I t all began with a library book for kids’ experiments for Cole Smith, Georgia College & State University graduating chemistry senior. The book, filled with bookmarks and $60 in library fines, was his pride and joy.

He couldn’t imagine life without it. The book inspired him to seek opportunities for biotechnology research at Jasper County High School and led him to Georgia College’s Young Scientist Program—a six-week program for high schoolers to explore university-level research.

“I took it in the summer and discovered that chemistry is what I want to do,” Smith said. “I decided I was only going to come to Georgia College. I applied to one college, and that was Georgia College. I put all my eggs into one basket, and I got in.”

He played rugby, held leadership positions in the Chemistry Club and volunteered at the Science Education Center since starting his college career. Along the way, Smith also managed to develop a working advanced adhesive.

From the start, Smith worked with Dr. Catrena Lisse, professor of chemistry, in her analytical chemistry lab. Tasked with creating a hydrogel that could work as a bandage and be photo-titratable—meaning it turns into a liquid when exposed to ultraviolet light—he did it.

“The worst part about Band-Aids™ is pulling them off, especially for people with traumatic injuries like burns,” Smith said. “Being able to titrate it back into a solution with UV light, or turn the adhesive into a liquid, and dab it off could be really helpful.”

Students coming after him will carry the project forward. Smith hopes they can make other contributions toward creating an anti-microbial advanced bandage. 

Smith enjoys paying forward science exploration opportunities to the local students of tomorrow. He did this by supporting countless science fairs, magic shows and outreach events organized by Georgia College’s Science Education Center. 

“Otherwise, either science is scary, or science feels too foreign for them to think they could do it,” Smith said. “We want to inspire them and show them it’s cool. It’s really fun, and you can get up there and do it, even being from a small town or a low-income household.”

“I was them at one point, so I wanted to keep spreading that message,” he said.

Smith is the only member of his immediate family to graduate high school. He’s also a first-generation college student. This motivates him to support the development of his nieces and nephews. With a blended family of 17 siblings, there’s a lot to accomplish.

He’ll start by taking a year off to pay off his student loans. During that off year, he’s hoping to work in the kaolin industry of Georgia. After that, for Smith, the sky’s the limit.

Schools like UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt and Duke University are at the top of his list for doctoral programs, and he knows he can get there. 

“At this point I could walk into any faculty members’ office and ask them questions about life, resumes, chemistry—anything—and they're always right there to help,” Smith said. “The fact that we get to do independent research here and use all these sophisticated instruments—it was just fabulous. I knew I wanted to do that for my undergrad career.”

Learn more about the Innovate Pillar in our Imagine 2030 Strategic Plan