LOS ANGELES UCLA psychobiology major Anantha Singarajah admits she disliked chemistry before taking professor Neil Garg's popular undergraduate organic chemistry course (Chemistry 14D) this quarter.

"Chem 14A was the first class I took as a first-year, and it was disheartening," she said. "By the end of 14C, I could not wait to get it over with. However, I had heard good things about 14D with Neil Garg and waited until spring quarter especially to take it with him. This class is just as amazing as everyone describes it, and now I enjoy chemistry. Professor Garg engages you, and he brings himself to your level so you achieve full comprehension. I can say that Chem 14D has been one of my favorite classes at UCLA."

You can see that joy in "Remember the Mechs," a music video that Singarajah and three of her classmates produced as an extra-credit assignment. As most undergraduates in the sciences know by now, students in Garg's course are given the option of making their own music videos about organic chemistry, with lyrics containing mostly technical information about chemical structure, reactions and synthesis.

Maria-Kassandra "Kassey" Coronel, a psychobiology major who helped create "Remember the Mechs" with Singarajah, said that because of this course, she now finds herself "falling back in love with learning."

"Who knew putting a chem spin on an old song could be so educational?" Coronel said. "What's funny is that after making the video, I realized every time the instrumental came up on my playlist, I found myself rapping my chem lyrics instead of the original ones by Fort Minor.

"Professor Garg is without a doubt the best professor I have had at UCLA. He finds revolutionary ways to combine what college students like music videos, technology and expressing ourselves with what they need to know: organic chemistry. His passion for teaching and dedication to students is such a breath of fresh air, and it really shows when so many students, like me, are even more inspired to learn. What I love most about organic chemistry is it combines problem-solving and deduction skills with creativity, and gives me that great feeling that I'm accomplishing something meaningful. Shhh! I'm an O-chem nerd at heart now! If UCLA had a chemistry minor, I would do it in a heartbeat."

When Garg gave his students the guidelines for the music video assignment, he first showed them "Chemistry Jock," a video produced by his students in 2010 that is now approaching 60,000 views on YouTube. (Its creators, Justin Banaga, Kimberly Bui and Yannick Goeb, are graduating from UCLA this month, and all will attend graduate school.) The classroom echoed with laughter throughout the video, and one student gasped, "How did they do that?"

Then they went to work. For Singarajah, Coronel, Oz Davis and Brian Dickey, that meant 6:30 a.m. meetings that resulted in "Remember the Mechs," which itself has a few "how did they do that?" moments. (The "mechs," Coronel explained, refer to the mechanisms that show the step-by-step occurrences of a particular reaction, given certain chemical conditions.)

A common reaction among people who watch the chemistry music videos made by Garg's students is, "I love them, but what do the lyrics mean?" The answer is that they are about various chemical reactions the undergraduates study in organic chemistry.

Garg said he is amazed by the quality and creativity of the videos. Among this year's best are "Payphone," by Karla Canizales, China Magno and Anuvir Singh, (with beautiful lead vocals by Canizales) and "Hey There Neil Garg" by Firuz Yumul, Aaron Lalehzarian, Neda Ghassemi and Tianna Wilson.

Read the rest here:
Chemistry you can dance to