I would like to thank you for helping us celebrate our sesquicentennial anniversary in April. Whether you attended our events, sent your remembrances, or supported our continuing goal to build the next 150 years, I am humbled by your devotion to the Tarpo Department of Chemistry, where our rich legacy has been built by outstanding alumni, faculty, and staff who provide our students with an exceptional education and unique opportunities.
Below you’ll read more about our award-winning faculty and students; a generous gift by Phil and Joan Low creating an institute that will accelerate lifesaving therapeutics; and the university’s recent commitment in advanced chemistry, where our department is already a major contributor to Purdue’s One Health Initiative.
Jianguo Mei, Department Head and Richard and Judith Wien Professor of Chemistry
SENIOR CLASS OF 2025
Congratulations to the seniors in our undergraduate program! Whether it's graduate school, manufacturing, law school, or dental school, here is what's next for some in the Class of 2025.
ONE HEALTH INITIATIVES
Blazing a new trail for early-stage innovation, Purdue announced the creation of the Low Institute for Therapeutics (LIFT) through a generous gift by Phil and Joan Low. Read more about Professor Low and his family's obligation to develop lifesaving innovations that improve quality of life.
Purdue is investing in One Health, from making medicines to advancing chemistry, along America's Hard Tech Corridor. Read more about how our department will prepare students for high-impact careers while university faculty hiring and research and training facilities will help accelerate pharmaceutical advances.
Faculty PROMOTIONS
The Purdue Board of Trustees approved several chemistry faculty promotions. To full professor: Gaurav Chopra, James Tarpo Jr. and Margaret Tarpo Professor of Chemistry; and Jeffrey Dick, Richard B. Wetherill Professor of Chemistry. To associate professor: Betsy Parkinson and Mike Reppert.
Marcy Towns has been named associate dean for leadership excellence for the College of Science. Read more about her new role facilitating faculty awards and faculty mentoring for the Office of the Dean.
Libai Huang has been appointed as the Tarpo Professor of Chemistry, recognizing her groundbreaking contributions to ultrafast spectroscopy, quantum materials, and energy science. She is director of the DOE Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) Quantum Photonic Integration and Dynamics Center (QuPIDC), which spearheads collaborative efforts to advance next-generation quantum technologies.
FACULTY AWARDS
R. Graham Cooks was awarded the Science History Institute’s 2025 Othmer Gold Medal. The annual award honors outstanding individuals who have made multifaceted contributions to chemical and scientific heritage. And he was named the 2025 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Analytical Chemistry Medal recipient, honoring lifetime achievement in analytical chemistry.
Jean Chmielewski has been named Purdue’s Morrill Award winner for 2025. The award is the highest honor that Purdue confers on a faculty member, recognizing those who best exhibit excellence in teaching, research, and engagement.
Arun Ghosh was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in recognition of his contributions in broad areas of chemistry and medicinal chemistry that have improved human health. Read more about his leadership in the field of structure-based drug design and discovery, including a key medication in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Julia Laskin is the recipient of the 2025 American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Chemical Instrumentation. Read more about her significant contributions to the development of novel mass spectrometry instrumentation and the previous honorees from Purdue's analytical chemistry division.
Qi (Tony) Dong was awarded as the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute Rising Star in Green Chemistry Education. The award recognizes outstanding early-career scholars who have committed to a significant focus on green chemistry and/or sustainability in curricula for teaching chemistry, chemical engineering, or a closely related field.
Alumni News
Richard Wien (B.S. 1967) was presented the College of Science Distinguished Alumni Award in April. Read more about Dr. Wien’s award-winning career at Eastman Kodak and how he and his wife Judith are giving back to the department and university.
Ben Oxley (B.S. 2019) is in the process of opening a unique business in Chicago. Read more about the chemistry a fermentory uses to produce alcoholic beverages like beer and wine as well as non-alcoholic drinks and fermented food.
STUDENT AWARDS
Several chemistry graduate students were recognized for their national excellence in analytical chemistry:
- Mousumi Saha, a graduate student in Professor Cooks’ lab, was awarded the 2025 Eli Lilly and Company/ACS Analytical Graduate Fellowship.
- Ashutosh Rana, a graduate student in Professor Dick’s lab, was selected as a recipient of the 2025 Eastman Fellowship.
- Gwendylan Turner, a graduate student in Professor Garth Simpson's lab, earned a 2025 Eastman/ACS Analytical Graduate Research Fellowship.
- Dylan Holden, who is finishing his PhD studies in Professor Cooks’ lab, was a Schmidt Science Fellows finalist and is headed to Harvard to do a postdoc.
Aaron Mena, a third-year graduate student in Professor Wilker’s lab, was an award winner in the 2024 NanoArtography, an international science image contest that combines nanoscience and art.
Jayna Enguita, a graduate student in Professor Liu’s lab, was the inaugural Scamuffa Award winner that recognizes an outstanding second year graduate student. The award was made possible by the generous philanthropy from Purdue Chemistry alumni Michael and Robin Scamuffa.
Erik Sveen, an undergraduate student in Professor Julia Laskin’s lab, earned the I. M. Kolthoff Award presented by the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry honoring undergraduates who are doing outstanding research in the field of analytical chemistry.
Irina Zhilinskaya and Caroline Zu were selected as outstanding senior undergraduate organic students for 2024-25, presented by Professor Ming-Yu Ngai. Both are from the Indianapolis area and will attend graduate school. Irina is headed to the University of Minnesota and Caroline will be attending the University of Michigan.
All of our 2024-2025 award-winning students, staff, and faculty members.
Chemistry in the News
Professor Jon Wilker's lab developing biobased adhesives
Purdue chemists control artificial atoms in quantum materials with a ‘twist’
Professors Drown and Schlebach working with Purdue team to control protein folding
Professor Jianguo Mei developing technologies for all-polymer electrochromic displays
Chemistry undergraduate profile: Madison Flowers
Purdue Chemistry earns sustainability award for recycling program
CHEMISTRY OUTREACH
Chemistry faculty members and graduate students continue to support chemistry outreach led by coordinator Sarah Nern. Read more about how they volunteered for the Hands-on Purdue Science (HOPS) Lab.