Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)

@kstrna62

Spouse, parent, home cook, educator, cynical optimist, tRNA biochemist at a small liberal arts college, collaborative research w/ undergrads, flipped classroom, CUREs, assessment, pre-health advising, Californian living in upstate NY via CT

1,184 Following504 Followers676 Posts

Bluesky

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Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· 5d

Now that is distinctive and chemistry related. The new one not so much.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· 6d

Funding for summer collaborative research in chemistry has shifted from external funding (56% in 2022 to 14% in 2026) to Skidmore sources (41% to 59%) and donor supported Chemistry Department funds (3% to 28%).

Stacked bar charts comparing funding for summer 2022 vs. 2026. It shows funding for summer collaborative research in chemistry has shifted from external funding (56% in 2022 to 14% in 2026) to Skidmore sources (41% to 59%) and donor supported Chemistry Department funds (3% to 28%).

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· 6d

Ten weeks of faculty-student summer research at Skidmore ended last week with presentations on Thursday. The Chemistry Dept. had 29 students participating. They did an amazing job! #ChemChat #ChemSky

Collage of photos of students presenting posters and one group lab photo.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· 7d

Based on its analysis, I asked ChatGPT to create a new logo. Evidently, it thinks we are joining the chemistry branch of the rebel alliance.

A blue flask with a molecule in the center and curved blue wedges coming from each side with a gold phoenix emerging from the flask.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· 7d

Based on the new logo, ACS is now an iTranslator knock-off.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Apr 27

Evidently, it is National Prime Rib Day!

Photo of rectangular table with six place settings. Plates have prime rib and a Yorkshire pudding. Each place setting has a drink. In the center of the table are cranberry-pear relish in glass bowl, stack of Yorkshire puddings, a plate with carrots/green beans/broccoli, an oval bowl with sliced sweet potatoes, butter on a tray, salt & pepper shakers, and on either end small mugs with a red wine sauce. Table cloth is a Christmas theme with holly.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Mar 5

Do wonder about how the clustering is done. Life Science Supercluster seems far from the Chemistry Research Cluster. bluesky-map.theo.io

Screenshot of a Bluesky Map showing kstrna62 in the Life Sciences Supercluster with other clusters shown. Covers about the bottom half of the Bluesky Map. The bottom small cluster is the Chemistry Research Cluster. URL for the map: https://bluesky-map.theo.io/

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Feb 1

This is who runs this account.

Dirty blonde haired boy in overalls emerging from a wicker toy chest with a smile.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Jan 19

There were ways my parents raised me to question and resist. For the latter, I didn't think one minor means of defiance was going to be making æbleskivers, but such is the world we live in. The failures of reconstruction and sustaining/advancing the civil rights movement.

Three æbleskiver pans on a black stove with nicely round æbleskivers ready to be taken off the pans.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Jan 19

Add from Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963) from Dr. King.

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Dec 26

Oldest son helped out this year. I made the batter for the aebleskivers but he took over cooking them. #ChemistsWhoCook #ChemChat

Teen boy with dark brown hair in black chemistree shirt who is pouring batter into an aebleskiver pan on a black stove-oven with a second pan waiting on batter.s.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Dec 26

To finish off the evening, chocolate mousse a la Julia Child with whipped cream and a berry to top it off. #ChemistsWhoCook #ChemChat

White mug with chocolate mouse topped with cream and half a strawberry.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Dec 26

Dinner of prime rib with cranberry-pear relish, steam veggies, sweet potatoes, popovers, and a red-wine sauce. #ChemistswhoCook #ChemChat

Table with six place settings. Prime rib slices on the plates with cranberry-pear relish, steam veggies, sweet potatoes, popovers, and a red-wine sauce.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Dec 25

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and winding down the year to all! Breakfast of aebleskivers, berries, and bacon. #ChemistsWhoCook #Chemchat

Table with six place settings. Aebleskivers in the center berries, jams, and powdered sugar. Tablecloth a red plaid one.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Nov 13

With Watson's death can we stop teaching his simplified version of the Central Dogma (DNA-RNA-protein) & instead teach what Crick actually proposed? It promotes understanding & critical thinking. wellcomecollection.org/works/xmscu3...

A drawing that Crick did of the Central Dogma "“Once information has got into a protein it can’t get out again.” Information here means the sequence of the amino acid residues, or other sequence related to it. This is we ma be able to have DNA to RNA (arrow connecting), RNA to protein (arrow again), DNA to protein (arrow connecting), and DNA to DNA (circular arrow of DNA back to DNA) or RNA to RNA (circular arrow). But never protein to protein, protein to RNA, or protein to DNA.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Jul 2

Science is not partisan; it is not bipartisan; it is not non-partisan. Science is about learning. "While open to diverse experiences, new evidence, and critical perspectives, scientific rigor rejects the uncritical acceptance that all viewpoints are equally valid."

Science is creative and dynamic. The enterprise of science is not a single method but is a set of interrelated human endeavors that are inquiry-driven, systematic, iterative, and evidence-based with transparency that enables ongoing review and feedback from peers. Each endeavor is shaped by different contexts, questions, approaches, and by one another as we collectively learn about our world. Science relies on empirical evidence, critical thinking, creativity, reproducibility, and rigorous methodical inquiry to overcome bias at the individual, group, and societal levels, both now and across generations, so that we may better understand the world.

Shifts in scientific understanding are shaped by diverse experiences and global traditions. What we come to know is influenced by our values, assumptions, and historical circumstances that inform our questions and interpretations. Therefore, science is not a simple, linear path of advancing human knowledge. Science is a continuous cycle: questions lead to exploration, discoveries spark new inquiries, data and critique prompt re-examination, and understanding evolves through new evidence, serendipity, refined methods, changing technology, and curiosity, all in service of overcoming our biases.

In that context, scientific understanding is open to revision based on evidence as we explain, predict, and apply knowledge about the world. This human pursuit carries with it the ongoing responsibility to actively recognize our assumptions, engage with critique, and remain accountable to the evidence and to one another. Being open to revision is not a weakness of science, but a strength. It reflects our commitment to evidence over wishful thinking. While open to diverse experiences, new evidence, and critical perspectives, scientific rigor rejects the uncritical acceptance that all viewpoints are equally valid.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· May 16

Anyone notice what is no longer present in the 2025 updated version of the 2023 ACS CPT guidelines? Some appears to be integrated into other facets of the guidelines. I have guesses along the lines of lawyers aren't they fun. #ChemSky www.acs.org/education/po...

Table of contents from the 2023 version of the ACS CPT guidelines covering 9 sections with an overview of program approval and then the 8 factors that go into approval. Section 9 was Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect (DEIR).

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Mar 26

I would also argue removing DEI beyond reducing talent & workforce, harms people and the enterprise of science itself. How can we overcome our biases at the individual & societal levels and barriers to doing good science if we cannot acknowledge them, let alone combat them?

Science is a systematic & inquiry-based human enterprise. With this enterprise, we aim to use systematic inquiry, empirical evidence, & critical analysis to better understand our world by overcoming our biases at the individual, group, & societal levels in the present and across generations. This understanding includes explaining, predicting, and applying knowledge about the universe. In other words, science is a series of ongoing, methodical processes that leverage human strengths to continually overcome our cognitive & perceptual limitations to learn about the world & apply that understanding.
As scientists, we do not turn off our humanity we embrace it. It enables us to collaborate & communicate with one another, fuels our passion, creativity, & curiosity to explore. Yet, we also carry biases we must surmount as we seek to better comprehend the world based on empirical evidence & critical thought. Our humanity is also the source of our humility, allowing us to admit when we are wrong. As scientists, we must recognize that we aren't separate from societal systems but deeply embedded within them. Acknowledging this reality strengthens our commitment to scientific inquiry.
We are a diverse laboratory group of scientists who seek to build and sustain a just, inclusive, & accessible community where all members know they belong and matter.
In the last few years, we've seen a significant increase in anti-Asian, anti-Black, anti-Hispanic/Latine, anti-Arab, anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic, anti-Indigenous, anti-immigrant, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, classist, and ableist sentiments & violence. Such bigotry is unacceptable, as is the pseudoscience that often accompanies it. These harmful ideologies hurt individuals, corrode society, & undermine the very foundations of scientific inquiry.
We reaffirm our opposition to such bigotry & our commitment to cultivating & sustaining a lab culture of care—one that recognizes, values, & celebrates every individual’s humanity.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Mar 12

The response I got from ACS - seems they are protecting the institution that is ACS.

Dear Dr. Sheppard,
Thank you for reaching out about the American Chemical Society’s Inclusivity Style Guide.

As part of our work to develop a new strategic plan, ACS updated one of our core values to recognize inclusion and belonging for all people, as follows: “We create environments where people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences thrive.”

This core value is at the heart of all ACS resources, including the Inclusivity Style Guide.

The updated core value reflects the long and transformative work ACS has done to create an inclusive environment where everyone belongs and flourishes. It builds on ACS’ past work and prioritizes the ongoing achievement of certain goals, including attainment of full, authentic participation and fair treatment across all identities and experiences.

ACS remains fully committed to inclusion and belonging. We have not abandoned our core value; rather, we are refining our resources to ensure they remain impactful in current times.

We want to ensure that the guide continues be a useful and accurate tool for creating inclusive content and communications. To protect the integrity of the guide, we have paused specific sections for review and refinement, so they remain effective. Once this review is completed, we will repost the updated sections.

We understand the frustration, concern and hurt this has caused. We welcome constructive dialogue and input to ensure that our inclusivity resources meet the needs of our community. This guide is one tool in ACS’ broader effort to foster inclusion.

We truly value your membership in ACS. Please let me know if you’d like to discuss this matter.

Best regards,
Rajendrani (Raj) Mukhopadhyay

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Mar 11

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Dec 26

With chocolate mousse for dessert.

Chocolate mousse in a white mug.On top of the mousse is whipped cream and a blackberry. There is a spoon in the mousse. The mug is sitting on a wood island in a kitchen.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Dec 26

Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! NY Sheppard dinner of prime rib, cranberry-pear relish, Yorkshire pudding, and a medley of veggies (broccoli, green beans, baby carrots, and sweet potato). #chemsky #chemistswhocook

Dining table with four plate settings with prime rib and Yorkshire pudding on the plates. Cranberry-pear relish, red wine reduction, medley of veggies, & platter of extra Yorkshire pudding. Two of the setting with red wine.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Dec 25

Merry Christmas morning! Aebleskivers, bacon, and berries. #chemskiy #chemistswhocook

Table with red plaid tablecloth. Four plate settings with each plate having aebleskivers and bacon and OJ and water for drinks. Also the table has preserves and powdered sugar and bowls of berries. There is also a platter of aebleskivers.

Kelly Sheppard (he/him/his)@kstrna62· Feb 8

My Google Scholar Word Cloud - yep look at the biosynthesis of the amide aminoacyl-tRNA in various bacteria and there are dual routes. I also did once upon a time work on mapping the human genome as an LSRAI out of college. shiny.rcg.sfu.ca/u/rdmorin/sc...