The expertise of the chemistry faculty covers all five major chemical sub-disciplines: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry.
See photos from this year's research symposium, conference presentations, and field trips.
Dan Burgard has been awarded the William L. McCormick Professor of Natural Sciences. The professorship recognizes excellence in teaching undergraduate science, effectiveness as a mentor for undergraduate research, and an exemplary record for research and publication in the sciences. He will begin the five-year term in the Fall of 2024. Dan is an analytical chemistry who works on problems relevant to public and environmental health. For the past 14 years, he has been investigating the presence of drugs and their metabolites in wastewater. He is part of an international network of researchers engaged in this work which includes 41 labs in 112 cities from 37 countries and, as of 2023, represents 80 million people.
Congratulations to Professor Emily Tollefson for the Thomas A. Davis Teaching Award and Professor Dan Burgard for the Bartanen Research Award.
The University of Puget Sound is the new home of a 120KV transmission electron microscope (TEM), the only one at a South Puget Sound academic institution. Assistant Professor Emily Tollefson in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department successfully secured over $590,000 in funding through a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrument grand in a collaborative effort with the University of Washington Tacoma and Pacific Lutheran University. The TEM (JEOL JEM-1400) will transform research at Puget Sound, allowing faculty and student researchers to explore new research questions at the nano-scale level- that's 1/10,000 the width of a human hair.
RUI: Influence of surface interactions of organic ligand-iron oxide/water interfaces on carbon and iron cycling studied by second harmonic generation and sum frequency generation spectroscopies, was funded for a three-year period in the amount of $209,663. This funding will allow Amanda and her students to continue surface spectroscopy studies on an important biogeochemical system.
RUI: Investigations of the cybotactic nematic phase in bent-core liquid crystals, was funded for a three year period in the amount of $124, 245. This funding will allow Eric and his students to continue their studies of the unique phase behavior of oxadiazole containing compounds.
$344,000 for measuring opiods in wastewater. Professor Burgard’s R-15 grant proposes to monitor illicit drug and prescription opioid consumption trends at the population level in six cities in Washington State over a three year period. This study overlaps with two other major events: 1) the initiation of a state-wide drug take back program and 2) the 2020 census. This, first in the nation, statewide drug take-back program is aimed at reducing prescription opioid abuse and to reduce environmental contamination. The project will also work to develop a more accurate account of the population size contributing to the wastewater samples and thus to develop better per capita consumption estimates. Levels of population biomarkers will be validated with 2020 census data.
has been awarded the 2020 Bartanen Research Award from the University of Puget Sound. This award was designed to: “find new ways to promote consciousness of [and celebrate] the remarkable accomplishments in research and professional development that are an important component of our intellectual community” and to “bring publicity to the accomplishments of our faculty, thereby helping to cement Puget Sound’s reputation as an outstanding liberal arts college.” The Faculty Advancement Committee recognized Dr. Gessel for her outstanding scholarship using mass spectrometry to answer biochemical questions, including a 2015 NSF Major Instrumentation Award to purchase a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer. Dr. Gessel’s research group currently studies the role of oxidation on the stability and structure of the lipid membrane.
NSF has awarded Professor Neshyba a 4-year grant supporting research about ice. Titled "RUI: Toward a Comprehensive Theory of Mesoscopic Morphology of Ice", students involved in the project will create three-dimensional representations of ice crystals grown in a scanning electron microscope, model their light-scattering properties, and construct a theoretical framework for predicting how such crystals arise in cirrus clouds.
Steven has received a two year NSF Research in Undergraduate Institutions collaborative grant award. Titled Computational guided inquiry for incorporating polar research into undergraduate curricula. This $300,000 grant Is aimed at developing teaching modules that incorporate polar research into a broad range of undergraduate courses, including Chemistry, Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, and Economics through the use of computational guided inquiry and classroom flipping. Also involved in the project are Professor of Economics Lea Fortmann, Dr. Penny Rowe, of the NorthWest Research Association, and School of Education Dean and Professor Amy Ryken.
