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When Benjamin Zingg’s interest in chemistry first peaked in high school, little did he know that, years later, he would be awarded an appointment with the prestigious, National Nuclear Security Administration Minority Serving Institutions Internship Program (NNSA-MSIIP).

The NNSA-MSIIP is a valuable opportunity to receive hands-on, experiential learning with the NNSA, national laboratories, and site offices in projects focused in a variety of subjects such as engineering, science, research, technology, and more. Zingg’s appointment will take place at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oakridge, Tennessee where he will serve under his mentor, Dr. Felipe Polo Garzon.

As a mentee of Dr. Garzon, Zingg will assist in the study of the conversion of polyolefins using liquid metal catalysts, a project he is eager to work on.

“Basically, from my understanding of the science, it’s pretty ground breaking stuff. We’re doing catalytic upscaling of plastics, essentially. What that means is, we’re trying to devise a way to produce renewable fuel. It is technically a gasoline-like product but we’re trying to upscale plastics to recycle them into biofuel,” explained Zingg.

Although Zingg’s project focus will be in chemistry, he is also looking forward to the opportunity to assist other teams working on a variety of projects.

“There’s also some cross-disciplinary work that’s going to be being done. I’m going to be working with, not just Dr. Garzon, but with some other teams as well because there are people there that are not necessarily just doing chemistry, so, if they need a consultant for some kind of analysis as regards to chemistry, they’re going to have me come help them,” said Zingg.

Zingg, who is currently a senior chemistry major at Kentucky State University (KSU), had his initial exposure to chemistry through unique circumstances.

“In high school, I was pretty strong in [chemistry]. Halfway through our year we actually lost our chemistry teacher. I don’t know what happened; we transitioned to an online chemistry program for our high school…I actually stepped up as a junior in high school and taught my class, basically. So that really forced me to start learning these concepts, which is why I feel so strongly in it now,” explained Zingg.

Years later, Zingg is once again paving a way for his peers through his participation in the NNSA-MSIIP. He is hopeful that the connections and experiences he will gain throughout the program will help other KSU students interested in it.

“I’m excited to meet all the wonderful people from other institutions from around the nation,” said Zingg. “Being able to make friends with people at universities who are doing research is important for our students as well.”

Zingg’s appointment will begin Summer 2025, and he is looking forward to making the most out of this special experience.