In high school, Cody Fourman was attracted to science for the puzzle qualities of the problems. He liked solving puzzles, and wanted to learn more about science and mathematics while increasing his knowledge of the surrounding world.
Cody grew up in Arcanum, Ohio and decided to attend Wright State to be close to home and because of the university's high-quality programs. He expected his college social experience to similar to his high school experience. He was pleasantly surprised to discover the amount of networking he was able to do while an undergraduate student. "Before coming to college, I only had a small group of friends, but coming to college allowed me to branch out and meet so many different and amazing people". he said.
His advice for future students is to get involved! "That made a world of difference for my college experience. Classes are a big part of a college education, but the networking opportunities are massive, and taking advantages of those are so beneficial. Go to the university’s organization fairs and reach out to professors who do research in topics that interest you, because doing that early on can lead to a recipe for success". He joined a social fraternity (Delta Tau Delta) on campus, and gained a lot of leadership skills that will serve him well in his professional career.
Upon learning that he was nominated as the Department of Chemistry 2018 Top Scholar he said, "there are a lot of wonderful students in the Chemistry program, and I’m very flattered that I was chosen for this achievement". In addition to the Top Scholar Award, Cody was the Wright State University recipient of the 2017 Patterson Award offered by the Dayton Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) as outstanding junior chemistry major and received the 2018 outstanding senior award offered by the Organic Division of the National ACS.
Cody has earned the support of faculty mentors like Daniel Ketcha, PhD, professor in the Department of Chemistry. "Despite all of the demands on his time, Cody remains one of the most dedicated and efficient undergraduate researcher I have worked with". He worked in environmental research work at the Air Force Base, and completed his Honor’s project in organic drug synthesis.
An example of his dedication was given by Dr. Ketcha when Cody was preparing for an oral presentation at the CoSM Undergratuate Research and Experiential Learning Meeting last October. With only two week to develop a 20 minute oral presentation Cody had drafted a well-developed talk titled; "Fragment-based approach to lead discovery of anticancer agents". With some coaching he picked up immediately on suggestions and worked hard to modify his talk into a presentation to be proud of.
He particularly enjoyed the organic chemistry courses at Wright State. "I found these classes to be quite interesting and involved, and it helped me determine to continue organic synthesis as a route for my Master’s degree". Cody plans to continue his education at Wright State by obtaining a Master’s degree in Chemistry with the goal of either working in the organic chemistry industry, or teaching at a local community college.
