By Tatum Lyles Flick
Department Communications
The Benzine is a newly developed art and literary magazine published each fall and spring by a group of chemistry graduate students. The editorial team includes Philip Lampkin (Gellman), Danica Gressel (Fredrickson), Robin Morgenstern (Pazicni), Rachel Czerwinski (Goldsmith), Jairo Villalona (Buller), and Sophya Alamudun (Choi).
Lampkin came up with the idea to help his fellow chemists share their artistic abilities, but the editorial team also honed their skills in project management, collaboration, organization, graphic design and technology along the way.
“When Philip approached me with the idea of The Benzine I was immediately on board. I have always been passionate about Chemistry and Art but have never truly combined the two,” Gressel said, adding that The Benzine, which helped meld her artist and chemist identities together, was well worth the time and effort.
The Benzine took shape over a year of planning, as the team met with department leadership and created a solid foundation and project plan. The first issue, which received more submissions than the team could print and which has been read more than 1250 times as of November 8, offers a wide array of original art pieces.
In the future, the editorial team hopes to expand the zine to include audio and video submissions, and to build collaborations with libraries and professional organizations to expand readership.