Alexander Seifert
Benito Juarez Community Academy
About
Alexander Seifert teaches Physics, Chemistry, and Biology at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen, where he also serves as an Assistant Football Coach and a Coordinator for the School Science Fair. Alex was raised north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and arrived in Chicago to pursue additional education. His alma maters include Clarion University of Pennsylvania and DePaul University, and has earned two bachelors and one master’s degree over a lifetime of learning. Those efforts eventually lead him into teaching, and he has spent the last four years working in Chicago Public Schools.
Before his experience in the BEST Program, Alex’s last time in a lab was back during his first two years of undergrad. Nevertheless, he was very excited to be placed into Dr. Shokuhfar’s In-situ nanomedicine lab. The lab had dealt with bioimaging and biomaterials, with particular emphasis on studying anti-microbial/anti-bacterial applications of nanomaterials. Alex was able to observe and participate on two different projects. One project was the anti-bacterial applications of black phosphorus nano-sheets. The second project analyzed the drug loading and drug release capabilities of Magnesium Phosphate nanosheets. This second project likewise looked at the anti-bacterial properties of curcumin. Alex hopes that his experience participating ‘in actual science’ and observing engineering principles in use will help him to continue motivating and inspiring young minds to pursue careers in the STEM fields.