Summer of Research by Sudhir Vel

I am a senior at Purdue University pursuing a BS in chemistry and BSE in chemical engineering. While not at TRI, I enjoy playing basketball and listening to music. During my summer here at TRI Princeton, I have worked under Dr. Ernesta Maulinauskyte. My work has consisted mostly of making DSC samples, crimping, washing hair to see what effect hair products have on the coloration of the hair over time, and analyzing breakages of hair fibers. Research into the hair cosmetic industry has proved to be much more interesting than I had initially anticipated as there are numerous factors to take into account. Seeing the hair breakage under a light microscope has been the most interesting to me as it can be so complex for a seemingly basic topic, and I am hopeful that I will get to use the SEM before the summer is over. Using the light microsope, hair fibers from crimps that had been broken were taken and analyzed for their breakage patterns, which could all be classified into five different categories. Overall even though I have only been here for a few weeks it has been a great experience and I have learned a lot.