The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry

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The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
The Hawk Chemist
                       Fall 2013

         Department of Chemistry
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
Table of Contents
Department News                          P. 4 - 9                McGroddy Lecture                            P. 15
New Instrumentation                      P. 9                    Student Profiles                            P. 16 - 17
Summer Scholars                          P. 10 - 11              Commencement 2013                           P. 18
Alumni Updates                           P. 12 - 14              Current Faculty and Staff P. 19

                     From the Chair
                     Dear Saint Joseph’s University              The Molloy Chemical Society maintained the momentum
                     Chemistry Alumni/ae, Benefactors and        established in the previous academic year, holding
                     Friends,                                    numerous events throughout 2012-2013 that you will read
                                                                 about in this newsletter. The capstone and perhaps
                     Welcome to the Fall 2013 edition of
                                                                 highlight was Molloy’s presentation and demonstration on
The Hawk Chemist! As I enter my fourth year as chair, I
                                                                 “How Catalysts Work” at the Philadelphia Science Festival
am pleased to share with you some of the developments
                                                                 Science Carnival on the Parkway on April 20, 2013. Rising
within the department during the 2012-2013 academic year.
                                                                 seniors    Mary    Malloy    and    Elena    Montoto     led
In May, we graduated a strong class of nine American             demonstrations and impressed many children and their
Chemical Society-certified chemistry majors and four             parents. The 2014 Philadelphia Science Festival Science
chemical biology majors. Seniors earning Chemistry               Carnival on the Parkway moves to May this year, so mark
Department awards this year included EuTchen Ang                 your calendars for Saturday, May 3, and come out and
(American Chemical Society Scholastic Achievement                support the Molloy Chemical Society as they participate in
Award) and Nicholas Murry (American Institute of                 the carnival.
Chemists Award). EuTchen was inducted into the Phi Beta
                                                                 Chemistry faculty and staff also enjoyed a busy and
Kappa Honor Society, and he also completed a
                                                                 productive year. Congratulations go to Adjunct Instructor
Departmental Honors Thesis working with Dr. Mark
                                                                 Terry Crossan for receiving a Faculty Merit Award for
Reynolds studying the oxygen sensing heme protein, FixL.
                                                                 Teaching at the Fall 2012 Awards Ceremony. Special
EuTchen is attending graduate school in biochemistry at
                                                                 recognition also goes to Dr. Jean Smolen for her trip to
Princeton University this fall. Nick Murry graduated Magna
                                                                 Nicaragua with Peter Clark, S.J., Professor of Theology and
Cum Laude, and he has been performing research at the
                                                                 director of the Institute for Catholic Bioethics (ICB) and 14
Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Chemical Biology
                                                                 students as part of the semester-long course “Just Health
senior award recipient was Avery Vilbert. She graduated
                                                                 Care in Developing Nations.”
Cum Laude and is attending graduate school in chemistry at
Cornell University in the fall.                                  Undergraduate research remains a hallmark of the
                                                             2
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
department, and this past summer we had 20 students                  of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia
participate in the Summer Scholars Program and engage in             Institute of Technology. Professor Reichmanis’ lab is
faculty-directed   independent    research    projects   with        exploring active, polymer and hybrid organic/inorganic
Chemistry Department faculty. It is only with your generous          materials chemistries and processes for plastic electronics,
donations that we are able to support such a large group of          photovoltaics      and   photonic   technologies.   Professor
students. During the academic year, most of these students           Reichmanis’ many awards include the 2011 ACS Polymer
continued their research for course credit, typically devoting       Materials Science and Engineering Division Distinguished
10 to 12 hours per week to their research projects. In               Service Award, the 2001 Perkin Medal, the 1999 American
addition, these students continue to gain valuable                   Chemical Society Award in Applied Polymer Science, 1998
experience by presenting their work at local, regional and           Photopolymer Science and Technology Award, the 1996
national scientific meetings. During the past year, the              ASM Engineering Materials Achievement Award. She has
venues at which students presented included the ACS                  been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering
National Meeting in New Orleans, the National Organic                (1995), and is a Fellow American Association for the
Symposium in Seattle, the Philadelphia Organic Chemists              Advancement of Science and the American Chemical
Club Poster Day and the ACS Philadelphia Section Poster              Society. Most recently, Dr. Reichmanis was one of 11
Night.                                                               women from around the world named a 2013 Distinguished
                                                                     Woman in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering by the
We were pleased to make some significant improvements to
                                                                     International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
our departmental infrastructure this year with the
                                                                     She will be honored for this award during a special
renovation of the instrumental analysis teaching laboratory
                                                                     ceremony at the 2013 IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in
(SC 434), one organic chemistry research lab (SC 414), and
                                                                     Istanbul in August 2013.
three faculty offices. With the renovation of SC 434, all but
one of the department’s teaching labs has been renovated             Finally, I’d like to thank all of you for your continued
since the phased-in Science Center renovations began in              support of the Department of Chemistry. We are fortunate
2003. We were also able to add a new Agilent inductively             and grateful to have strong support from our alumni. We
coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES)               also greatly appreciate your communication and feedback,
to our departmental instrumentation. We are again grateful           and we are always pleased and proud to receive news of
for your continued support that allows us to keep our                your achievements in your respective fields. Please let us
instrumentation up-to-date.                                          know how you are doing by using the reply form on our
                                                                     website, email, mail, phone, Facebook or any means you
This past November John T. Groves, Professor and Hugh
                                                                     find convenient.
Stott Taylor Chair of Chemistry at Princeton University,
joined us to give the annual McGroddy Frontiers in Science           Best regards,
Lecture. During the day and before his lecture, Dr. Groves
met with chemistry faculty and students from the Molloy
                                                                     Mark Forman
Chemical Society. It was a great opportunity for our
students to learn firsthand the role that chemistry can play
in probing cutting-edge biological problems. This year’s
McGroddy speaker will be Dr. Elsa Reichmanis, Professor
                                                                 3
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
Science Center 414: Forman Research Laboratory

     Department
       News
Major Renovations to Chemistry
Laboratories and Offices
The ongoing phased renovation of Saint Joseph’s                 research students will have a new home starting fall 2013.
University Science Center began in 2003 with interior           After nearly four decades without significant upgrades,
renovations      of   teaching   laboratories,   research       SC 414 was renovated during summer 2013. Along with
laboratories, classrooms and offices for the Biology,            two new hoods, cabinetry and floors, the renovation will fix
Chemistry and Physics Departments. During this 10-year          several problems in the lab, including extreme
project, all of the chemistry teaching labs have been           temperatures, a noisy HVAC system and the lack of ADA
renovated except for the Chemistry Instrumentation              accessible work areas.
Laboratory (SC 411) and the Instrumental Analysis               Finally, three faculty offices were renovated, providing Dr.
Laboratory (SC 434). We are happy to report that students       Smolen and Dr. Zurbach with new, expanded and
taking Instrumental Analysis Laboratory will have a new         enhanced workspaces. All of the work was performed by
home this fall, as during the summer of 2013, SC 434 was        Irwin & Leighton, the contractor who started the
completely renovated. As the photos show, current space         renovations in 2003, with architectural design of the
will provide a more engaging and contemporary setting for       project provided by Ballinger and engineering design
students taking Instrumental Analysis Laboratory as well        provided by Bala.
as other laboratory courses. Highlights of the renovated
lab include all new HVAC, a new 6-foot hood, new                Nine SJU Students Present at the
cabinetry and new floors. The room has a state-of-the art
AV system and is fully ADA compliant.                           American Chemical Society National
In addition to Instrumental Analysis Laboratory (SC 434),
organic chemistry professor Mark Forman and his
                                                                Meeting in New Orleans
                                                                SJU Chemistry was well represented at the 245th
                                                                American Chemical Society (ACS) Meeting and Exposition
                                                                this past April 7-11 in New Orleans. Seven chemistry
                                                                majors and two chemical biology majors accompanied
                                                                department chair Mark Forman to the conference. The
                                                                participating undergraduate students were Avery Vilbert
                                                                ’13, Michelle Piotrowski ’13, Dana Krajcsik ’13, Megan
                                                                Forman ’14, David Manion ’13, Meg Roeder ’13, Danielle
                                                                Houchins ’13, Brady Werkheiser ’13, and EuTchen Ang
                                                                ’13. The SJU contingent gave a total of six presentations
                                                                at the conference, highlighting collaborations among a
                                                                combination of members from each group, including other
                                                                students who could not attend.
      Science Center 434: Instrumental Analysis
                     Laboratory
                                                            4
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
z
“Site-directed mutagensis and spectroscopic studies of
                                                                        Terry Crossan, MA, RD, LDN Named
the oxygen sensing heme-PAS FixL protein,” Avery
Vilbert, EuTchen Ang, Dr. Mark Reynolds                                 Merit Teaching Award Winner
“Saint Joseph's University Molloy Chemical Society”, Mr.                Terry Crossan, MA, RD, LDN, Adjunct Instructor in
Brady O. Werkheiser, Ms. Avery Vilbert, Mr. EuTchen                     Chemistry, was awarded a 2012 Merit Award for
Ang, Ms. Alaina Stockhausen, Mr. Nick Julian, Faculty                   Teaching at the Fall Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony.
Advisor Dr. Jose Cerda                                                  Terry has been teaching courses in food chemistry to
“Industrial and agricultural pollutants in the Susquehanna              SJU students for five years, and she is well-known
watershed of Pennsylvania,” Michelle Piotrowski, Megan                  throughout the SJU community for her knowledge of food
Forman, Catherine Blithe, Amy Dougher, Christopher                      chemistry as well as her effectiveness and enthusiasm in
Millet, Michael Montemarano, Scott Niezgoda, Dr. Usha                   organizing and presenting this material to students.
Rao                                                                     Before coming to SJU,
                                                                        Terry               taught
“Reactions leading to pentacyclo[4.3.0.02,4.03,8.05,7]non-4-            undergraduate         and
ene”, David Manion, Dana Krajcsik, Mark A. Forman                       graduate courses in food
“Heme loss in myoglobin and hemoglobin in the presence                  chemistry and nutrition
of fluoride”, Danielle N. Houchins, Brady O. Werkheiser,                for seven years at
Margaret H. Roeder, Katherine C. McGovern, Victoria C.                  Immaculata College, and
Angelucci, Dr. Jose F. Cerda                                            she served as an
                                                                        Instructor in the Diabetes
“Effects of sodium fluoride binding on the electrochemical
                                                                        Out-Patient      Education
properties of heme protein,” Margaret H. Roeder, Danielle
                                                                        Program and the Cancer
N. Houchins, Emily J. Amendola, Jacquelyn D. Castorino,
                                                                        Support Group Program
Andrea L. Fritz, Carmen Guzman, Dr. Jose F. Cerda
                                                                        for 15 years at Riddle
                                                                        Memorial Hospital. In
There were more than 15,500 attendees at the                            addition, for the past 16
conference, and the group joined them in attending                      years, Terry has served
numerous enlightening scientific lectures such as a Kavli               as      a   self-employed      Father Gillespie presents
Foundation Innovations in Chemistry Lecture by Daniel G.                nutrition consultant to a         Terry Crossan with
Nocera on the world’s first artificial leaf. The meeting                variety of businesses               Teaching Award
theme was “Chemistry of Energy and Food,” and the                       and groups in the
students were able to attend talks on the relationship                  Philadelphia area. Terry brings this wealth of experience
between chemistry and food in our society.                              and comprehensive knowledge of food chemistry to her
                                                                        courses at SJU. Terry is also a registered dietitian with 20
                                                                        years of experience in nutrition; she specializes in the
                                                                        topics of weight management and disordered eating. She
                                                                        is also very active in the community, as she often gives
                                                                        lectures on dieting and nutrition to local community
                                                                        groups. Congratulations Terry!

  Left to right: Avery Vilbert ’13, Michelle Piotrowski ’13, Dana
 Krajcsik ’13, Megan Forman ’14, David Manion ’13, Meg Roeder
        ’13, Danielle Houchins ’13, Brady Werkheiser ’13,
             EuTchen Ang ’13, and Dr. Mark Forman                   5
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
Dr. Jean Smolen Accompanies SJU
Students on Trip to Nicaragua
Jean Smolen, Associate Professor of Chemistry,
accompanied Peter Clark, S.J. and 15 Saint Joseph’s
University students for an immersion trip to the Central
American country of Nicaragua from January 5 through
January 12. The immersion trip is the capstone of a
semester-long course, “Just Health Care in Developing
Nations”, which is offered jointly through Theology and              replied that Nicaraguan hospitals do not have as much
Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Health Services.             overhead and do not pay hospital administrators million-
Most of the students are biology or health service majors            dollar salaries like we do in the U.S.” The Vivian Pellas
and a number of them are chemistry minors.                           Hospital also houses a burn clinic for children in Nicaragua,
The group spent much of its time in Managua, the capital             where patients are treated free of charge. Vivian Pellas and
of Nicaragua and a city that was mostly destroyed during             her husband Carlos were in a plane crash in which Vivian
the Sandinista conflict. During the week, the students               suffered life-threatening burns. Since that time, she has
learned about the history of Nicaragua and its relationship          pledged to assist young burn victims in Nicaragua.
with the United States. Since the main objective of the                Later in the week, the group took a trip into the country
immersion is to experience health care in a developing               to Matagalpa and the community of La Reina where they
country, most of the time was spent visiting many hospitals          visited a coffee plantation. Here they witnessed how the
and clinics. The group visited a women’s clinic, Centro              beans are harvested and then how they are processed and
Acahual, which is nearby the city dump in Managua. Many              dried before being sold. The coffee plantation sells fair
women and children make a living by sorting through the              trade coffee and the coffee is shade-grown. The group
material at the dump. As one might imagine, various                  learned that the coffee is sold for about $1 per pound,
illnesses are associated with this life.                             compared to the $7 or more per pound that we pay for
One day, the group visited the Lennin Fonseca Public                 coffee in the U.S. The group visited many more sites such
Hospital in the morning and the private Hospital                                                          “For students
                                                                     as maternity clinics and local markets.
Metropolitano Vivian Pellas in the afternoon. The students
                                                                     who have never visited a developing country, the
were stunned by the conditions of the public hospital that
was sorely lacking even basic standards of hygiene. The              experience is tremendous. My favorite part is
facility is normally overwhelmed by the large number of
                                                                     interacting with the people and learning about
individuals seeking care. In contrast, the private facility is
more sophisticated than many hospitals in the U.S. The               their lives,” Smolen said. She will accompany a new
group learned that this facility is commonly used for                group of students next year, returning to Nicaragua in order
medical tourism. The hospital attracts patients from all over        to build upon the relationships started with many of the
the world who have an ability to pay for surgeries such as           many communities on this trip.
hip and knee replacements and bariatric surgery. A
procedure that would cost more than $40,000 in the U.S.
would cost less than $10,000 at this hospital. Therefore,
these procedures become more affordable for individuals
without health insurance. “When I asked the hospital
representative how they could afford to perform these
procedures so inexpensively,” said Jean Smolen, “she

                                                                 6
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
SJU Chemistry Majors Design Candy                               thought they were going to take the candy. They really
                                                                wanted as similar taste to the [original] Clodhoppers as
for NYC Candy Company                                           possible,” said Crossan.
                                                                Despite the setback, Crossan and her team did not quit.
by Anna Kesaris
                                                                “We knew we had signed up and made a commitment,
Dylan's Candy Bar needed to re-engineer Clodhoppers,            and we wanted to make sure we did our school proud,”
                          the fudge-covered graham              said Crossan. The team went back to the drawing board
                          candy. A group of five SJU            and focused on different aspects such as texture,
                          Chemistry majors led by               sweetness and balancing all the ingredients. “We walked
                          Terry Crossan spearheaded             into this and it sounded like it was going to be very simple,
                          the effort to replicate the           but the nuances were the hardest part,” explained
                          treat's taste and texture in          Crossan.
                          just six months.
                                                                Crossan's Food Chemistry classes even got involved, “I
                               Founded in 2001 by Dylan         would walk in before starting class and say, ‘We had an
                               Lauren, daughter of famed        epic failure in chocolate world.’ My class knew about
                               designer Ralph Lauren,           whole project, and my students would send links about
Dylan's Candy Bar is a candy supplier with a chain of           what we could do to change recipes,” said Crossan.
boutique candy shops in New York City, Los Angeles, and         Crossan was able to bridge a gap between Food
Miami. For years one of Dylan's popular treats,                 Marketing majors, Chemistry majors, professors and
Clodhoppers, had been supplied by a Canadian company.           students, and her family, so everyone could participate in
However, the supplier recently discontinued supplying           such a unique experience.
Clodhoppers, leaving Dylan's Candy Bar with the need to
                                                                When Crossan and her team were finally able to match the
develop their own version of the candy.
                                                                recipe in May, her students and Dr. Forman took their final
SJU students took on this project under the direction of        batch to New York, presented their work, met the
Adjunct Professor and dietician Crossan, who teaches            executives of Dylan’s Candy Bar, and took a tour of the
Food Chemistry at SJU. She enlisted sophomore                   facilities. Reflecting on the experience, Crossan said: “It
chemistry majors Allyson Langley, April Savarese, Casey         was such collaboration. You hear so often about a
Adams, Alaina Stockhausen, and senior chemistry major           distance between faculty and students, but this project
Dana Krajcksik to help with the project. The team set out       bridged everything.”
to reverse engineer the candy and reproduce as close as
possible the original Clodhoppers recipe, a fudge-covered
cluster of graham wafers.
“We were only provided with free samples and the labels
for the three different Clodhoppers varieties: vanilla,
chocolate, and cookies and clods,” Crossan said. Crossan
and her team began the project in early November 2012
and hoped to present their final product to Dylan’s Candy
Bar by February 2013. At first they used a make-shift
kitchen in one of the labs and the Biology freezer two
floors below to store their products. Realizing the
inefficiency of this system, Crossan decided to host her
research team at her house to bake the samples and test
recipes.
Crossan and her dedicated team were getting close to
their final recipe, and right before Christmas, believed they
had struck gold. “It was unbelievable, a fantastic candy.
We thought this was it. And we sent it up to Dylan’s Candy
Bar and the response was that it was ‘too good.’ We
                                                                7
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
With Brady Werkheiser (President) and EuTchen Ang (Vice
President) providing student leadership and Dr. Cerda
providing faculty mentorship, the Molloy Chemical Society
had another active and productive academic year in 2012-         Admitted Students Days.
2013. Molloy’s activities during the past year included:     Holding a senior farewell event at Landmark
 Presenting a poster and giving a talk at the Spring            Americana restaurant in early May.
    2013 ACS National Meeting in New Orleans entitled  Increasing the Molloy budget through the Student
    “ACS Student Affiliate Chapter the Molloy Chemical           Leadership Office.
    Society from Saint Joseph's University.”
                                                            As was the case in 2012, the highlight of the past year was
 Receiving a Student Travel Grant from the ACS to Molloy’s participation in and exhibition at the Philadelphia
    attend the National Meeting in New Orleans.             Science Festival and Carnival on Saturday, April 20 that
 Sponsoring a Molloy Chemical Society seminar series Logan Circle on Ben Franklin Parkway. Members of Molloy
    by hosting a fall lecture by Douglas J. Bucklin, Ph.D., interacted with crowds of onlookers while President-elect
    J.D. Attorney-at-Law, Volpe and Koenig, P.C. entitled Mary Malloy and Elena Montoto gave a demonstration
    “Patent Law Applied to Chemical Composition, entitled “How Catalysts Work.” Pictures and video of the
    Pharmaceutical, and Biotechnology” and a spring demonstration may be viewed by going to Molloy’s
    seminar by Kadine Mohomed, Ph.D.         (Thermal
    Applications Scientist at TA Instruments) entitled
    “Applying    Thermal     Analysis Techniques     to
    Understanding Materials.”
   Holding a two-day Valentine’s Day Fundraiser by
    selling colorful M&M-filled test tubes.

                                                                Left to right: Megan Forman, EuTchen Ang, Dr. Jose Cerda, Mary
                                                                     Malloy, Elena Montoto, Avery Vilbert, Brady Werkheiser

                                                               Facebook page: facebook.com/MolloyChemicalSociety.
                                                               Contributing Molloy members included EuTchen Ang,
                                                               Brady Werkheiser, Megan Forman and Avery Vilbert.
   Encouraging new members to join early in the
                                                          Molloy also increased its fundraising activities during the
    academic year by promoting the Society at the Fall
                                                          past year, increasing donations by over 300 percent. The
    SJU Activities Fair.
                                                          increased funds were used to sponsor the seminar series
   Finding a sponsor for and creating Molloy Chemical
                                                          and to support Molloy and research students attending the
    Society T-Shirts.
                                                          ACS National Meeting in New Orleans. Special thanks go
   Celebrating Pi day by holding the monthly meeting and to donors Blue Ash Therapeutics (the parents of Mary
    election of new officers for 2013-2014 on March 14.   Malloy ’14), Locks Law Firm, Mastermelt America LLC and
   Leading tours of the Science Center during the SJU the parents of Rachel Troxel ’16.
                                                           8
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
Toward the end of the spring semester, the Molloy officers summers as a Summer Scholar doing research with
helped oversee the election of new officers for the professor and chair Mark Forman.
upcoming academic year. For 2013-2014, in addition to
Mary Malloy as President the new officers will be Alaina
                                                             Brady Werkheiser ’13 Named to
Stockhausen (Vice President), Ally Langley (Secretary) and Philadelphia ACS YCC
Rachel Troxel (Treasurer). Congratulations to the new
                                                             The Philadelphia Local Section Younger Chemists
officers!
                                                             Committee (YCC) is starting a council
Elena Montoto ’14 Selected to                                for the 2013-2014 academic year, and
                                                             Brady Werkheiser (BS Chemistry ’13)
Participate in the DOW-MIT ACCESS                            has been named one of its inaugural
Program                                                      members. The YCC committee is
                                                             dedicated to introducing young
Rising senior Chemistry major Elena Montoto was selected
                                                             professionals    to    the   expansive
to participate in the DOW-MIT ACCESS Program (http://
                                                             chemistry network in the Philadelphia
                        access.mit.edu/). The DOW-MIT
                                                             area. Their goal is to create
                        ACCESS Program is an all-
                                                             opportunities for students, graduates
                        expenses      paid,    weekend-long
                                                             and young professionals to get involved in their community
                        symposium aimed to expose
                                                             and network with employers and local organizations. New
                        underrepresented minority students
                                                             council members will be responsible for spreading
                        to the benefits of a graduate
                                                             information about YCC events to colleagues, coworkers
                        education in chemistry, chemical
                                                             and friends. In addition, council members would pair up to
                        engineering and materials science.
                                                             host one event a year for the YCC community at large.
                        Elena traveled to Cambridge this
                        past October for the event and Hailing from Dublin, PA, Brady was the President of the
                        spent a weekend on MIT’s campus. Molloy Chemical Society in 2012-2013 and was integral in
Elena’s selection was based on her outstanding academic Molloy’s involvement in the Philadelphia Science Festival
record and accomplishments, as well as her potential to this past April and the Society’s involvement in local ACS
contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science events. Brady also conducted research with Dr. Jose
and engineering enterprise. Elena spent the 2012 and 2013 Cerda, investigating spectroscopic properties of myoglobin
                                                             in the presence of fluoride.

  New Instrumentation
  An integral component of the chemistry curriculum at Saint
  Joseph’s University has been and remains the opportunity for
  students to have hands-on experience with modern
  instrumentation and sophisticated equipment within the context of
  their coursework and independent research projects. Much of the
  equipment and instrumentation is incorporated into students’
  coursework as early as the sophomore year. The Chemistry Department is indebted to its alumni and
  benefactors for making donations that have helped provide funds for the recent purchase of a new
  Agilent inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). The Agilent 710 ICP-OES
  will be utilized in the instrumental analysis and inorganic chemistry laboratory courses as well as faculty
  research and will allow the determination of elemental composition below the parts per million range.
  With the Agilent 710, ICP-OES many elements can be screened per single sample run of less than three
  to four minutes, and the samples can be analyzed in a variety of aqueous or organic matrices depending
  on the operational setup. Senior Chemical Biology major Luke Serensits is shown with the instrument.

                                                           9
The Hawk Chemist Fall 2013 - Department of Chemistry
SUMMER SCHOLARS                                                                                        2013

                                                                                           Dr. Peter Graham
                                                                                       Organometallic Chemistry

   James Ohane, Chemistry, 2014     Michael Pogash, Chemistry, 2015                                                              Bobby Carden, Chemistry, 2014

 Eric Eisenhauer, Chemistry, 2014               Casey Adams, Chemistry, 2015                   April Savarese, Chemistry, 2015    Megan Forman, Chemical Biology, 2014

                                             Dr. Mark Forman                                                                            Dr. Jose Cerda
                                            Organic Chemistry                                                                    Electrochemical Biochemistry

   Elena Montoto, Chemistry, 2014                                                         Alaina Stockhausen, Chemistry, 2015

                                            Dr. John Berberian
                                            Physical Chemistry

Harry Eichman, Chemistry, 2016                                                      Victoria Angelucci, Chemical Biology, 2014            Mary Malloy, Chemistry, 2014

                                                                               10
D
                                                                                           -mentored
                                                                                                    uring the summer of 2013,
                                                                                                    20 students were engaged in faculty
                                                                                                          research       projects    in   the
                                                                                           Department of Chemistry.
Amanda Stoltzfus, Chemical Biology, 2014    Kelsey Berger, Chemical Biology, 2014

                                                                                           Each summer many Chemistry and Chemical

                                                                                           Biology undergraduates as well as students

                                                                                           enrolled in the five-year BS/MS science-

                                                    Dr. Mark Reynolds                      education program remain on campus and
                                                 Inorganic Biochemistry

    Jasmin Martin, Chemical Biology, 2015                                                  participate in research projects supervised by

                                                                                           chemistry faculty.      In 2013, student projects

                                                                                           spanned the areas of synthetic organic and

                                                                                           synthetic organometallic chemistry, inorganic and

                                                                                           electrochemical      biochemistry,   environmental,

                                                                                           and physical chemistry. Saint Joseph's University
   Luke Serensits, Chemical Biology, 2014        Mike Desciak, Chemical Biology, 2014

                                                                                           provides the opportunity for low-cost on-campus

                                                                                           housing and students receive a stipend ($3,200

                                                                                           for each participant). Funding for many of these

                                                                                           stipends is provided by the Saint          Joseph’s
        Dr. Jean Smolen
    Environmental Chemistry
                                                                                           University Summer Scholars program.            This
                                                Amy Dougher, Chemical Biology, 2015

                                                                                           program is also supported with funds from the

                                                                                           Department of Chemistry, grants from local and

                                                                                           national funding agencies and societies, as well as

                                                                                           gifts from alumni.

Zachary Dobson, Chemistry, 2014               Andrew Kusterbeck, Chemistry, 2014

                                                                                      11
Alumni Updates

                              BRUCE ROTH (BS Chemistry ’76) was named the winner of the 2013 Perkin Medal by
                              the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). The Perkin Medal is recognized as the highest
                              honor given for outstanding work in applied chemistry in the U.S. and includes among its
                              recipients Irving Langmuir, Glenn Seaborg and 2014 SJU McGroddy Frontiers in Science
                              speaker, Dr. Elsa Reichmanis. Dr. Roth received the medal and presented an address at
                              a Sept. 17 dinner in Philadelphia, after Innovation Day events at the Chemical Heritage
                              Foundation. The medal is named for Sir William Henry Perkin, who developed the first
                              synthetic dye, the so-called Perkin mauve, in 1856.
                              Dr. Bruce Roth has made many significant discoveries in a distinguished research
                              career, but he is best known for his invention of Lipitor®, which has become the largest-
                              selling drug in pharmaceutical history. After earning his B.S. in Chemistry at Saint
                              Joseph’s in 1976, Dr. Roth earned a Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry from Iowa State
                              University in 1981. After a year of postdoctoral research at the University of Rochester,
                              he joined the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company. While at Warner
                              Lambert, Dr. Roth worked on discovering inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis, and as
                              part of this discovery program, he synthesized atorvastatin, the compound that ultimately
                              was marketed as Lipitor®. Dr. Roth served as Vice President for Chemistry at the Pfizer
Global Research and Development Laboratories in Ann Arbor, Michigan from 2000-2007, and in 2007, he joined
Genentech where he currently serves as Vice President for Discovery Chemistry. For his work on the discovery and
development of Lipitor®, Dr. Roth received the 2003 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Invention. In 2008,
the American Chemical Society named him as one of the “Heroes of Chemistry.”

Thom Caggiano (BS Chemistry ’76) let us know that he is
a volunteer science presenter at the Franklin Institute in
Philadelphia, PA. Thom also tells us that he has retired from
                                                                1970’s
the pharmaceutical industry, but that he is doing some
teaching in the area and taught organic chemistry lab at Rider University last year.
Michael Harkness (BS Chemistry ’77) writes, “I have been a general pediatrician with a practice called Wade-
Townsend Pediatric Associates in Paoli, PA for the last 22 years. I am the Chief of Outpatient Pediatrics for Main Line
Health, and active on several of their committees. I have been married for 29 years to my wife, Fran, who is the
Associate Registrar at Cabrini College. I stay busy with our parish Knights of Columbus chapter and am an active
member of a Valley Forge Running Club, Fast Tracks. We live just outside of Valley Forge Park in Wayne, PA.”
J.P. Borneman (BS Chemistry ’80, MS Chemistry ’83, MBA
(Finance) ’87) tells us that since 1999, he has been
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Standard
                                                                1980’s
Homeopathic Company and Hyland’s Inc. Under his
leadership, the company has grown tenfold. Jay’s focus is on leadership of the firm, as well as interaction with outside
stakeholders including shareholders, regulators, banking and finance and legislators. He tells us the company’s
science focus is on the generation and characterization of nanoparticles from highly agitated solutions in borosilicate
glass, development of new bio-assays and development of scalable production equipment. Its clinical focus is on
pediatric cough, cold and otic medications.
Ebrahim Ghelichkhani (BS Chemistry ’84) tells us that after working for a couple of high tech companies, he intends
to do something new in order to make a living in the future. Ebi also reports that he is teaching at UCSC-Extension in
the Silicon Valley. Ebi teaches courses in Reaction Kinetics and Statistical Design of Experiment. Ebi and his family
live Cupertino, CA.
Mark Reichardt (BS Chemistry ’89) writes, “in July 2013 I celebrated my 31st year working as an analytical chemist
and process chemist at Carpenter Technology Corporation in Reading, PA. Carpenter is a leading international
manufacturer and distributor of specialty alloys, powder alloys and titanium serving the automotive, aerospace, energy,
industrial, medical, defense and consumer products industries.”
                                                           12
Joseph Rossi (BS Chemistry ’89; MS Chemistry ’92) let us know that he is a patent attorney and partner in the law firm
of Stradley Ronon LLP in Philadelphia, where his practice focuses on all aspects of intellectual property matters that
relate to the chemical and pharmaceutical arts. He helps clients manage their U.S. and international patent portfolios
and works directly with product development teams to plan patent and business strategies in view of competitor patent
rights. Joe was recently included in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, regarded as a definitive guide to
legal excellence in the United States.
Deirdre Arnold (BS Chemistry ’93) writes that for the past
10 years she has been working at the Patent and
Trademark Office in Alexandria, VA where she is a
                                                                  1990’s
Technical Information Specialist. Deirdre supports the
Patent Examiners by performing online literature searches in her area, which includes pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,
pesticides, polymers, proteins, polynucleotides, traditional medicine and combinatorial chemistry.
Andrew Harron (BS Chemistry ’99, MS Chemistry ’02) writes that he is finishing his doctoral work in analytical
chemistry and mass spectrometry at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Andy writes, “I have gotten into
tissue imaging and developing new methods of ionization for mass spectrometry”.
Since earning his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in
2006, Nick Benetatos (BS Chemistry ’00) tells us he has
been working at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s           2000’s
Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). In this
position, Nick provides technical expertise to aid the center in regulatory review and decision making for Class II and
Class III medical devices (pre-market and post-market). Specialty areas have included: cardiovascular devices,
interventional cardiology devices, polymeric drug-delivery systems, orthopedic devices and active implantable
electronic devices.
Congratulations to Michael McNevin (BS Chemistry ’01) and his wife on the birth of Landon this past February. While
Mike is surely busy with fatherhood, he recently presented at the Polymorphism and Crystallization conference in the
Netherlands on “Discovery and Selection of an Optimal Crystal Form for the Various Stages of Pharmaceutical
Development.” Mike also notes that, “in early 2012 I moved groups to Preformulation in the Pharmaceutical Sciences
and Clinical Supply organization and I am now an Associate Principal Scientist.”
Matt Kieber-Emmons (BS Chemistry ’02) tells us that he has accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry
at the University of Utah starting August 1, 2013. Matt is currently an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University in
Ed Solomon’s group.
Congratulations to Mike Kerrigan (BS Chemistry, ’03) and his wife Andrea Myers Kerrigan on the birth of their first
child, Grady Michael Kerrigan, who joined the Kerrigan family on May 27, 2013. The proud mother and father and
Grady live in Potomac, MD.
Paul Tarves (BS Chemistry, ’05) informs us that he recently earned his Ph.D. at Boston University. Paul’s thesis was
entitled “Coordination Chemistry of Mononuclear Non-Heme Iron Oxygenase Enzymes: Probing Differential of
Carboxylate and Phenolate Ligation Through Functional Synthetic Model Systems.” Paul is back in the Philadelphia
area at a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of the Sciences.
Kerry Salandria (BS Chemistry, ’06) is excited to tell us that she married fellow Hawk-Mate Dan Dykas (Food
Marketing, ’06) this past fall. After honeymooning in Hawaii, Kerry started working at Intelligent BioSystems where she
is producing Qiagen’s GeneReader for release later his year. The instrument uses Next-Generation Sequencing
(NGS) technology for determining DNA sequence composition, and Kerry is making fluorescently-labeled, reversibly
terminating nucleotide triphosphates for the instrument.
Ian Eisele (BS Chemistry ’06) writes, “After graduating from SJU in 2006 I began work on my Masters in Chemistry at
Villanova University and received my degree in 2012. During this time I began working at Agilent Technologies in 2009.
I met my wife at Agilent, where we sat right next to each other for 3 years. We married in 2012 and moved to Folsom,
California. Currently, I provide service and support for Agilent LCMS instrumentation all around the Pacific Northwest.”
Rebecca Mills (BS Chemistry, ’06) reports that she is now Chief Resident, Emergency Medicine at St. John Hospital
and Medical Center in Detroit, MI. Becca tells us, “I've been enjoying my time in Detroit and this year the chief duties
have added to the work but they’ve also been really fun. I’m looking into jobs now too, and I’m going to be coming back
home to Philly. My only regret is that I can’t stay on at my current hospital while living in Philly again, this hospital is
such a gem for EM. But I look forward to paying the department a visit when I’m back home again!”
David Bulkley (BS Chemistry, ’07) writes, “I graduated from Yale this August (2013) with a Ph.D. in Biophysical
Chemistry after working in the lab of Thomas Steitz doing X-ray crystallography. I'll be starting a postdoc this fall at
UCSF in the lab of Yifan Cheng working on cryo-electron microscopy.”
Tony Pozzessere (BS Chemistry ’07) reports that after graduating from Jefferson Medical College in 2011, he moved
west for his residency. Tony is finishing up his second year as a resident in general surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage

                                                            13
Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA.
After graduation in 2008, Dan Fabry (BS Chemistry ’08) reports that he was hired by NMS Labs in Willow Grove, PA to
do clinical and forensic therapeutic drug testing. In August of 2011, Dan left NMS Labs to join Haverford College’s
chemistry department as the Instrument Specialist. Shortly after taking the new job, Dan got married on September 10,
2011 to his wife Danielle. Dan is currently pursuing a M.S. degree in analytical chemistry from Villanova University.
Congratulations Dan!
Congratulations to Matt Ortlip (BS Chemistry, ’08) who is the proud new father of Matthew David Ortlip. Matt continues
to work at Gelest, where he was recently promoted to Associate Chemist and shift supervisor. Matt and family recently
purchased a house in Bucks County.
Congratulations to Drew Brandt (BS Chemistry, ’10) who
married Morgan Matecki (BS Marketing, ’10, MBA Marketing
’11) on April 19th in Malvern, PA. Drew is working for E.I.
                                                                 2010’s
duPont de Nemours and Company in Wilmington, DE as an
Associate Investigator focusing on the process development of next generation commercial refrigerants.
Val Stephens (BS Chemistry ’10) writes that she is now working as an Associate Chemist at BASF in Iselin, NJ after
previously working at Rive Technology.
Jackie Castorino (BS Chemistry, ’12) tells us that she started graduate school in June in the Drexel University School
of Education M.S. program. Jackie reports that she was also accepted into the Philadelphia Teacher Residency
Program through the Philadelphia Education Fund. Through this program, she’ll be working with an educator in an inner
city school, starting in September 2013, to get hands-on teaching experience. Jackie is also staying busy coaching
juniors out of Undine Barge Club (one of the boathouses on Boathouse Row) every afternoon, after coaching the
Shipley novice boys this past spring.
Ian McKendry (BS Chemistry, ’12) reports that he has just finished his first year of graduate school at Temple
University in the Chemistry Ph.D. program where he has joined the lab of Dr. Michael Zdilla, which is focused on
bioinorganic synthesis. Ian is already involved in a few projects including one focused on determining the best
manganese oxidation state for water oxidation using birnessite as a photosystem II substitute. Another project involves
synthesizing a dialkyl calcium complex with the goal of inserting it into manganese clusters to create structures similar
to those in photosystem II.
Chrissy Ott (BS Chemistry, ’12) writes, “I just finished up my first year of graduate school at University of Delaware in
the Biochemistry Division. I have joined the lab of Dr. Zhihao Zhuang, which focuses on understanding the chemistry
and biology of the post-translational modification, ubiquitination. My project largely focuses on studying eukaryotic
translesion synthesis and its involvement in tumorigenesis and chemotherapeutic resistance. My current project
involves developing an assay using the enzymes native substrate to study the kinetic parameters of the deubiquitinase,
USP1/UAF1. Another current project involves evaluating the effectiveness of different deubiquitinase inhibitors as
potential chemotherapeutics both in vitro and in an animal model.”

   We want to hear from you! Really, we do. If you like
   reading the alumni updates, please consider making a
   submission yourself so we can brag about you.
   Please visit the alumni page of our website at www.sju.edu/academics/cas/
   chemistry/alumapp.html (navigate there on your smart phone using the 2D bar
   code to the right) and send us your news and updated information by completing
   the form. You may also send your replies by mail to: Department of Chemistry,
   Saint Joseph’s University, 5600 City Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19131 or email us at:
   mforman@sju.edu

                                                           14
The McGroddy Frontiers in Science Seminar Series was          research investigating the mechanisms
launched with a gift from Dr. James C. McGroddy ’58, a        of metalloproteins and the design of new,
retired vice president from IBM. The series, which focuses    biomimetic catalysts and the molecular
on interdisciplinary research, brings to campus researchers   mechanisms of these processes has
who discuss their work at the frontier of the natural         attracted international acclaim. Some of
sciences. Each year, the Departments of Biology,              his many awards include being named A.
Chemistry and Physics, and the University’s chapter of        C. Cope Scholar (1989), the Alfred
Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, host speakers in   Bader Award in Bioorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry
the series. This past fall, Dr. John T. Groves gave the       (1996), National Science Foundation Extension Award for
McGroddy Frontiers in Science Seminar entitled                Special Creativity, (2008-2011), Frontiers in Biological
“Hydroxylations by the Novel Heme-thiolate Peroxygenase       Chemistry Award (2009), and ACS Ira Remsen Award
APO and Extrapolations to P450 Enzymes and Model              (2010). He is a member of the National Academy of
Systems.” Dr. Groves is currently the Hugh Scott Taylor       Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Chair of Chemistry at Princeton University where his

    Elsa Reichmanis to Present 2013-2014
    McGroddy Frontiers in Science Lecture
 Elsa Reichmanis is a Professor of Chemical and Council (NRC) activities including
 Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of service as co-chair of the NRC
 Technology. Prior to joining Georgia Tech she was Bell Board on Chemical Sciences and
 Labs Fellow and Director of the Materials Research Technology, she served as a
 Department at Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent. She has had member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, was a
 impact on the field of microlithography, which is central to member of the Visiting Committee on Advanced
 the manufacture of electronic devices. Her work has Technology of the National Institute of Standards and
 contributed to the development of a molecular level Technology (NIST), and currently serves as a member of the
 understanding of how chemical structure affects materials NSF Math and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee and
 function leading to new families of lithographic materials Advisory Committee on Environmental Research and
 and processes for advanced VLSI manufacturing. She has Education. She is an elected member of the Bureau of the
 explored the design and characterization of “closed-pore” International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry
 nanoporous low-dielectric constant (k > 1.4) materials (IUPAC), and she served as 2003 President of the American
 exhibiting a high degree of mechanical and environmental Chemical Society. Elsa Reichmanis is an Associate Editor of
 stability. She is currently exploring active, polymer and the ACS Journal, Chemistry of Materials. She has been married
 hybrid organic/inorganic materials chemistries and to Frank Purcell since 1979 and they have four children;
 processes for plastic electronics, photovoltaics and photonic Patrick, Elizabeth and twins, Edward and Thomas. She can
 technologies. She has more than 150 publications, has given be reached at ereichmanis@chbe.gatech.edu and additional
 more than 150 invited presentations, is the holder of over 20 information is available on her research group website,
 U.S. patents and is an editor of 5 books. Elsa Reichmanis www.reichmanis.chbe.gatech.edu.
 received her Ph. D. and BS degrees in chemistry from
 Syracuse University. After joining Bell Labs, she was
                                                                  Elsa Reichmanis will give the 2013-
 promoted to Supervisor of the Radiation Sensitive Materials
 and Application Group in 1984, followed by promotion to 2014 McGroddy Frontiers in Science
 Head of the Polymer and Organic Materials Research
 Department in 1994. She is the recipient of several awards
                                                                  Seminar on Wednesday, March 26,
 and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in                         2014 at 4 PM.
 1995. She has participated in several National Research15
Student Profile: Bobby Carden                                               Interview by Anna Kesaris

Robert Carden, known as Bobby by faculty and students, will      “I just love helping students foster
graduate in May 2014 from SJU. Bobby has taken full              a love for science to carry with
advantage of the many opportunities at SJU by balancing his      them for their whole lives, even if
Chemistry major with a Music minor, extracurriculars, and        they don’t stick with their major. I
independent research. After graduation, he plans on pursuing     love helping people find the
a Chemistry Ph.D. in the area of bioinorganic chemistry and      beauty in chemistry, when I see
would like to become a chemistry professor.                      the smile on their face when they
                                                                 get something right nothing else
Bobby is not only passionate about teaching and chemistry; he
                                                                 can compare to that.”
has also become involved in the Music Department at SJU.
He first starred in plays at SJU his freshman year when he was Beginning in the summer following his freshman year, Bobby
in Phantom of the Opera, and he has since been in Jesus Christ joined Dr. Peter Graham’s lab to learn about inorganic
Superstar, Miss Saigon, and Rent.                                chemistry and get more hands-on experience in a research lab.
                                                                 Bobby now has worked with Dr. Graham for three
Bobby also has taken voice lessons and music classes, and
                                                                 consecutive summers and their results were recently published
comments, “I was always interested in music, but at Saint Joe’s
                                                                 in the journal Organometallics. Bobby comments on his
I found I could do all these things while being a science major.
                                                                 experience, “I love Dr. Graham to death, he has been such a
I am in music theory classes, and it connects to the way I learn
                                                                 mentor to me, he was my General Chemistry teacher and he
chemistry. The way chord progressions come together to form
                                                                 has been in my chemistry life at Saint Joe’s since the beginning.
melodies and harmonies, there are rules you have to follow,
                                                                 I would not be where I am today without him.”
and I can easily do that with the way I think as a scientist.”
                                                                 Bobby discusses his relationship with his fellow chemistry
Bobby continues, “I just love that the way I learn students and professors, “All of the Chemistry majors in our

chemistry connects to the way I learn music. The class are phenomenal. The professors are constantly
                                                                 challenging us to make us do better, and they are a wonderful
systematic way chemistry and music work make support system, that is what the Department of Chemistry is.”
them beautiful.”                                                  “I want to be a mixture of all of the teachers at Saint Joe’s. I
                                                                  want to be as adorable as Dr. Graham, as smart as Dr.
Asked about his favorite part of chemistry, Bobby answers,
                                                                  Forman, as funny as Dr. Zurbach, and as old and crazy as Dr.
“It’s everything. I love the material, I have loved all of my
                                                                  Berbarian. So I think they all have qualities about them that
Chemistry classes and I love working with students, especially
                                                                  make them so unique, and every single one of the teachers in
freshman. I was the RA on the freshman LRC [Learning
                                                                  the department has inspired me and my goal is to inspire
Residential Community for SJU Science majors] and I just
                                                                  someone the way they inspired me, to do great things and as a
loved working with them, helping them out, and listening to all
                                                                  teacher take the ideals they set in me and share them with my
of their experiences. I just love the atmosphere of collegiate
                                                                  future students.”
learning.”

Along with being the RA for the Science LRC, Bobby has Reflecting on his journey into his senior year, Carden says “I
worked has a TA for the General Chemistry lab, is a member walked on campus it was May 31st of my
of the American Chemical Society, and the Sigma Xi Scientific
Research Society. He also has served as a member of the Peer junior year of high school and no one else made
Review Board and worked as a chemistry tutor and SI leader me feel the way Saint Joe’s did. I don’t regret the
for General Chemistry.
                                                                  decision ever.”
Bobby explains why he loves his role as a tutor and SI leader:

                                                                16
Student Profile: Elena Montoto                                                Interview by Anna Kesaris

Elena Montoto, ’14 has taken full advantage of the numerous Graduate School. I was in between
opportunities that have come her way as a student in the Graduate or Pharmacy, and the
Chemistry department.                                       experience really helped me decide
“When it came to choosing my major I knew I wanted to what I wanted to do.”
major in Chemistry. I loved it from the start, and I always          Elena is currently preparing for the
knew I had made the right choice. There are so many different        GRE’s with plans to attend
subdivisions within Chemistry, and you get to learn about so         graduate school and pursue a
many different things. I think it’s awesome,” said Montoto.          Ph.D. in Materials Science after she
Elena has worked with Dr. Mark Forman, chair of the                  graduates from SJU this year. She
Chemistry department, in organic chemical research since her         contributes her decision to join
sophomore year at SJU. The Forman group synthesizes non-             graduate school to the support she has gotten from her fellow
natural products that possess unique properties and enhanced         professors and students in the Chemistry Department. A
reactivity as a result of forced deviations from their ideal         leader in the Chemistry Department, Elena reflected on the
geometries. In particular, they are interested in the effects that   support system she had her past three years at SJU:
bond angle distortion have on the structure and properties of        “The Chemistry Department is like a family.
alkenes. Such strained alkenes have only a fleeting existence
and special methods are required to synthesize and study             It’s great that the Chemistry Department is so
them. As a member of Dr. Forman’s research team, Elena has
                                                                     small. In my year I am 1 of 7 students, and it
presented her work at a National Meeting of the American
Chemical Society and in Seattle for the National Organic             is always our little group. We are all so close to
Symposium.
                                                                     the professors, and when we study we study
In addition, Elena also was recently accepted into the McNulty
Fellows Program for outstanding women majoring in science            together and help each other out; there is not a
or math and is being sponsored to continue her research. As a        competitive environment. All of the professors
result, she was able to attend a Women’s Leadership
Conference in May.                                                   know you by your first name. You can talk to
Elena also applied for the DOW-MIT ACCESS Program, into              any of them about anything, and they are
which she was accepted. Elena attended a weekend-long
conference at MIT where she was able to attend presentations
                                                                     always there if you need help,” said Elena.
by MIT professors, meet current graduate students and hear           Elena has proven herself to be adventurous, intelligent, and
the inside scoop on applying to graduate school. Finally, she        driven as a student at SJU. Her accomplishments in the
had the opportunity to attend a lecture by MIT chemistry             laboratory and classroom have put her at the top of the class
professor and recent Nobel Laureate, Richard R. Schrock.             and have set her up for future success after her SJU career.
Although she was set on studying Chemistry in high school
and was determined to adventure out and study at a school far
from her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Elena probably
never imagined that she would have the opportunity to attend
lectures at MIT.
Elena reflected on her experience at MIT saying, “Dr. Forman
showed me I could apply for these programs; he helped me
realize I had so many opportunities that SJU allowed for me to
be a part of. This program is the reason that I want to go to

                                                                 17
Commencement
    2013

                                             Left to right: Danielle Houchins, Meg Roeder, Chris Millet, Michelle Piotrowski, Mike Montemarano, Dana
                                                       Krajcsik, Avery Vilbert, Brady Werkheiser, Nicholas Murry, Anthony Salvia, EuTchen Ang

                 2013 B.S. IN CHEMISTRY                                             2013 B.S. IN CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
         EuTchen Ang             Michelle Piotrowski                                           Drew Kaneps
        Danielle Houchins           Meg Roeder                                                  Chris Millet
         Dana Krajcsik            Anthony Salvia                                             Mike Montemarano
         David Manion            Brady Werkheiser                                              Avery Vilbert
         Nicholas Murry

The SJU Chemistry family greeted its newest group of                Nick was on the Dean’s list every semester and graduated
alumni on May 13 as the Department honored its                      Magna Cum Laude. Nick is
undergraduate students at the 2013 Commencement                     also       an     accomplished
Weekend.                                                            percussionist and an active
On the Friday before Commencement, EuTchen Ang was                  volunteer for a number of
                             awarded the ACS Award for              groups. After graduating, Nick
                             Scholastic Excellence at the           started as an Associate
                             Undergraduate          Awards          Researcher at the Mount Sinai
                             Ceremony. Chosen for this              School of Medicine where he
                             award based on his high                is investigating pancreatic beta
                             academic achievement and               -cell regeneration for the treatment of diabetes.
                             outstanding           research         Also honored at the Awards Ceremony was Avery Vilbert,
                             accomplishments,      EuTchen          who received the Chemical Biology Award at the
                             was inducted into the Phi Beta         ceremony. Avery graduated Cum
Kappa Honor Society as a junior. During his time at SJU,            Laude and was inducted into Sigma
EuTchen was President of the National Society of                    Xi National Scientific Honor Society
Collegiate Scholars and Vice-President of the Molloy                and Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-
Chemical Society. As a three-year Summer Scholar,                   medical honor society. Avery is
EuTchen investigated the biochemical mechanism of                   attending   graduate     school   in
heme-based oxygen-sensing proteins and presented his                Chemistry and Biochemistry at
research at the recent ACS National Meeting in New                  Cornell University.
Orleans. EuTchen began graduate studies in chemistry at     Prior  to   the   commencement
Princeton University in the fall.                           ceremony, students and their
Nicholas (Nick) Murry received the American Institute of families joined department faculty and staff in the Science
Chemists Award for Scholastic Achievement at the Awards Center to enjoy a reception honoring the graduates.
Ceremony in recognition of his academic ability, leadership
and professional promise. A resident of New York, NY,
                                                                           Congratulations Class of 2013!
                                                               18
Current
Faculty
  and
 Staff

                   From left to right: Back row: Jose Cerda, John Longo, John Berberian, Roger Murray, Mark Forman, Peter Zurbach
                                        Front row: Barbara Neff, Kathy Gordon, Mark Reynolds, Usha Rao, Jean Smolen
                                                                Not pictured: Peter Graham

     Dr. Mark A. Forman, Professor and Chair, Organic Chemistry                               mforman@sju.edu
     Dr. John G. Berberian, Professor, Physical Chemistry                                       jberberi@sju.edu
     Dr. José F. Cerda, Assistant Professor, Physical Chemistry                                   jcerda@sju.edu
     Mrs. Kathleen Gordon, Administrative Assistant                                           kgordo01@sju.edu
     Dr. Peter M. Graham, Assistant Professor, Inorganic Chemistry                             pgraham@sju.edu
     Mr. John Longo, Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator                                              longo@sju.edu
     Dr. Roger K. Murray, Professor, Organic Chemistry                                          rmurray@sju.edu
     Mrs. Barbara B. Neff, Chemistry Resource Coordinator/Purchasing                               bneff@sju.edu
     Dr. Usha Rao, Associate Professor, Environmental Chemistry                                     urao@sju.edu
     Dr. Mark F. Reynolds, Associate Professor, Inorganic Biochemistry                       mreynolds@sju.edu
     Dr. Jean M. Smolen, Associate Professor, Environmental Chemistry                           jsmolen@sju.edu
     Dr. E. Peter Zurbach, Associate Professor, Analytical Chemistry                          pzurbach@sju.edu

                                            The Hawk Chemist
                                            The Hawk Chemist is co-produced by Mark Forman and Peter
                                            Graham. To contribute alumni news or to submit feedback, go to our
                                            Web page, www.sju.edu/academics/cas/chemistry/alumapp.html, or
    follow the links from the Chemistry Department homepage, www.sju.edu/academics/cas/chemistry/.                    You
    may also email mforman@sju.edu or write to: Mark Forman, Department of Chemistry, Saint Joseph’s
    University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131.

                                                         19
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