Chem student designs 3D-printed tool to revolutionize lab work

By Sia Bombhore ’29

Ellie Corbett ’26 never imagined she would be trying to create a new product for performing scientific tests. 

A self-described rule follower who likes “to do things very by the books,” Corbett found herself reimagining the organic chemist’s bread and butter—the Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) technique—when she began teaching it to other students. Taught in nearly every laboratory, TLC is a standard method for checking purity, monitoring reactions, and identifying substances. She saw how each small step—making measurements with this ruler, a lot of transfers with the tweezers, and placing it inside the TLC chamber—became another possibility for error and wasted time. 

Mentored by chemistry professor Ronald Brisbois, Corbett realized her idea had merit and began turning the identified inefficiencies in TLC into a working prototype. Using CAD design and 3D printing—skills she learned while also helping build the lab’s printer—Corbett’s research brought about a device that eliminates steps and makes measurements more consistent, removing redundancies that often led to mistakes.

The results were immediate—Corbett says that her fellow students were excited when they tried it for the first time, noting how the revised technique saved time, made the process more accurate, and ultimately gave them confidence within their field.

In many ways, her journey exemplifies the power of collaborative research. For Corbett, her mentors’ recognition and guidance bridged the gap between raw potential and making tangible contributions—proving that innovation was always within reach, reserved for neither distant experts nor rule breakers.

And for Corbett, the impact reached far beyond the lab bench. For her, a first-generation college student, the project became proof that she could create something meaningful and lasting.

“I feel like I’m making my family proud, and like I’m making a difference,” she says.