DECATUR - Clayton Parks and Bradley Day have known each other since elementary school at the Lutheran School Association.

This summer, they're also colleagues.

The young men, both graduates of the LSA High School and students at Millikin University, are working with Paris Barnes, assistant professor of chemistry, on research projects funded under the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

This kind of intense research project is usually available only at a large university, Barnes said.

"Paris had to do a lot of asking and a lot of good wording in his research proposal to get funding for this project," Parks said. "Doing this research, we'll make big discoveries and make the university look good."

Parks is attempting to discover new compounds, while Day is trying to isolate the properties of an existing compound. They're both studying perovskites, a mineral found in abundance in nature that is used to make electronic components. Interest in perovskites is high in scientific circles because of its usefulness in technology, Barnes said.

Parks and Day entered the university with the goal of becoming physicians, and at the moment, both are still interested in that career, though Day said he is finding chemistry more fascinating the longer he pursues it. The chance to spend one-on-one time working closely with Barnes this summer will strengthen their skills, and the project will potentially give them an edge when it comes time to apply to medical school.

"I'm trying to make something that has never been made, that has been shown to be almost impossible," Parks said. "Bradley's trying to find a better way to synthesize something that is already used but is not easily produced."

"We're into the business of making stuff," Barnes said. "Brad is working on making chemical compounds that have already been made, but it's important for scientists to know the structure of these compounds. With Clay, he's doing something that has never been done. He's trying to make something that has never been discovered. Theoretically, we believe it can be done, it's just very difficult."

The students have no specific deadline for finishing because, as Barnes said, one can't force discovery. And in Barnes' mind, the process is the important part anyway. He hopes Day and Parks will finish by the time they graduate from Millikin and they plan to write a paper to present at scientific conferences.

Millikin's size also has helped the three men develop a friendship as well as a good working relationship, Parks said.

"The three of us together are not only able to get a lot of work done, but to enjoy doing it together," he said.

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@herald-review.com or 421-7982.