CLASS OF 2024
Congratulations to our 2024 senior undergraduates! Whether it is medical school, an industry career, or continuing chemical research at the graduate level, read what is next for some in the Class of 2024.
NEW DEPARTMENT HEAD
After a competitive search, the College of Science announced that Jianguo Mei, Richard and Judith Wien Professor of Chemistry, will take on the role of head of the Department of Chemistry, effective July 1, 2024. Read more about Dr. Mei and his goals for the department.
STUDENT AWARDS
Graduate students Brady Layman and Megan Hill have earned highly competitive awards. Layman was selected for the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Hill was awarded the University Nuclear Leadership Program Fellowship funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy. Both are members of Professor Jeffrey Dick’s lab. Read more about their individual electrochemistry research.
Undergraduate students Daniel Hristov, Stephanie DeLancey, Abi Soliven, and Grace Crim earned National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards. Read more about their plans after Purdue and learn more about the other NSF-GRFP awardees in the College of Science.
FACULTY AWARDS
The Board of Trustees Professor ratified the appointments of Herman Sintim who has been named a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry; Christopher Uyeda who was named the Herbert C. Brown Chair in Chemistry; and Gudrun Schmidt was promoted to clinical professor.
Emeritus Professor Trevor Anderson has been elected as a 2024 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the highest national distinctions within the scientific community. Read more about his distinguished work in biochemistry education research.
Emerita Professor Mary Wirth was awarded the 2023 Eastern Analytical Symposium Outstanding Achievements in Separations Science Award. A symposium honoring her was organized by Shelley Claridge, and included alumnus Joel Harris (Univ of Utah), Graham Cooks, and Shelley Claridge. Awards chair for EAS and alumna Brandy Young (Univ of Rochester and Certainty Labs) was also involved in the program.
Emeritus Professor Peter Kissinger was presented the inaugural Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry Service Award that will bear his name in subsequent years. The award recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service to the society since its establishment in 1984. Read more about Pete’s impact on SEAC.
Professor Philip Low was honored by the American Lung Association of Indiana for his contributions to ending lung cancer. Read more about the award and his team’s innovative, targeted treatment CYTALUX. He is also working to validate a drug therapy that has been previously shown to successfully treat malaria.
Professor Gaurav Chopra has been named a 2023 ACS Measurement Science Au Rising Star. Read more about this group of 20 scientists from around the globe who are pushing scientific boundaries by conducting research at the forefront of measurement science. In addition, Professor Chopra was named an AnalytiXIN research fellow and a Scialog fellow for his work in automated instrumentation and artificial intelligence.
Professor Jeffrey Dick has been awarded the 2023 Analyst Emerging Investigator Lectureship Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry. This annual award recognizes one early career researcher, within ten years of their PhD, who has made a significant contribution to analytical chemistry in their independent academic career. Read more about his research.
Professor P.V. Ramachandran has been selected for the Dr. S.K. Pradhan Endowment in Pharmaceuticals Science & Technology fellowship. Read more about the endowment that includes a lecture in India.
Professor Kavita Shah has been awarded the 2024 Chemical Research Society of India Medal. It is conferred upon chemists of Indian origin working outside India who have contributed extensively to the promotion of chemical research.
Professor Tony Dong was selected as a Scialog fellow for Sustainable Minerals, Metals and Materials.
Professor Betsy Parkinson earned Purdue’s 2023-24 Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award for excellence in and out of the classroom. She was also recognized as a 2024 American Peptide Society Early Career Lectureship awardee.
Professor Christina Li was named a 2024 University Faculty Scholar. The University Faculty Scholars Program recognizes outstanding faculty members who are on an accelerated path for academic distinction. Professor Li was also selected to receive the 2024 ACS Catalysis Lectureship in Catalytic Science Award.
Professor of Practice Jonathan Rienstra-Kiracofe has been appointed College of Science Associate Dean for Purdue Indianapolis STEM Education. As Associate Dean he will work to ensure the successful implementation of the College of Science’s existing and future programs and courses in Purdue Indianapolis and provide a local presence in Indianapolis.
WELCOME NEW FACULTY
Valentin Walther has joined the Departments of Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy. Read more about Dr. Walther’s background, his quantum optics research, and what he likes to do away from the lab.
ALUMNI NEWS
James M. Tour and Thalappil Pradeep were recently elected to the National Academy of Engineers. Tour was a graduate student with Professor Ei-ichi Negishi. Pradeep was a postdoctoral researcher with Professor R. Graham Cooks. Read more about their chemistry/engineering work and how Purdue influenced them.
Leah Riter earned a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Purdue College of Science. Dr. Riter is the Global Technology Pipeline Manager in Regulatory Scientific Affairs at Bayer Crop Science.
Patrick Fedick's research was featured in The Analytical Scientist. Dr. Fedick is a research chemist in the Analytical Branch of the Chemistry Division at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division.
Xin Yan was named a 2023 ACS Measurement Science Au Rising Star and recognized as a 2024 Sloan Research Fellow. Dr. Yan is a faculty member at Texas A&M University.
Jenny Brodbelt has been selected by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry as the recipient of the prestigious 2024 John B. Fenn Award for a Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry. Dr. Brodbelt is a faculty member at the University of Texas - Austin.
All are former graduate students in Professor R. Graham Cooks’ Aston Labs.
NMR INSTRUMENTATION
The Purdue Interdepartmental NMR Facility recently upgraded much of its instrumentation. Read more about the improvements, as well as the Chemistry alumni and funding agencies who contributed to the modernization.
CHEMISTRY IN THE NEWS
Professor Gaurav Chopra accelerating scientific and drug discovery in an AI-powered lab. Article link
Purdue College of Science team’s quantum optics discovery featured in Nature Physics. Article link
Professor R. Graham Cooks expands research of water droplet interfaces that offer the secret ingredient for building life. Article link
Professor Jianguo Mei and his lab look to the human eye to boost computer vision efficiency. Article link
Helium first discovered during 1868 eclipse; the element later developed by 20th century chemist, Purdue science leader. Article link
SOLAR ECLIPSE
Avid photographer and Amy Facility senior instrumentation specialist Gregory Eakins captured the above total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 in North Central Indiana.
IN MEMORIAM: DENNIS EVANS
Chemistry research professor Dennis Evans was an active and valued member of our analytical chemistry program. For more than a decade, he was an advisor, mentor, and friend to our faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Read more about his incredible life and outstanding career as an electrochemist in this obituary link.