Bockus, Andrew

Andrew Bockus is a PBSE graduate student and organic chemistry teaching assistant in the UCSC Department Chemistry and Biochemistry. His current research focuses on the organic synthesis of natural product-inspired peptide molecules and the physiochemical requirements their passive diffusion across cell membranes. Andrew worked as a chemistry instructor for Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and served a year as a foreign language and culture teacher at the University of Petroleum in Qingdao, China before coming to Santa Cruz in 2009, and has since mentored five UCSC undergraduate researchers on numerous projects. Now a second-year PDP participant, he has integrated inquiry methods and educational research findings into his teaching philosophy. After completing his degree, Andrew plans to pursue a career in secondary or collegiate science education.