pick what parts of everything you like, and let that lead you to your career. You鈥檙e also allowed to change your mind without feeling guilty about it. Being from a family that wanted me to go to medical school growing up, I felt like I had tunnel vision, and I wasn't allowed to explore anything else. But there are a lot of really cool things out there. So let yourself explore and have fun with it. You don't have to commit right away if it doesn't feel right to you.

Legaspi works in 麻豆传媒映画 assistant professor of physical and computational chemistry Yuezhi Mao's lab at 麻豆传媒映画 and is also advised by Shelley Minteer at Missouri University of Science & Technology. She plans to graduate in  spring 2026. Legaspi participated in the Maker Faire Orange County on Sept. 13, after hosting a public Crochet-a-Duck workshop and social hour at the ACS conference in Washington, D.C. in August.