International Women's Day

8 Mar 2017

As today marks International Women’s Day, we meet an inspirational woman who was one of the first Thai students to study at UCC - Prof. Sujitra Youngme, Khon Kaen University.

Course/subjects studied in UCC
Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry. I also attended some related inorganic chemistry courses.

Best memory of UCC
A few of my best memories of UCC: (1) The peaceful, classical and elegant place that is UCC. I often walked around with photographs taken on sunny Sunday or even in winter days after a morning snowfall. (2) Warmth, kindness, and helpfulness of Irish friends at UCC (3) Going-away party for graduating chemistry students each year - all postgraduate chemistry students join this party.

How has your time at UCC helped you to get to where you are now?
Time was divided between the research laboratory and the library. Research and literature skills learned at UCC resulted in some significant achievements on my career. I learned what I was exactly interested in, the beautiful chemistry of coordination compounds, the structural aspects that play a key role in their diverse functional properties.

What is your advice to current UCC students?
Follow your passion and make the most of any opportunity you choose with skills you learn in your studies and in your social and volunteer activities.

What person/people at UCC had the most positive influence on you?
My supervisor, Prof. B. J. Hathaway, he was an enthusiastic and dedicated supervisor for every day except Sunday. I also had the opportunity to work with him as a teaching assistant (demonstrator at that time) over most of my graduate years, especially the computer-aided tutorial style of basic chemistry courses and demonstrating chemistry laboratory courses - all very enjoyable. Apart from the research, all of these skills learned from UCC had a significant impact on my career.

Were you involved in any Clubs or Societies?
No. At that time only a few clubs were available.

Favourite UCC legend or superstition
Prof. George Boole who was the first Professor of Mathematics at Queen's College, Cork (now UCC) (1849-1854). He developed a new branch of Maths - invariant theory - and is probably best remembered today for his theory of logic, Boolean algebra, which represents a fundamental step in the design of computers.