In her element

Although she is an undergraduate senior at Iowa State, Krishangee Bez’s (’26 chemistry) resume reads as though she’s already an accomplished chemist.

The document summarizes several different undergraduate research experiences she has conducted at Iowa State, the University of Rochester in New York, and in India. Her list of publications and presentations is extensive and includes three co-authored papers in various chemistry journals and eight research poster presentations across the United States. And her list of honors and awards is prolific, punctuated by a Goldwater Scholarship in 2025 and acceptance into the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program in 2026.

This list of achievements would be impressive for an early academic professor. But the fact that it belongs to an undergraduate chemistry major with a biochemistry minor makes it even more remarkable.

The catalyst for chemistry

As a child, Bez loved watching sci-fi cartoons. Her favorite was “Doraemon,” a Japanese cartoon first released in the early 1970s that features a robotic cat who travels back in time from the 22nd century to assist a young boy in his daily life.

“[Doraemon] would bring in very exciting gadgets, and I think that’s the reason why I wanted to go for a STEM-related career,” Bez said.

As she grew older, Bez’s love of chemistry came into clearer focus.

“As I grew up and started taking classes in middle school and high school, I was really fascinated how chemistry can help explain the world at the molecular level,” she said. “Understanding the physical chemical properties of certain materials was really exciting for me to learn.”

From India to Iowa

Bez is from India, and even though the distance between India and Iowa is about 8,000 miles, Iowa State’s stellar reputation in chemistry reached across the globe and piqued her interest at an early age.

“I had heard a lot about the department’s reputation before I came here. I knew that they had pretty good research work, and I always had in mind that I wanted to go into academia, and of course, a career in research,” Bez said. “If I want to build a foundation on that and prepare myself for a career related to becoming a researcher or a professor, I felt this department would support me.”

Bez quickly learned she made the right decision coming to Iowa State, where she found supportive faculty, classes that built upon each other for effective advanced learning, and immediate access to research opportunities.

“I was so glad that as a first-year student, I had the chance of starting off with research,” she said. “It was not like just as a third year or fourth year, I could jump right in.”

Beneficial research

With so many research opportunities available to her in Iowa State’s Department of Chemistry, Bez wasted no time seeking out Professor Emily Smith, who is also the chemical and biological sciences division director at Ames National Laboratory. Bez’s interest in working with biomaterials and biological systems using spectroscopy and imaging was a logical fit for Smith’s lab.

Bez’s latest research project involves studying a new version of coumarin-based fluorophore, a glowing dye, to figure out how well it attaches to forever chemicals – or PFAS. She is using fluorescence spectroscopy to observe changes to the dye, which will help her develop a probe to detect trace amounts of forever chemicals.

“PFAS can accumulate in the human body over time because they are very persistent and are eliminated slowly. Some PFAS have been associated with increased risks of health effects, including certain cancers and immune or hormonal changes, which makes their long-term presence a concern,” Bez said.

Branching out on her own

Of all the research projects Bez has completed, she is most proud of investigating how to remove lignin from biomass, like corn fodder, to enhance biofuel production. She submitted this project as part of her 2025 winning Goldwater Scholar application.

“I tried developing that project myself and it was my first time. I definitely got help from Professor Smith, but it was a big achievement for me because I was an undergraduate trying something new on my own,” Bez said.

Instigating that project and moving it forward required Bez to be confident and steadfast in her research abilities, something she encourages for other chemistry undergraduates.

“Start early [with undergraduate research] and don’t give up because no matter how that journey goes, I feel that it really shapes you as a person,” Bez said. “It’ll make you happy at the end of the day that you kept doing something really novel and new. It’s your idea, your innovation, which is really good.”

Beyond Iowa State

After earning her chemistry degree from Iowa State this spring, Bez will begin a Ph.D. program in analytical chemistry at the University of Michigan, where her areas of emphasis will be spectroscopy, imaging, and biomaterials.

“After that, I’m planning on a career in academia where I could start independent research as a chemist,” Bez said. “I really like teaching as well, so I think a benefit of being part of academia is I could start my own research and also be a professor where I could mentor students.”