Chemistry Department Annual Report 2023 cover in Orange

Introduction

Welcome to the Chemistry Annual Report.

Wow, what a year in the Chemistry Department! We have lots of info to share with you about faculty, staff, and student accomplishments throughout the year, so please read on.

I just want to take a little space at the beginning of the 2022-23 Annual Report to share a bit about changing faces around the department. We were very pleased to have Kate Sammons and Rachel Horness join us this past year, and we are fortunate that Rachel is back for another round in 2023-24. In February, we welcomed Carrie Flesch as our new lab manager and instrument technician. Carrie hit the ground running and has been a wonderful support to the teaching and research we are doing in the department, and we are so pleased to have her on the team!

As if that weren’t enough, we have THREE new faculty members this fall: Kaz Skubi ’11 and Tamra Lahom have joined in tenure-track Assistant Professor positions, and Isaac Blythe has started as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Kaz is a synthetic organic chemist joining us most recently from teaching stints at St. Olaf College (we won’t hold that against him) and Skidmore College, and before that PhD work at University of Wisconsin and postdoctoral research at Yale. Tamra is a biochemist who just finished her PhD work at Emory University last summer and is joining us this fall before taking a break to join Squire Booker’s lab at Penn State for a postdoc before she returns full time. Isaac also received their PhD from University of Michigan last summer for work in synthetic organometallic chemistry (a field near and dear to my heart) with Melanie Sanford, and will be teaching introductory and inorganic chemistry courses this year. These new members (plus Carrie and Rachel, who joined somewhat recently) have brought a tremendous amount of energy and great new ideas in the department, and it is shaping up to be a great year!

With all of these new faces, we also will be saying goodbye to some cherished colleagues. Prof. Dave Alberg retired at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, a momentous event that was celebrated by “Dave Alberg Day” in the fall. Prof. Will Hollingsworth is also currently in his final year teaching at Carleton, and we intend to celebrate him in style as the year draws to a close. Many alumni carry such fond memories of Dave’s Orgo 1 and Will’s Quantum Chemistry courses, and we will really miss seeing them every day and working closely together, though we fully expect that they won’t be strangers.

On a sad note, we bid farewell to longtime colleague Chuck Carlin, who passed away in January of this year. I encourage you all to read the extensive entries from friends and alumni in the Carleton Farewells page. It was really a joy for me to experience secondhand some of Chuck’s impact on students and colleagues.

Amidst all this change, we are also currently searching for a tenure-track physical chemist to join our department, so I hope to have more exciting updates when we reconnect again this time next year! For now, I hope you’ll enjoy reading updates from graduating seniors, faculty, and Carleton classmates.

Matt Whited
Professor and Chair, Chemistry

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Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Respect (DIER) in Chemistry

We continue to work on making the Chemistry Department a place where everyone feels valued. We want to affirm our commitment to supporting you all whenever and however we can. We continue to explore the ways in which we can improve in developing the talents of, and empowering, scientists from backgrounds that have not traditionally been well-represented, in order to change chemistry for the better, and we count you as important partners in our efforts to identify and address these issues.

Our values statement and departmental action items can be found in our webpage. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the Chemistry Department if you have any questions or want to discuss DEIR issues further.

Also, see the American Chemical Society’s statement on Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect in Chemistry.

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The Class of 2023

Michael H. Berler – San Francisco, CA – While at Carleton Michael played varsity baseball for four years, worked as a sports medicine director and enjoyed playing a variety of IM sports. His interests in neurosystem regulation and meditation got him involved in remote research from UCSF where he is part of a team investigating General Surgery Resident wellbeing and the effects of medication as a burnout intervention in medical professionals. Additionally, Michael has been working as a Crossfit coach while at Carleton at a local gym and works as an EMT for Northfield Hospital and Clinics. He plans to continue working in emergency medicine while researches and applies for medical school.

Eledon S. Beyene – Lincoln, NE

Sean C. Boyce – Silver Spring, MD – Sean spent two years working on computational zeolite research at Carleton in Dani’s lab. He is an avid bridge player and juggler, as well as being involved with IM and club soccer, broomball, and volleyball. He plans to spend the summer with family before working in a lab as a bridge to graduate school in a year or two.

Nora Caballero – Pittsburgh, PA – Nora was a musician and an active member of the performing arts community at Carleton. During her time on campus, Nora’s hobbies were knitting and performing classical music. She worked in Professor Deborah Gross’ lab studying the PM2.5 emissions from biomass fuel burning from household cooking events. This summer Nora plans to travel a lot and take some time away from academics to decide next life steps.

Cole S. Cadaram – Federal Way, WA – While at Carleton, Cole was a chemistry lab TA, NSW Leader, Arb Crew worker, KRLX DJ, and he played jazz guitar in various groups. Cole has a drink named after him at The Contented Cow, “The Cole Pour”. Last summer he researched heterogeneous catalysts with Dr. Shannon Stahl at UW-Madison. This fall Cole will begin his PhD at MIT, focusing on electrochemistry and catalysis.

Eway Cai – Chengdu, China – Eway is interested in research in both chemistry and biology and have worked in the lab of David Alberg/Gretchen Hofmeister. She will be attending the Molecular and Cell Biology PhD program at UC Berkeley.

Ben Chao – Rocky River, OH – Ben was a Chemistry and Music double major while at Carleton. His hobbies included running and playing jazz saxophone. For his senior Chemistry comps project, he had the opportunity to work in professor Steven Drew’s research lab. The project dealt with testing methods for electrodeposition of metals to create semiconductors to catalyze water splitting for hydrogen fuel production. His interests include physical and electrochemistry as well as renewable energy.

Yoonho Choi – Seoul  

Jackson M. Cleveland – River Falls, WI

William Y. Feng – Iowa City, IA

Connor J. Grayzel – Concord, MA – During his time at Carleton, Connor’s fingers were in many pies. A four-year varsity soccer player, avid climber, skier, and Cannon River swimmer, Connor remained in motion; and as a Writing Consultant who took many Art History, normal History, and Religion courses he often ventured beyond the high walls of Anderson. Next year Connor will help teach English and Chemistry at a secondary school in Spain before beginning medical school the following fall.

Seraphel Grosser – Washington DC – Sera was vice president of Aikido club and Co-president of the Carleton Role Playing Association (CRPA). Last summer, she participated in an REU at Miami University investigating the localization of the TAT system in cyanobacteria. She plans on seeking 1-2 year employment as a lab technician before considering graduate school.

Wenlai Han – Changsha, China – As one of the first residents of the Anderson 325 synthetic lab, Wenlai conducted three years of research with Matt at Carleton. While mentoring newbies in the lab, his research focused on extending the established silylene into a catalytic system and exploring other intriguing pincer-type group 9 metal complexes. He also enjoys helping chemistry students out with NMR and other experimental result analysis. In his leisure time, he sings classical art songs and pop songs, and playing piano with friends in the Weitz practice rooms. During the summer of 2022, he joined Prof. Alison Wendlandt and Dr. Yuan Zhang at MIT, studying selective amine stereo editing through photochemical approaches. After graduation and a long-awaited visit to China for families and friends, Wenlai will join the MIT chemistry graduate program, aiming to leverage chemistry’s potential for real-life impact, as a legacy of his interests in facilitating effective human computer interaction.  

Gavin Hazen – Gilbert, AZ – While at Carleton, Gavin’s hobbies included climbing, working out, and playing piano. He participated in a medical startup company, researching the creation of novel nano-emulsions for efficient drug uptake. And for the last two years, he worked in Dr. Steven Drew’s lab at Carleton to explore the creation of FeCrAl mixed metal oxide semiconductors for potential use in renewable hydrogen production. This upcoming year, Gavin will begin pursuing his PhD in analytical chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Ella I. Hein – Prairie Du Chien, WI – while at Carleton Ella was a director for Carleton’s Jazz and Contemporary Dance Company, while also involved in Nordic skiing, the experimental dance board, and drawing club. She worked in the makerspace, as a sustainability liason for Bon Appetit, and as a research assistant for Harvard spinout Metalmark Innovations. Next year she will be continuing to work for Metalmark while also pursuing a Masters of Science in Data Science at UBC.

Viet Anh Hoang – Warsaw, Mazowieckie 02-797  

Tatiana A. Jimenez – Antioch, CA – Tatiana was a member of TRIO and Focus, and worked as a TRIO peer leader and Focus mentor during her time at Carleton. Tatiana enjoyed spending time in the arb and playing volleyball with her Carleton friends. Last summer, she worked in Dr. Kate Carroll’s lab at UF Scripps and created small molecule probes to investigate post-translational protein modifications. Next year, she plans to pursue her PhD in chemistry at UC Berkeley.

Helen J. Jin-Lee – Rochester, MN – Helen will go home to Rochester to enter the workforce for a year or two while preparing to apply to medical school. During her undergraduate year, she did research in Dr. Ian Parney’s lab at the Mayo Clinic working on the role of extracellular vesicles in immunosuppression in glioblastoma freshman year summer; in Dr. Haidong Dong’s lab at the Mayo Clinic working on the role of CXCR3 in the efficacy of anti-PD-L1 cancer therapy sophomore year summer; in Professor Matt Whited’s lab working with Wenlai Han on silylene-assisted nitrene transfer junior fall and winter; and in Dr. Justin Kim’s lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute working on small molecule probes for drug target identification junior summer. On campus, Helen was a prefect, lab TA, and PSF for organic chemistry. She was involved in the running club, table tennis club, and the Chinese Music Ensemble.

Ethan Li – Beijing – Ethan worked with Prof. Drew for two summers while at Carleton, studying Fe-Cr-Al mixed metal oxide thin films for renewable energy storage. During his time here, Ethan enjoyed singing with the Carleton Choir, beatboxing and singing with the Carleton Singing Knights, and playing Intramural Soccer and “Summer Soccer” with his friends. Ethan will be starting his Chemistry PhD Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the fall.  

Felix H. Lion – Seattle, WA – Felix was president of the Carleton Brewing Club and social captain of CHOP, Carleton’s nationally competitive DIII Frisbee team. While at Carleton, Felix played cello in classical chamber groups and foraged for morels in the Arb. Last summer he completed an internship in the Quality Lab at Molson Coors Beverage Company in Golden, CO. He will return to Coors in the Fall to begin working full time as a lab tech in the Quality Lab. He plans to pursue engineering, chemical or otherwise, after a year or two.

Thomas J. Lisko – Eden Prairie, MN

Jack B. Mathieu – Topsham, ME

Noah L. Mueller – Biel, Switzerland – Noah came to Carleton to play varsity tennis and be part of the collaborative intellectual community. Outside of the court, Noah co-led the Carleton chapter of the Food Recovery Network and loved working as an orgo PSF in the department. The last summer and during senior year, he worked in Joe Chihade’s lab on campus, attempting to express recombinant helminth aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in E. coli. In August, Noah will start a two-year postgrad researcher position in Grace Chen’s Lab at the Yale School of Medicine, where he will investigate the circular RNAs and their roles in immunity or pathogeny.

Michaela A. Polley – Saint Paul, MN – While at Carleton, Michaela was a board member for Gender Minorities in Mathematics and Statistics and Carleton Democrats and served as an Student Departmental Advisor (SDA) for the math department. She did research with Rob Thompson and Eric Egge in the math department, polymer chemistry research at the University of Minnesota in Prof. Chris Ellison’s lab, and did theoretical chemistry research at Northwestern University in Prof. George Schatz’s lab. Starting this fall, Michaela will be pursuing a Fulbright Fellowship to do research in enumerative combinatorics at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria.

Hantao Qiang – Beijing  

Aleksander D. Rabago – Hershey, PA

Alexandria Rowell – South Portland, ME -Alex was a Dining Manager, RA, and Chaplain’s Associate at various points at their time at Carleton. They also captained the D3 ultimate frisbee team Eclipse for two years, leading them to place third and then second at college Nationals. This summer, Alex will return to Maine.

Nell Schafer – Oakland, CA – Nell was a chemistry major and the captain of the varsity cross country and track teams. Last summer, Nell was part of the NASA Student Airborne Research Project and then participated in the winter break Ethiopia OCS‚ “Climate Change and Human Health”. Through these experiences, she discovered an interest in atmospheric chemistry and will be joining NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory for the next year to do atmospheric chemistry research.

Lucy Shapiro – Evanston, IL – Lucy worked as a Food and Environmental Justice Fellow in the Center for Community and Civic Engagement and was involved in many sustainability initiatives at Carleton. After graduating she is going to work at a nonprofit with the ultimate goal of going into environmental policy.

Elijah L. Shore – Ann Arbor, MI

Hala Soliman – North Liberty, IA – Soliman was a member of the softball team for all 4 years. While at Carleton Soliman worked in the ceramics studio and as a TA for the chemistry department. For two summers (2021 & 2022) Soliman participated in summer research at the University of Iowa. One of these opportunities being a NSF funded REU in nanotechnology. During winter break 2022 Soliman went abroad to Ethiopia to research clean cookstoves, this project was lead by Professors Tsegaye Nega and Deborah Gross. After graduation, Soliman will be attending Colorado State University for a PhD in chemistry.

Will Stepanski – Villa Park, CA – Will was on the tennis team and has worked as a TA for multiple chemistry classes at Carleton. After graduation, Will plans to spend his gap year preparing for medical school.

Leah Stroebel – Saint Paul, MN – While at Carleton, Leah was a member of the club tennis team, taking a position as captain her last two years. Last summer she worked with Dr. Kandimalla at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy working to better understand the insulin signaling pathway of the blood brain barrier and its potential effects on Alzheimer’s disease. After graduation, Leah will start work at the Amarasinghe lab at Washington University in St. Louis, where she will study protein structure and mechanism of Ebola viral protein 30.

Allison Teichman – Springfield, IL – While at Carleton, Allison was a Ring official in the Chemistry department and worked for two years as a Spanish TA. She spent her summers working with nonprofit organizations and next year will embark on a Fulbright grant to teach English in Spain. After returning to the United States she plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in pediatrics.

Rainey Tilley – South Pasadena, CA – As a member of both the Women’s Soccer and Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field teams, Rainey was highly involved in Carleton athletics. Additionally, she worked numerous jobs while at Carleton, including as a residential assistant, Organic Chemistry problem solving facilitator, and a nursing assistant at the Northfield Retirement Community. Rainey is currently applying to medical school with the hopes of matriculating in the fall of 2024.

Ellie Vandel – Salt Lake City, UT – While at Carleton, Ellie played for the D1 ultimate frisbee team, Syzygy, and captained her senior year. Last summer she worked with professors Daniela Kohen and Matt Whited here in the Carleton Chemistry department. They explored the reaction mechanisms of an organometallic catalyst developed in the Whited experimental lab with computational methods. Next year, Ellie will be attending graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign to work toward a PhD in chemistry.

Weiland Wang – Chicago, IL – Weiland was a TRIO peer leader and worked as a student medical assistant on campus. While at Carleton, Weiland’s hobbies included playing volleyball, weightlifting, and cooking. Last summer, he worked at Dr. Huang’s lab at Purdue University to explore and understand oncogene NatD localization and mutagenesis on kinetic activity. This following gap year, Weiland will work as a medical scribe and volunteer at clinics before applying to medical school.

Emma I. Watson – Duluth, MN – Emma was a Chemistry/Geology double major and involved with student-faculty computational chemistry research with Matt Whited and Daniela Kohen for two years. Outside of classes, Emma was a captain of the Nordic ski team and enjoyed being a class and lab TA. Next year, Emma will be working as a 5th year geology research assistant with Dan Maxbauer, looking at agricultural applications of enhanced silicate weathering.

Contact Tami Little if you would like your information to be updated.

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Student Honors and Awards

JAMES ADAMS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR POSITIVITY

Caleb K. Wataoka ’24

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Arden W. Clauss ’24

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY

Margaret A. Hall ’25

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Cole S. Cadaram

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Lora Randa

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN Physical CHEMISTRY

Felix H. Lion

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMISTRY

Helen J. Jin-Lee

B.A. DEGREE WITH LATIN HONORS

Summa Cum Laude – Helen J. Jin-Lee

Magna Cum Laude – Sean C. Boyce, William Y. Feng, Connor Grayzel, Wenlai Han, Gavin Hazen, Felix H. Lion, Noah L. Mueller, Nell Schafer, Allison L. Teichman

Cum Laude – Cole Cadaram, Yiwei Cai, Yichen Li, Thomas J. Lisko, Michaela Polley, Hantao Qiang, Alexandria W. Rowell, Leah Stroebel, Eleanor L. Vandel

SCOTT TYLER BERGNER PRIZE

Helen J. Jin-Lee

WARREN L. BESON MEMORIAL AWARD

Stephen C. Lavey

BISCOTTI AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING SEMINAR ATTENDANCE

Sean C. Boyce, Helen J. Jin-Lee

CHARLES CARLIN PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

Hala E. Soliman

DISTINCTION IN THE MAJOR

Sean C. Boyce, Cole S. Cadaram, Jackson M. Cleveland, Connor J. Grayzel, Wenlai Han, Gavin S. Hazen, Tatiana A. Jimenez, Helen J. Jin-Lee, Felix H. Lion, Leah Stroebel, Rainey Tilley

DISTINCTION ON THE SENIOR INTEGRATIVE EXERCISE

Sean C. Boyce, Cole S. Cadaram, Jackson M. Cleveland, Connor J. Grayzel, Wenlai Han, Gavin S. Hazen, Tatiana A. Jimenez, Helen J. Jin-Lee, Felix H. Lion, Leah Stroebel, Rainey Tilley

FRANZ EXNER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN CHEMISTRY

Gavin S. Hazen, Tatiana A. Jimenez, Allison L. Teichman

JAMES FINHOLT PRIZE IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Ethan Li

FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP

Michaela A. Polley, Allison L. Teichman

STEVEN P. GALOVICH PRIZE IN MATHEMATICS

Michaela A. Polley

LAURENCE MCKINLEY GOULD PRIZE IN NATURAL SCIENCE

Tatiana A. Jimenez

PROFESSOR ROY F. GROW ENDOWED FELLOWSHIP FUND

Caleb K. Wataoka

ROBERT J. KOLENKOW AND ROBERT A. REITZ FELLOWSHIP FOR STUDENT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Seraphel Grosser

HYME LOSS AWARD FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

Viet Anh Hoang

JERRY MOHRIG PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

Wenlai Han

MORTAR BOARD

Amanda H. Khouw ’24, Frank T. Sheffield ’24, Vasilii Vaganov ’24, Weiland Wang, Caleb K. Wataoka ’24,

PHI BETA KAPPA

Sean C. Boyce, Yiwei Cai, Jackson M. Cleveland, Connor J. Grayzel, Wenlai Han, Gavin S. Hazen, Helen J. Jin-Lee, Felix H. Lion, Noah L. Mueller, Eleanor L. Vandel

RICHARD RAMETTE TEACHING AWARDS

Ethan Li, Noah L. Mueller, Emma I. Watson

THE REEVE PRIZE

Helen J. Jin-Lee

SIGMA XI

Elinor D. Caballero, Cole S. Cadaram, Yiwei Cai, Bennett A. Chao, Connor J. Grayzel, Seraphel Grosser, Wenlai Han, Helen J. Jin-Lee, Felix H. Lion, Noah L. Mueller, Michaela A. Polley, Hantao Qiang

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Off-Campus Student Research Presentations

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR AEROSOL RESEARCH
Nora D. Caballero
Margaret A. Hall ’25
Ella I. Hein
Austin Heuer ’19
Audrey M. Parrott ’25
Alek D. Rabago
Diana Rodriguez ’22
Mehreen M. Shahid ’25

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY NATIONAL MEETING
Sean Boyce
Katherine Geist ’24
Gavin S. Hazen
Ethan Li
Eleanor L. Vandel
Emma Watson

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Sara Abraha ’25
Eledon Beyene
Meredith Klay ’24
Noah Mueller
Lora Randa

FORTY-ONE MIDWEST UNDERGRADUATE COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY CONFERENCE
Katherine Geist ’24
Aidan Khan ’25
Claire Lee-Zacheis ’26
Nathan Wang ’26
Henry Wolters ‘ 26

THIRTEENTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF AMINOACYL-tRNA SYNTHETASES
Sara Abraha ’25
Alison Block ’22
Samuel Diaz de Leon ’18
Molly Kamman ’22
Noah Mueller
Jevon Robinson ’22
Seth Warner ’21
David Wilson ’22

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Enrollments

Fall 2022

CourseStudentsFaculty
122, Introduction to Chemistry26Sammons
123, Principles of Chemistry & Lab44Horness
224, Principles of Chemistry II & Lab46Drew
233-1, Organic Chemistry I & Lab24Alberg
233-2, Organic Chemistry I & Lab22Chihade, Sammons
301, Chemical Kinetics Laboratory30Calderone, Ferrett
338, Comp & Electronics Chem Instr6Drew
343, Chemical Thermodynamics24Hollingsworth
371, Chem & Soc-Impact and Legacy9Kohen
394, Student-Faculty Research15Staff
400, Integrative Exercise5Staff

Winter 2023

CourseStudentsFaculty
123-1, Principles of Chemistry I & Lab23Calderone
123-2, Principles of Chemistry I w/ Problem Solving22Kohen
224, Principles Chemistry II & Lab34Gross, Horness
233, Organic Chemistry I & Lab49Chihade
234, Organic Chemistry II & Lab46Sammons
289, Climate & Health: Sci to Pract11Gross, Nega
302, Quantum Spectroscopy Laboratory20Ferrett
330,331, Instrumental Chemical Analysis16Drew
344, Quantum Chemistry28Ferrett
394, Student-Faculty Research16Staff
400, Integrative Exercise41Staff

Spring 2023

CourseStudentsFaculty
123, Principles of Chemistry I & Lab38Horness
128, Prin-Environmental Chem & Lab4Hollingsworth
224, Principles Chemistry II & Lab47Gross
234, Organic Chemistry II & Lab53Sammons, Chihade
292, Independent Research2Staff
348, Intro to Computational Chem14Kohen
349, Computational Chem Lab14Kohen
351, Inorganic Chemistry23Whited
352, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory12Whited
394, Student-Faculty Research28Staff
400, Integrative Exercise36Staff

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Faculty and Staff Activities

David G. Alberg, 1993-2023, Professor Emeritus, 2023-. B.A., Carleton College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.

As of August 31, 2023, I completed my 30th year as a Carleton Professor.  I celebrated the milestone anniversary by choosing to cross an even greater milestone – I’ve retired!  My decision to retire is not due any dissatisfaction with the job – I can’t imagine a better gig!  I know I will sorely miss working with the curious and enthusiastic Carleton students (admittedly, there are a few things I won’t miss, like grading exams!).  Thirty years just felt like the right time.  Our two kids, Sam and Ellie, are fully launched and we’ve even welcomed a wonderful daughter-in-law to our family with Sam’s recent marriage to Katherine Snell.  I still enjoy good health and, happily, I remain able and willing to run in the Arb every other day – often with Steve Drew pushing me to run a bit faster than I might like.  The Arb is a favorite place of mine and spending time there helps maintain both my physical and mental health.  I am also fortunate to have many good friends whom I see regularly, and other friends with whom I would like to reconnect.  Retirement offers precious time to savor this very good life!

Of course, people ask me what I’m going to do in my retirement.  At this point, I’m not entirely sure, so I’m taking a gap year to figure that out.  My wife, Gretchen, is returning to the department after 7 years working in the Dean’s office, so I’ll keep things running at home while she shakes off the rust and returns to the classroom.  I admit that retirement is feeling pretty good right now as I watch Gretchen anxiously preparing to teach in less than two weeks.  I get to escape that melancholy and apprehensive feeling that has been a staple in my life as summer slides into fall.  Once the term starts there is no getting off the rollercoaster until the end of final exams.  Rather than hopping on the rollercoaster, I am easing into retirement by returning to the research lab.  Gretchen and I are working to bring to fruition our longtime collaborative research project in organocatalysis.  It’s been fun working in the lab on my own time – frequently having the NMR to myself!  The research also keeps me engaged with my longtime love of chemistry.

As I look back on my career it is readily apparent that what has made this job so special are all the marvelous students and superb colleagues I have had the great good fortune of working with.  Thank you all!

Christopher Calderone, 2012 – Associate Professor. B.S., University of Chicago; M.Phil., Cambridge University; Ph.D., Harvard University.

Though I just finished my tenth year at Carleton, there’s still new things to learn and courses to teach….In addition to my usual offering of CHEM123, I also taught Kinetics (with Trish Ferrett) and BIOC331 Current Topics in Biochemistry, each for the first time.  I particularly enjoyed teaching Kinetics—it’s so rare that we have an opportunity to team-teach a course with someone else in the department, and it was a treat to be able to do so this Fall with Trish.  It was also nice to finally get to teach Kinetics for the first time—I’ve heard so much about the course from both faculty and students as a rite of passage in the major, and I finally see why it is such an important and unifying course in the curriculum.  I’m not on the schedule to teach it next year, but hopefully I’ll get another chance in the near future.

It was also a blast to teach BIOC331 for the first time—in fact, the first time the course was ever offered!  It’s a seminar-style course that’s meant to be a capstone for biochemistry minors, and it was gratifying that there was sufficient demand for the course that we had to add a second section at the last minute.  I got to read a lot of really interesting papers with some really smart students, and I’m looking forward to teaching it again next year.

I’m going to be spending Fall and Winter terms next year working at the University of Minnesota, in Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran’s lab tying up some loose ends on some of the projects I’ve been working on at Carleton and getting started on some new ones.  It will be nice to come back to my Carleton lab recharged and with some new ideas to explore.

Charles H. Carlin, 1966-2004; Charles “Jim” and Marjorie Kade Professor of the Sciences, Emeritus, 2004-2023. B.A., Carthage College; Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University.

Chuck passed away January 2, 2023 at the age of 83. Please check out his Farewells page for tributes and memories from students, colleagues, and friends.

Marion E. Cass, 1987-2019; Professor Emeritus, 2019-. B.S. Fort Lewis College, Durango Colorado, Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder.

It’s been an interesting year!  In the opening of the 22-23 academic year (Aug/Sept 22) I was wrapping up my second trip to the villages of Qaanaaq, Siorapaluk and Qeqertat Greenland. 

Steve and I worked with Mary Albert (Thayer Engineering School at Dartmouth) and a group of her graduate students on an NSF Grant funded by a Program, “Navigating the New Arctic”, to address some of the issues that northern areas will face as a function of climate change.  The villages we visited are populated by native hunters/fishers of the Inughuit people and our mission is to reduce their dependency on imported diesel as an energy source.  Steve and I worked with one graduate student carrying out energy audits and evaluations on the energy efficiency of their buildings.  Steve and one graduate student also examined the power generation plants in the towns. Our August trip was a bit different than what we planned.  It began with a relatively scary attempted yet aborted landing at the Thule Airforce Base (in 60 mph cross winds).  Our plane was diverted to Iqualit, Canada where we spent 5 days exploring the town and Frobisher Bay constantly poised to be called up to reboard our military transport plane.  We did make it to Qaanaaq, then Siorapaluk, and back to Qaanaag.  Unexpectedly I came down with Covid-19 and was quarantined for 10 days unable to travel.  The entire team needed to head home without me.  Because there are only weekly flights back to Thule Airforce base and back to the US, I ended up having two amazing experiences. The first involved witnessing a Beluga whale hunt from the hillside just out of town.  An unfortunate small pod of Belugas ventured too close to the town. To the delight of everyone but me and the Belugas (towns people, sled dogs, school kids) 9 Belugas were hunted down and brought in to replenish the meat supply.  My second amazing experience occurred when no longer under quarantine but before my helicopter flight out, our hosts took me on a boat ride up the fjord from Qaanaaq to Qeqertat, a very remote village with only a handful of residents (25?).  The trip weaving through icebergs as large as battleships and as small as basketballs will stay with me throughout my lifetime.  Ultimately, did our work make a difference? Will buildings be upgraded?  Will generators be run in different algorism?  Will some sort of solar be installed to supplement diesel in the summer (of 24 hour sun)? We don’t know but we have hopes that our work has identified some ways that can help. The work continues.

Other projects Steve and I participated in this year are the following.  We were able to consult with a set of property owners who purchased a property within the wilderness boundaries of Idaho near the Salmon River on their options and potential for solar energy.  We visited several cannabis growing facilities in Massachusetts and Maryland to measure the energy consumption of their heating, cooling and lighting, again with the aspiration to lower their energy consumption.  We visited (on invitation) a mansion in Connecticut (that uses $35K of electricity and $35K of propane per year) to help identify energy efficiency opportunities, and we installed Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries and upgraded two solar arrays to an off grid property in rural Maine. Last not but not least, In December we traveled to meet 4 Dartmouth student and a group of employees from the Irving Oil company in the Netherlands to visit a National Lab and several facilities that are installing green hydrogen for heating. The trip was illuminating and inspirational.

At home in Lyme we hang out with our dogs Ada (soon to be 15!) and Jenny.  We cook, ski when there is snow, swim when it is warm and enjoy the quiet solitude.  Best wishes to you all!  I miss Carleton and all of you greatly and think of you often!

Joseph W. Chihade, 2003-, Professor. B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University.

It’s been quite an eventful year for me, full of changes, new challenges, and some adventures. One of the more familiar pieces was my teaching; I taught Chem 233 in both the Fall and the Winter terms and was able to try out some of the group-based problems that I had developed for remote teaching in an in-person setting, teaching in the “sandbox” room in Weitz. I always enjoy teaching Orgo I, since it is such a new way of thinking for most of the students in the course. In the Winter, I also led a comps group who delved into the work of Shana Kelley, a bio-analytical chemist now at Northwestern University. Professor Kelley’s work is wide ranging, so the group learned about everything from cancer metastasis to electrochemistry to electronic chip fabrication. They rose to this challenge very nicely, putting together all of the pieces with aplomb. One of the things I like most about our comps process is the way that it encourages the comps visitor to thoughtfully reflect on the twists and turns of their career with comps students. The pearls of wisdom that came out of those discussions this year were even more valuable than the scientific revelations. 

This year I also became the mentor for Carleton’s Class of 2026 Posse, the ninth Carleton Posse from Houston. Working with these twelve remarkable first-year students, who I met with individually and as group at least every two weeks throughout the academic year, was one of the most intense and wonderful things I have done since being at Carleton. I learned a tremendous amount about so many things, ranging from the location of good vegan restaurants in Houston to how difficult it is for first-year students to manage the vagaries of placement exams and language requirements to how Karl-Pop, the Carleton K-pop dance group, plans their shows and so much in between. I’m really looking forward to watching the Posse continue to grow, both as individuals and as a group, over the next three years. 

My research group continued to make slow but steady progress on several fronts. Lora Randa and Eledon Beyene were joined by Meredith Klay in trying to express and understand the different pathogenic phenotypes caused by mutations in the human mitochondrial alanyl-tRNA synthetase. Noah Mueller and Sara Abraha took on the challenge of following up the work that David Wilson and Molly Kamman had started last year, an effort to express in bacteria several aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases from parasitic worms, or helminths. Making these enzymes is a first step in developing inhibitors, which could be used at anti-parasitic drugs. Lora, Eledon, and Noah all traveled to Seattle in March to present their work at the ASBMB national meeting. This June, I attended the 13th International Symposium on Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases in Ontario and gave a talk about the helminth project. 

At home, things are relatively quiet, now that both kids are in college. Margo finished her second year at Haverford, while Sofia was in her first year at Skidmore. Both are taking a lot of chemistry classes. In fact, during their semesters, both were taking organic. Several of my old exams have thus made it to the East Coast, where they hopefully provided some useful practice for my daughters and their friends. With the kids no longer in the K-12 system, we got in some pretty exciting trips during Winter break. Dani and I were in Qatar for the end of the World Cup group stage and the beginning of the round of 16. We saw five games in five days at five different stadiums and still managed to connect with a distant cousin, visit amazing museums, and kayak in the Arabian Gulf. A short visit to Dubai the next week was also amazing. When we came back to North America, we managed to squeeze in a ski trip to Alberta before the beginning of Winter term, hitting the trifecta or Mt. Norquay, Sunshine, and Lake Louise despite Delta misplacing our skis for several days. Not sure that the coming year will be quite as full, but watch this space to find out. 

William C. Child, Jr., 1956-1990; Professor Emeritus, 1990-. B.A., Oberlin College; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin.

Nancy and I continue to enjoy performances by the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Opera.  We venture beyond the Twin Cities to state parks and favorite haunts along the north shore of Lake Superior, although the extreme heat of last summer limited this activity.  Life remains pleasant among our friends at Village on the Cannon, where we recently marked our seventeenth year as residents.  I still find subjects for photography in easily accessible places and enjoy the challenges of editing them.

Steven M. Drew, 1991-, Professor. B.A., St. John’s University; Ph.D., University of Colorado.

I was back to teaching full time this past year.  I had the opportunity to teach Principles of Chemistry II, Instrumental Chemical Analysis, and a revival of my course on computer interfacing and electronics which I have now titled Computer-Assisted Experimentation for Chemists.  This was a very fun selection of courses to teach with a lot of great analytical chemistry content.  As usual, working with the new flocks of Carleton students is a joy and a challenge – plenty of enthusiasm and engagement with a lot of difficult, probing questions that nudge me to think of new ways to explain chemical phenomena and instrumentation.  A couple of highlights from teaching this year included expanding our instrumentation fleet in Instrumental Chemical Analysis to include a new microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer (Deborah provided the leadership to make this happen).  I developed a new experiment students performed with the MP-AES in conjunction with measurements on our flame AAS instrument.  I also had a student group take on a project for Loon Liquors here in Northfield to measure phenols in smoked barley using HPLC with UV absorbance detection.  This went pretty well, considering it was our first attempt, and the student group had useful data to share.

During the academic year Gavin Hazen, Ethan Li, and Sean Zhang continued to do research in my lab along with three other students who opted to do research for their chemistry comps.  We are currently working on developing electrochemical deposition methods for making thin films of an iron-chromium-aluminum mixed metal oxide semiconductor that have potential in photoelectrochemical water splitting.  Gavin and Ethan have now been working with me for two years and returned to the ACS meeting this past spring to present another poster on their work, this time detailing their foray into electrochemical deposition.  They are both off to the University of Illinois this fall.  I will miss them.  However, I already have new student interest to work in my research lab and I look forward to getting to know a crop of new students in the coming year.

Tricia A. Ferrett, 1990-, Professor. B.A., Grinnell College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.

This past year I taught with zeal (!) the usual range of upper-level physical chemistry courses plus Comps. Fall term, I taught Chem 301 (Chemical Kinetics Lab) with Chris Calderone – my first time teaching with Chris and after a number of years away from this research methods course.  We followed the able lead of a number of our colleagues who have continued to revise this course. I had fun with a finnicky fast fluorescence spectroscopy lab (lots of troubleshooting) along with a number of term-long kinetics projects (more troubleshooting, as usual). Students were highly engaged with their projects – some old, some new. The cool nanochemistry synthesis/kinetics project drove us crazy but was conquered. We also taught and used some kinetics software to model and understand more complex kinetic systems – a great addition to this course.

Winter term was fun and stimulating but extremely busy. I taught Chem 344 (Quantum Chemistry) and Chem 302 (Quantum Spectroscopy Lab) plus a comps group of 9 seniors.  These two quantum courses are no longer required but exist on a menu of options for our majors. I had fairly large classes animated with my usual “classical” quantum toys (slinky, spinning top, and the Astrojax spinner). I continued from my pandemic practice of having students do much individual work  in plus work in teams of 2-3 on weekly challenge problems and several group quizzes. I gave rich feedback on all team assignments.  I also made major revisions to the Chem 302 lab now that it is taught by just one faculty member. I introduced and hope to expand a new lab on quantum dots and conjugated dyes.

In winter and spring terms, I was privileged to work with 9 seniors in a comps group on the work of Teri Odom (Northwestern University, Chemistry) studying the synthesis and applications of surface-functionalized gold nanostars.  The comps group became independent early on – creating discussion questions and responses in a Google doc prior to each meeting and leading fruitful discussions.  A number of difficult literature papers were “demolished” (as they said) with curiosity, team work, agile process tuning, and persistence! The group talk in April told a wonderful story of using gold nanostars for targeted cancer treatment. Our April visit with Teri Odom was inspiring, rich, and busy with 5 hours of conversation, flowers, pastries, Thai food, and both human and scientific stories.  This was the largest comps group of my career, and the seniors rose to all challenges!

Spring term I was not teaching, but I spent four months of full-time effort to move my 92-year old mother from Colorado to Minnesota (including 2 medical events and 7 transitions). I am now managing all her affairs and spending several hours with her daily at a local nursing home.  I am grateful Mom is close, but this has been a sea change in my daily life. Most travel this past year was to Colorado (every several months) to visit Mom and my 2 brothers. Gerard and I had a wonderful week in a cabin in December near Ely MN, where we nested, snowshoed, and played with sled dogs. Retirement is 1-2 years away. I continue to enjoy my many gardens, getting outdoors, exercise (run, bike, walk, yoga), cooking… and in the winter several fiber arts and following Alaskan dog sledders. Partner Gerard keeps biking like a madman; he talked me into getting an e-bike this spring which I love!  He has transformed much of our yard to a stunningly beautiful wildflower meadow. I look forward to several more years of teaching and then an active retirement, mostly outdoors.

Carrie Flesch, 2023-, Chemistry Laboratory Manager and Instrument Technician. BS University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. 

I began my Carleton journey on February 20th, 2023.  I was able to hit the ground running because of the guidance I received from Julie Karg.  My spring term was spent getting acquainted with lab set ups and some instrumentation/equipment.  

I want to give many thanks to the department, colleagues and students who are helping me get accustomed to my new position.  I really appreciate it.  

James E. Finholt, 1960-2001; William H. Laird Professor of Chemistry and the Liberal Arts, Emeritus, 2001-. B.A., St. Olaf College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.

Deborah S. Gross, 1998-, Professor. B.A., Haverford College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.

This has been a busy year, filled with department hiring, co-leading an off-campus program, research, comps, directing the FOCUS Program, independent studies, classes, etc. It has been exciting and a bit overwhelming to watch our department population change quickly! This year, Dave Alberg’s retirement, which is richly deserved, makes it seem like I’ve been here forever – Dave earned tenure my first year at Carleton! The passing of Chuck Carlin, whose kindness leaves ripple effects that are still evident in the chemistry department, was sad news for all of us. I have the great honor of having completed the first year of my five-year term as the Charles “Jim” and Marjorie Kade Professor of the Sciences, a position held by Chuck (and then by Marion Cass and Steve Drew), an inspiring lineage! Hiring new tenure-track and visiting faculty, as well as new staff, keeps the department vibrant and exciting to be a part of.

Last summer, I had the pleasure of working with four research students (Nora Caballero ’23, Margaret Hall ’25, Audrey Parrott ’25, and Alek Rabago ’23). They were a great group to work with and very productive, both in analysis of cookstove data from Ethiopia and in working on developing a pellet-fueled stove to bake injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread. In the fall, I co-taught the first part of my winter break off-campus studies (OCS) course, ENTS 289, Climate Change and Human Health with Tsegaye Nega (Associate Professor of ENTS). We worked with 12 students to understand the complexities and connections between these two large, intertwined topics (climate and health), and also to prepare them for carrying out research projects related to the case study of clean cooking in Ethiopia – a topic that intersects both of these areas and has global implications. During the December break, we traveled with the students for 2 weeks in Ethiopia, where they made fantastic progress on their projects, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the human context in which these issues play out. In the winter, we all worked together in CHEM 289, Climate and Health, from Science to Practice, to understand and interpret the results of their projects and to put them together into a symposium and report. The students were a delight to work and travel with, and their passion, commitment, and enthusiasm gives me hope. We will offer this program again in 2024-2025.

In the winter, I taught the class for CHEM 224, Principles of Chemistry II for which Rachel Horness (visiting Assistant Professor) taught the lab. The 34 students were eager to learn chemistry and enthusiastic, even though we met 1a (8:30am) throughout the winter in a windowless classroom! In the spring, I taught CHEM 224 (the whole thing, class and lab). The 47 students were engaged, asked good questions, and had fun both in class and in the lab.

In addition to these courses, I worked with the sophomore FOCUS cohort, teaching their FOCUS Sophomore Colloquium. They designed and carried out projects related to sustainability at Carleton. This gave us the opportunity to work closely with Erica Zweifel from the Center for Community and Civic Engagement at Carleton (CCCE), Sarah Fortner, Carleton’s new Director of Sustainability, and Risi Karim, Assistant to the City Administrator for Northfield, MN, as well as many others around campus. The students engaged with topics from reducing single-use plastic bag use on campus to development of a textbook library to better publicizing grants available to homeowners in Northfield for energy efficient upgrades to homes (and more!). Their work will be described in the FOCUS Journal of Science, found on the FOCUS webpage. I also had the opportunity to work with a small group of FOCUS students, ably assisted by Yelena Hallman, the FOCUS 5th Year Intern, in an independent study to develop hands-on science activities to include in the STEM Night activities organized by Rika Anderson (Associate Professor of Biology). The students did a great job and the kids were excited to learn about genetics by building monster puppets and about optimization in computer code by directing either a marble or another kid through mazes!

Dani Kohen and I worked with a comps group this year who studied the work of Professor Joseph Francisco from the University of Pennsylvania. He works on atmospheric chemistry using computational techniques, so we were the obvious pair to co-lead the group! The eight seniors (Sean Boyce, Nora Caballero, William Chang-Stucki, Ania Huang, Nell Schafer, Lucy Shapiro, Will Stepanski, and Emma Watson) were enthusiastic learners and had a really fantastic visit with Dr. Francisco in May. His visit was sponsored by the Jean and Jerry Mohrig fund, and it was great to have Jerry Mohrig at the seminar!

I am writing this report at the very beginning of a well-earned (if I do say so, myself) sabbatical for the 2023-2024 academic year. Stay tuned for a report in next-year’s edition of the Chemistry Department annual report for information about what I am up to!

Gretchen E. Hofmeister, 2002-, Professor. B.A., Carleton College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.

I am returning to the department and to teaching in the fall after seven years away—five as Associate Dean, one as Dean of the College, and one on sabbatical. While I relished many aspects of my roles in administration, I have really missed working with students and doing chemistry. I have spent my sabbatical preparing for my transition from administration back to being a regular faculty member. In the fall, I re-immersed myself in the research project that has been a collaboration with Dave Alberg and Dani Kohen for about ten years. Winter term, Dave and I traveled to Los Angeles and worked in the computational research group led by Ken Houk at UCLA, where we learned additional strategies for theoretically analyzing organocatalytic reactions. I also spent three weeks at UC Santa Barbara in Bruce Lipshutz’s group, learning how to use surfactants to perform transition metal-catalyzed reactions in water. Dave and I returned to Northfield in the spring and I set up my research space, where I have been running reactions for research and for a new lab project for Organic I, as well as doing lots of
NMR experiments. After a three-week summer vacation, which culminated in the marriage of our son, Sam (yay!), I am bringing some projects to interim conclusions before the term starts in September.

My research collaboration with Dave and Dani concerns the study of enantioselective organocatalysis reactions using stable transition state analogs (TSAs). Enantioselective synthesis plays a critical role in organic chemistry, most particularly in the pharmaceutical industry because most drugs are chiral. TSAs have long been used in enzymatic chemistry as potential inhibitors and therefore drug candidates for particular enzyme targets. In our case, we are studying how each enantiomer of a chiral TSA, which models the transition state, interacts with a chiral organocatalyst. The goal is to elucidate the interactions that are responsible for enantioselectivity, and use that information to identify or design better catalysts. We are using solution NMR techniques, including binding constant titrations and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), as well as solid state analysis by X-ray crystallography, to characterize the diastereomeric interactions that lead to enantioselectivity. We are bolstering this work with computational analysis of both the transition states and the catalyst-TSA complexes.

DOSY NMR provides diffusion coefficients, D, or indicators of molecular size, for species in solution. In the presence of a chiral catalyst, the TSA enantiomer that binds more tightly to the catalyst should appear larger and have a smaller D value than the other TSA enantiomer. If the TSA is a good model for the reaction, it should also correspond to the configuration of the major product. Until now, we have struggled to obtain reproducible D values, most likely because of convection currents. After trying several approaches, we have had a breakthrough this year that I believe has addressed the errors due to convection. I am hoping to complete the determination of new, accurate D values for our TSA enantiomers using DOSY NMR before the end of the summer. Having more robust data will enable us to evaluate with greater confidence the efficacy of our TSAs in mimicking these reactions. We will then use those results to identify the interactions that are most important in enantioselectivity.

My second sabbatical project has been to replace the Grignard experiment in our organic I teaching lab with a project that is more modern and environmentally benign. In particular, I have been drawn to Bruce Lipshutz’s work using micelles in water solution as mini “reaction flasks” for performing organometallic reactions. You may have seen the July 17 C&En News article, “Can Organic Chemists Cut Waste by Switching to Water?” which prominently features his chemistry. While working in his laboratories, I learned how they identify surfactant-metal-ligand combinations to best accomplish particular transformations, as well as how to synthesize some of the surfactants. I am currently planning to replace the Grignard reaction with a stereospecific synthesis of E- or Z- anethole (E-anethole is the major component in anise oil), using a Suzuki reaction in either an aqueous THF solution or an aqueous surfactant solution. The students would analyze the environmental impact of each approach, to evaluate which is more benign.

Finally, I have been studying the science of emotions as a way to build my skills in supporting student mental health. Faculty colleagues have shared that there has been a dramatic increase in student mental health issues and requests for accommodations since I last taught in 2016. During my sabbatical, I read Permission to Feel by Marc Bracket, who is the director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. I also completed a Coursera course offered through the center, titled, Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty or Stress, which is targeted towards K-12 educators. This course introduces a “mood meter” and vocabulary for identifying and processing emotions, and teaches instructors how to discuss emotions with students and have productive interactions with students when they are experiencing strong emotions. Some of the lessons from the book and course are that all emotions are legitimate and that pathologizing emotions is not helpful; rather, we need to learn how to work with our emotions. Although the course is not targeted to college teaching, I believe that it will be helpful to me in expanding my “coaching skills” for students. In other words, I am striving to adopt a “teacher as coach” model for teaching and mentoring students. In my administrative roles, I learned about the mental health support that athletic coaches routinely provide their students; my goal is to learn from them, other adopters of this form of teaching, and the course that I completed, how to incorporate appropriate emotional support for students in my courses.

Like many others, I have experienced a lot of change in the past year; I feel fortunate to have had a sabbatical leave to adjust to these changes. In addition, I am grateful to have been able to return to activities that I enjoyed pre-COVID, such as swimming three times a week with my Masters Swimming Group, the Knightcrawlers. Altogether, my sabbatical activities give me confidence that I am ready to return to the classroom!

William E. Hollingsworth, 1986-, Professor. B.S., B.A., University of Texas, Austin; M.S., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.

This was my first of two years phasing to retirement, so I am pretty much teaching each class for the last time. It’s been quite a run, but it is bittersweet to know this time will be the last time teaching each of these classes. This year I taught Chem 343 (Chemical Thermodynamics) in the winter and Chem 128 (Principles of Environmental Chemistry). Teaching thermodynamics was made all the more challenging this time due to a painfully slow recovery from Covid caught while on vacation in Alaska in early August.

Now that I am phasing towards retirement, I am not teaching every term. That allowed Tracy and me to be away the entire winter term to avoid the Minnesota winters, which seem to be getting more unpleasant with climate change. We took two extended trips, the first to Australia and New Zealand, and the second to Arizona and California. Highlights of Australia included visiting the island state of Tasmania and seeing wallabies and pademelons in the woods, smaller marsupials that have not been decimated by invasive predators. In New Zealand, it was seeing the southern mountains and taking a boat ride of spectacular Milford Sound.

Rachel Horness, 2022-, Visiting Assistant Professor. B.A., Kalamazoo College; Ph.D., Indiana University.

The 2022-2023 academic year was one full of exciting and challenging changes. I moved to Minnesota permanently late in the summer of 2022. In a time where moving my life meant a lot of new things, it was surreal to walk around Carleton’s campus where so much felt reminiscent of my own college experience. I shared in the nervous excitement of the first-years for the coming year. In the fall term I was lucky to be able to teach Chem 123. With a mix of first-years sharing my own feelings about adjusting to a new place and experienced students willing to show us the ropes, I’m not sure I could have been in better hands. Our office hours were full of laughs, our labs were lively, and I was able to learn so much.

The winter term hit hard. I had a tremendous sense of foreboding as I sat, completely and utterly stuck in a snow bank on the first day of classes. Luckily, things started looking up from there. I got to teach some of my favorite concepts in Biochemistry 301. It was a big change transitioning from my previous biochemistry classes of 150 students to a class of 16, but everyone was patient as I worked to adjust. At the same time, I was teaching the lab portion of Chem 224. Deborah and Steve were tremendously supportive in making sure we had everything we needed in lab from solutions and equipment to words of wisdom and experience. By the time spring term arrived, I was feeling excited to return to the relative familiarity of Chem 123 and take on a new role as academic advisor to a handful of chemistry majors. We finished the term strong with a tremendously lively class providing all the energy we needed to make it to the end of the year, sunny days, and warmer weather.

Though life at Carleton is plenty busy on its own, I also spent some time exploring my new home. Outside of school I wandered in parks, looking for new favorite trails. Being a new homeowner meant lots of house projects (like completely renovating our guest bathroom days before having our first guests), painting, re-painting, and settling in. And, as always, I spent plenty of time breaking in my new kitchen with baking projects galore.

Julie Karg, 1988-, Chemistry Technician. B.S., Mankato State University.

Academic year 2022-2023 brought 2 new temporary faculty (Kate Sammons and Rachel Horness) and a new Laboratory Manager and Instrument Technician (Carrie Flesch) to the department and saw the departure of a 30-year tenured faculty member (Dave Alberg).  I have had the opportunity to work with all of these individuals, especially Dave.  I’ve prepared the Organic Chemistry I laboratory course for as long as Dave’s been teaching it.  I’m not sure how long that’s been, but it was odd preparing it for someone else winter term.  In the fall, the department will be welcoming new temporary and tenure-track faculty that I will have the opportunity to work with.

Daniela Kohen, 2002-, Professor. B.A., Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Ph.D., University of Notre Dame.

Last year, I transitioned from my role as the chair of the department to just being a chemistry professor. It was quite great! While serving as chair, I had my share of highlights and accomplishments that I am proud of. However, I truly cherished the opportunity to dedicate more time to research!

This was especially crucial as my research group is now part of a collaborative project funded by the DOE, involving four groups from other institutions. This initiative demanded a significant portion of my attention to get off to a successful start. This new endeavor focuses on studying porous materials like zeolites and metal-organic frameworks. These are materials I have been working on since the beginning of my independent research career, but in this collaborative project, our team’s goal is to enhance, develop, and expand computational and theoretical chemistry methods, along with data-driven scientific approaches, for applications in adsorption cooling and separations. Collaborating with other groups at R1 universities has proven to be highly rewarding, granting my students (and myself) the opportunity to engage in research that would have otherwise been inaccessible.

Conducting research during the summer was also truly a pleasure. Aside from Henry Wolters (’26) and Nathan Wang (’26), who are part of the DOE-funded team, Katherine Geist (’24) continued our work on cation motion in zeolites. In all of our studies involving porous materials, computer simulations remain invaluable for gaining microscopic insights into intriguing behaviors. Furthermore, Claire Lee-Zacheis (’26) and Aidan Khan (’25) continued our previous research into mechanisms and reactivity within the systems studied by the Whited group. Whenever I visited my students in our beautiful research space in Hulings, it was inspiring to witness their enthusiasm for conducting research in each other’s company! I so relish the chance to guide and support our students and share with them the highs and lows of research!

Naturally, I also continued to teach. I offered courses in introductory chemistry, computational chemistry, and comps, as I have done on numerous occasions throughout my career. Introducing Carleton students to the “wonders of chemistry” never ceases to be fulfilling. Teaching these courses allows me to see how our students evolve and mature during their time at Carleton, apart from the acquisition of chemistry knowledge, of course! Additionally, in response to student interest and our department’s commitment to promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect, I designed a new three-credit course, CHEM 371: Chemistry and Society – Impact and Legacy. In this course, small groups of upper-level students developed case studies for use in introductory chemistry courses. These case studies explore the impact and legacy of social issues in chemistry. Additionally, the students prepared posters that are now proudly displayed on our walls. I hope to offer this course every other year, ensuring a consistent opportunity for students.

On the personal front, Joe and I have officially finished our first year as “empty nesters.” Margo is at Haverford and Sofia is at Skidmore, and both are thriving. It’s pretty great to witness their growth while enjoying this new phase of our family life!

Tamara Little, 2016-; administrative assistant for Chemistry and Geology. 1996-2016 administrative assistant for AMST/ENTS/LING plus WGST (2007-2016).

The steady supply of cookies for the Chemistry Seminars picked up to a more normal level than it had been for the past few years. It is nice to have something feel a bit more normal.

I still compile content for The Weekly Beaker and for this Annual Report, I manage the department’s website while continuing to learn more about WordPress and now Workday, along with my usual office duties. As I look back on my 7 years with Chemistry and Geology, I tell others that I am waiting for a year with no major changes. Might this happen in this next academic year?

Jerry R. Mohrig, 1967-2003; Herman and Gertrude Mosier Stark Professor of the Natural Sciences, Emeritus, 2003-. B.S., University of Michigan; Ph.D., University of Colorado.

There is not much to say this year, except for the fact that I am still getting around on my walker. It’s hard to believe that it has been six and a half years since the stroke that took away my balance. I get over to Carleton now and again to seminars and meetings with students, often by getting rides.

I am the convenor of the Community Conversations group at Millstream Commons and chair the Resident Council here at Millstream. I have been able to travel to Massachusetts twice to see my wife Adrienne, who is there with her daughter, once with my son David and once with my daughter Sara. I am unable to travel alone. We now travel first class which is far less tiring than economy class. Usually, I am invited to reunion dinners and meet regularly with friends, including the Men’s Group of the United Church of Christ. 

Richard W. Ramette, 1954-1990; Laurence M. Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences, Emeritus, 1990-. B.A., Wesleyan University; Ph.D., University of Minnesota.

email rwramette@gmail.com 

Matthew T. Whited, 2010-, Professor. B.A., Davidson College; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology.

I wrote my last annual report contribution from North Carolina, halfway through a wonderful sabbatical doing research at UNC. So much changes in a year! I had a great time working on some nickel chemistry and doing some electrochemistry, but I never completely separated from Carleton since I co-led our tenure-track search last fall and was planning to come back as STEM Director in December. Being Department Chair and STEM Director has definitely made my calendar more crowded, but the positions have also given great opportunities to meet new people and support department and cross-department work at Carleton in new and creative ways. I have also been deeply involved with several teams working on strategic planning, including the Financial Aid Working Group and Advancing the Liberal Arts task force. Stay tuned for exciting progress from strategic planning soon. All in all, I’m enjoying the new challenges!

I spent some of my time last summer finishing a new NSF grant application, which was funded (yay!) just a few months ago. Those funds will support research with approximately 18 Carleton students over the next 3 years. Six students joined my lab on this project, which involves devising new strategies for engaging abundant and non-toxic metals in catalysis: Collin Pearson, Annika Stewart, Marshall Johnson, Quan Nguyen, Claire Lee-Zacheis, and Aidan Khan (Claire and Aidan were co-advised by Dani Kohen and worked on computations). It was my first time in a while having 100% turnover with a group of summer students, but I ended up being so impressed by their work! We have made fantastic progress on a couple of fronts, and I am optimistic that we’ll be putting papers together on their work next summer.

After returning from sabbatical, I led a comps group studying Prof Shannon Stahl’s (U Wisconsin) work on catalytic electrochemical oxidations using organic mediators. That group was super fun, and the students put together a fantastic presentation and (as usual) impressed our visitor when he came to campus. In the spring, I was back to teaching inorganic chemistry and lab after a year off. No rest for the weary, but all good things for sure. I am excited that Isaac will be teaching inorganic chemistry this year and will be working closely with them to think about new lab ideas (and if I’m lucky, maybe even having Isaac contribute to some ongoing projects in my research lab).

At home, my boys (who were not born when we moved to Northfield) are now 10 (Andrew) and 12
(James). Having a middle schooler is moderately terrifying to me, but the kids are also so much fun at this age that I’m willing to set aside my personal discomfort with aging. Charlotte has been kept busy in the Grants Office, with a third straight record year for faculty grants! I’m happy to say that I contributed (modestly) to the total this time around. We love Carleton and Northfield, which is good because with all this hiring we are quickly transitioning from newbies to long-timers.

Crochet a Flask for Chemistry!

crochet a flask

In fall 2020, Professor Deborah Gross and Katherine Mateos (’21) spearheaded a crochet-a-flask project for all chemists! Although it began as a pandemic bonding project for the department, we hope to continue having students, staff, faculty, and alums crochet Erlenmeyer flasks to display in the Chemistry Common Room in our new building. Kits of yarn, hook, thread, needle, stuffing, a pattern, and crochet tutorials were provided for socially distanced crocheting. We would love to have more contributions, so if you are (or want to be) skilled with yarn, please make a flask and send it to the department! We will add it to the display and acknowledge your contribution. Any other chemistry-themed yarn projects would be welcomed, as well!

Click here for a link to the erlenmeyer flask pattern. Contact Deborah Gross (dgross@carleton.edu) if you have any questions.

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Faculty Bibliography

Publications

Steven M. Drew, Tristan Belzer, “An Amperometric Glucose Biosensor Composed of Prussian Blue, Nafion, and Glucose Oxidase Studied by Flow Injection Analysis,” Journal of Chemical Education, 2023, 100, 760-766.

Whited, M. T.; Han, W.; Jin-Lee, H.; Dinardo, Z.; Watson, E; Zhang, J; Kohen D. “Cobalt Silylenes as Platforms for Catalytic Nitrene-Group Transfer by Metal–Ligand Cooperation” Angew. Chem. Int., 61 (2022).  https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202205748.

Wei, W.; Ma, J.; Schaab, J.; Brooks, J.; Kang, S.; Whited, M. T.; Djurovich, P. I.; Thompson, M. E. “A Comparison between Triphenylmethyl and Triphenylsilyl Spirobifluorenyl Hosts: Synthesis, Photophysics and Performance in Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes” Molecules 2023, 28, 5241.

Conference Presentations (* indicates presenting author):

Heuer, A.; Abebe, S.; Caballero, N.; Hall, M.; Hein, E.; Parrott, A.; Rabago, A.; Rodriguez, D.; Shahid, M. M.; Nega, T.; Gross, D. S.* “Indoor PM2.5 Concentrations in Homes and Restaurants in Ethiopia” Poster Presentation at the American Association for Aerosol Research, Charlotte, NC, October 2022.

Poster presented by Gavin Hazen and Ethan Li, National American Chemical Society Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, March 27, 2023, “Electrodeposition of Fe-Cr-Al mixed metal oxide films for renewable hydrogen production.”

Bacterial expression of unstable mutants of a human mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, Eledon Beyene, Lora Randa, Meredith Klay, Joseph Chihade, DiscoverBMB annual meeting, Seattle, WA, March 2023

Toward the Bacterial Expression of Helminth Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases, Noah Mueller, Sara Abraha, Joseph Chihade, DiscoverBMB annual meeting, Seattle, WA, March 2023

Novel features of helminth aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, Joseph Chihade, Alison Block, David Wilson, Noah Mueller, Samuel Diaz de Leon, Molly Kamman, Sara Abraha, Seth Warner, Jevon Robinson, & Marie Sissler, 13th International Symposium on Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases, Grand Bend, Ontario, June 2023

“Molecular insight into cation behavior within zeolites Rho. ” Katherine Geist, Sean Boyce and Daniela Kohen*. Poster. Gordon Research Conference, Andover, NH. August 2023

“Finding your institutional Fit: what does it mean to be a faculty Member at an R1, R2 or PUI?” Daniela Kohen* and Donathan Brown (Northeastern University). 2023 Building Future Faculty In STEM (LS-PAC Models). New Orleans, LA. August 2023.

“Computational Explorations of Cobalt Silylene and Related Catalysts.” Aidan Khan* and Claire Lee‐Zacheis*, Forty-One Midwest Undergraduate Computational Chemistry Conference. Talk. Michigan State University. 

“Ammonia Adsorption on Silanol Terminated Zeolites.” Henry Wolters* and Nathan Wang*, Forty-One Midwest Undergraduate Computational Chemistry Conference. Talk. Michigan State University. 

“Cation Behavior within Zeolites.” Katherine Geist*, Forty-One Midwest Undergraduate Computational Chemistry Conference. Talk. Michigan State University. 

“Molecular Insight into Cation Behavior within Zeolites” Sean Boyce*, Katherine Geist and D. Kohen.  Poster. ACS. Indianapolis, March 2023. 

*Vandel, E.; *Watson, E.; Kohen, D.; Whited, M. T. “Computational Investigations of Isocyanate Formation at a Cobalt Silylene Complex Using G16/DFT and CREST” 265th ACS National Meeting, March 2023 (Poster Presentation).

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Gifts and Grants

Matt Whited received a research grant for $356k from the National Science Foundation to support the project, “RUI: CAS-SC: Promoting Group-Transfer Reactions at Metal/Main-Group Bonds.” This award supports work toward utilizing bonds between earth-abundant metals and silicon to enable new types of catalytic reactions important for fuels transformation and pharmaceutical synthesis, and is thus supported by the NSF’s Critical Aspects of Sustainability – Innovative Solutions to Sustainable Chemistry (CAS-SC) initiative.

Matt Whited received a Research Opportunity Award (ROA) for $43k from the National Science Foundation to support sabbatical research during 2022 at University of North Carolina in the laboratory of Prof. Alex Miller.

Matt Whited finished work on a CAREER award for $400k from the National Science Foundation for the project, “CAREER: SusChEM: Cooperative Small-Molecule Activation by Ambiphilic Pincer-Type Complexes Feature Metal/Main-Group Bonds.” The CAREER is the NSF’s premier award program for junior faculty, and the grant supported research in the Whited lab during 2016–2023.

“Development of Machine Learning and Molecular Simulation Approaches to Accelerate the Discovery of Porous Materials for Energy-Relevant Applications.” Granted by Department of Energy. In collaboration with Siepmann – University of Minnesota, Aspuru-Guzik -University of Toronto, Haoyuan Chem – University of Texas Rio Grande, Randall Snurr – Northwestern University and Daniella Kohen – Carleton College. November 2022 $1,800,000.

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Seminars

CCCE, Career Center, and Fellowships Seminar

Jen Heemstra, Emory University:  A chemical biology toolbox for probing A-to-I RNA editing

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect in Chemistry Seminar

Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran, University of Minnesota:  Engineering Iron Enzymes to Reprogram Biological Signaling and Chemical Catalysis

Undergraduate Student Research and Internship Symposium

Grace Yin Stokes, Santa Clara University:  Thermodynamic Studies of Artificial Plasma Membranes Elucidate Drug Design Principles

Maroya Spalding Walters ’03, Antimicrobial Resistance Team, CDC:  Detecting and Responding to Emerging Antibiotic Resistance in Healthcare Settings

Cody Finke (‘12), CEO & Co-Founder, Brimstone Energy:  How to Design Chemistry for Climate Impact without First Overhauling our Global Economic System

Research Info Session, Off Campus Opportunities

André Isaacs, College of the Holy Cross:  A Click Chemistry Approach to Nitrogen Heterocycles

Research Info Session, On Campus Opportunities

Cassie Joiner, St. Olaf, Exchange Seminar:  How does the O-GlcNAc transferase enzyme choose its protein substrates

Sashary Ramos, NIH Postdoctoral Fellow:  Spectroscopic Studies of Protein Dynamics and Biological Solvation

Elizabeth Trimmer ’88, Grinnell College:  Mutational and Conformational Analyses of Folate Binding and Catalysis in E. coli methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR)

Dave Farina, professordaveexplains.com:  The Birth of the Science Communicator

Shannon Stahl, University of Wisconsin-Madison – The Jerry and Jean Mohrig Lecture Optimizing the Potential of Dioxygen in Aerobic Oxidation Catalysis

Teri Odom, Northwestern University – The Dr. James D. (’30) and Julia P. Morrison Lectureship:  Gold Nanostars as Structural Valency Probes

Shana Kelley, Northwestern University – The Jerry and Jean Mohrig Lecture:  Pendulum-based sensing for continuous monitoring of biomolecules

Joseph Francisco, University of Pennsylvania – The Jerry and Jean Mohrig Lecture:  Water Effects on Atmospheric Reactions

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Senior Comps Talks

Wenlai Han, Ella Hein, Alek Rabago, Elijah Shore, Hala Soliman, Leah Stroebel, Rainey Tilley, Vasilii Vaganov / Stahl group:  A Greener Oxidation Pathway: Aminoxyl Mediated Electrocatalysis

Will Feng, Gavin Hazen, Helen Jin-Lee, Ethan Li, Tommy Lisko, Michaela Polley, Tony Qiang, Alex Rowell, Allison Teichman / Odom group;  A Gold Star Approach: Using Gold Nanostars as a Drug Delivery Vehicle for Cancer Treatment

Michael Berler, Eledon Beyene, Connor Grayzel, Seraphel Grosser, Tatiana Jimenez, Noah Mueller, Ellie Vandel, Weiland Wang / Kelley group:  Detecting Diseases: Three Remarkable Biosensors

Sean Boyce, Nora Caballero, Will Chang-Stucki, Ania Hoang, Nell Schafer, Lucy Shapiro, Will Stepanski, Emma Watson / Francisco group:  A Molecular Perspective on Ammonia Chemistry in Atmospheric Water Droplets

Individual Paper Comps Presentation: 

Cole Cadaram: Reactivity Beyond Redox Potentials In Electrochemical Organic Synthesis

Felix Lion: Understanding (a little bit of) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Eway Cai: Targeted Protein Degradation and Genome Editing as Novel Chemical Inducers of Proximity

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The Class of 2013

Tyler Bechtel – Cambridge, MA

Joseph Boerma – Chapel Hill, NC

Mia Borden – San Antonio, TX – Mia is excited to be starting her career as a Chemistry Professor at Trinity University this summer where she will teach organic chemistry and research sustainable methods to make plastics using light with her students. Mia married her Carleton sweetheart Joe in 2019 surrounded by her chemistry friends! Mia and Joe spend all of their free time either petting their dog Luna and their cat Bpy or making desserts.

Anna Brezny – Northfield, MN – After graduating in 2013, Anna moved to Madison, WI to earn her PhD in Chemistry. In 2018, started as a Postdoctoral Fellow doing research at Yale University. She started her independent research and teaching career in 2020 as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Skidmore College. In 2022, she returned with her husband (Kazimer Skubi ’11) to Northfield. She is now an Assistant Professor of Chemistry teaching Organic Chemistry at St. Olaf College.

Allie Cardiel – Madison, WI – After graduating in 2013, Allie began grad school at UW-Madison where she was the first student to ever dual-enroll in the chemistry (PhD ’18) and environmental studies (MS ’15) departments. In grad school she focused on renewable energy electrochemistry research (chem dept.) and energy analysis and policy (env studies dept.) to achieve an interdisciplinary understanding of renewable energy topics. A month after Carleton graduation, Allie also began working as a tutor to high school students. She has found this work incredibly rewarding and just celebrated ten years in that role. She has spent the past four years as a building science researcher for an equity-focused clean energy nonprofit organization.

Kim Concannon – Seattle, WA

Michael Cvitkovic – Seattle, WA

Christopher D’Amato – Wellesley Hills, MA

Dan DeRosha – New York, NY

Elaine Downie – Madison, WI

William Gagne-Maynard – Seattle, WA

Galen Gorski – Silver Spring, MD

David Hanna – Ann Arbor, MI

Theodore Harmon – Minneapolis, MN

Nicholas Hemlock – Minneapolis, MN

Austin Jiang – Green Bay, WI

Erik Klontz – Cambridge, MA

Alexandra Lai – Rehovot

Bee Lee – Minneapolis, MN

Michael McClellan – St. Petersburg, FL – Now five years removed from receiving a PhD in Atmospheric Science from MIT, Michael has spent the intervening time watching baseball games for a living at Tropicana Field as a senior member of the R&D/Analytics staff of the Tampa Bay Rays. His work on physics-informed models has helped the team in a handful of ways, and he hopes this year might lead to a World Series ring to go along with the runner-up AL Champion ring he got in 2020.

Erin McDuffie – Washington DC

Brittney Mikell – Saint Paul, MN

Ken Miyamoto – Waconia, MN

John Mullaney – Minneapolis, MN

Megan Narvey – Saint Paul, MN

Evan Osborne – Seattle, WA

Christian Padilla – Cambridge, MA – After years as an enthusiastic chemistry researcher, Christian jumped ship for a career in software. That switch led him to California where he met his fianc√© Mingus Zoller. He now lives his scientific dreams vicariously through her career as a neurobiologist!

Katherine Ratliff – Fitchburg, WI

Sharyl Rich – San Francisco,  CA

Brady Still – Chicago, IL

Adrienne Werth – Wynnewood, PA – Adrienne completed her Ob/Gyn residency in 2021 and is now finishing up her fellowship in Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery at University of Connecticut.

Freddy Wieffering – Minneapolis, MN

Zheyue “Marina” Yang – Shanghai, China – After graduating in 2013, Zheyue went on to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. She obtained the degree in 2018, returned to her hometown, Shanghai, and joined DuPont China Technology Center in 2019. She has been working on emerging technologies in electronics and industrial ever since.

Melody Zhou – Singapore – Since graduation, Melody has primarily worked in the tech industry as a marketer in various parts of the world — Thailand, Singapore, China, and New York. While New York has been and will continue to be her favorite place, she recently moved back to Singapore to be closer to family (and also to be close to some of the world’s best beaches and scuba diving spots).

Other Contributions

Mark Bach ’78 – After 28 years in ‘Big Pharma’, for the past 2 years I have been Chief Medical Officer at Structure Therapeutics, a biotech focused on using structural biology and computational chemistry to discover and develop small molecules designed to treat diseases that have been traditionally addressed by large molecules (Biologics).

Alex Barron ’00 – Easthampton, MA – We welcomed our second child (Katya) in December and I was awarded tenure at Smith College this Spring while on a semester of paternity leave.

Dave Farina ’05 – I’m in my 8th year of running the YouTube channel “Professor Dave Explains”, which started as a resource full of chemistry tutorials for high school and undergraduate students, but now serves as a database covering 30+ topics, with 2.5M+ subscribers. I also published my first book in 2021 called “Is This Wifi Organic? A Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online” as part of my quest to rehabilitate public science literacy.

Jim Fyfe ’63 – Not much here at 49 Bakers Dr., Harwich, MA. Enjoying life, mostly, except for the aches and pains of growing old, here on Cape Cod. Always something to do in the shop, around the yard’s landscape, and hiking through the woods with our canine, Sophie. If ever in the area, come see us.

Peter Grebner ’85 – Still working for St. Paul Public Schools as a TOSA. I am the system admin for our Learning Management System, Schoology. One more year to retirement?

Maria Goetz ’96 – Still working as chemist on Cape Canaveral SFS FL testing hydrazine and rocket propellants.

Elizabeth Grubb ’17 – Elizabeth is currently a first-year psychiatry resident at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, California. She graduated from Wake Forest School of Medicine this past May.

Sally (Charles) Hamm ’04 – Matt and I spent this past year completing MPHs at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and welcoming kiddo #4 into the family. Boston is almost as pretty as Minnesota.

Rica Kimball ’94 – I am now Medical Director at the small animal hospital where I have worked for 16 years.

Jack Dylan Lee ’16 – Starting work as a high school chemistry teacher.

Maya ? – Passed Preliminary Exam – now a PhD Candidate

James McNamara ’78 – Class of 1978, retired after Merck and Co. followed by Hunter College as an adjunct.

Mark Mitton-Fry ’96 – Mark was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at The Ohio State University.

Christine Morales ’98 – Moving to Ohio and joining the faculty of the University of Mount Union.

Jeff Peake ‘81 – I’m now retired, after a 33 year career as a chemist at the same company. I’m still living in Cincinnati.

Michael Puumala ’85- Still working but slowing down. Doing mainly Deep Brain Stimulation. My wife and I will be empty- nesters starting this fall, but our two boys are not going to be too far away.

Amit Reddi ‘O3 – It’s hard to believe 20 years have past since graduation! I’ve been living in Atlanta, GA since 2013 and am on the Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty at THE Georgia Institute of Technology. Aside from working as a chauffeur, cook, and occasional body guard for my wife and daughter, I enjoy continuing to do research in the general area of the cell biology and biochemistry of metals and metalloproteins, and teaching biochemistry. I’ve also enjoyed hosting Carleton students from time to time in my lab over the years. Looking forward to the next 20 years!

Ananya Shah ’22 – Ananya completed her first year of medical school at the University of Rochester.

Diane Stearns ’86 – Hello Carleton Chem alums! I recently moved to Texas to become Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Tarleton State University.

Karin Stein ’93 – Last year I started at Stanford, as a staff scientist in the Innovative Medicine Accelerator. I have my first undergraduate to train! Its a LOT of work, but I am having so much fun. (Stanford undergrads are crazy smart.)

Irene Stoutland ’21 – I am entering my third year of grad school at UW-Madison in the Blackwell lab, and I continue to be amazed by how much there is to learn. It is simultaneously exciting and daunting, I feel lucky to be part of such a supportive academic community. Madison is a fun place to be! This summer I grew lots of vegetables in my garden plot and started learning to sail on the lakes.

Katherine ‘Skippy’ Tyner ’99 – After a stint in the Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy, I returned to the Food and Drug Administration. I am currently serving as the FDA Liaison Officer to the European Medicines Agency and reside in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Sarah Wang ’17 – Sarah received her PhD in chemistry from UC Irvine in 2023 and started a new job at RMI, where she works on renewable energy and industrial decarbonization. She has decamped to Pasadena, CA along with her husband, Teddy Donnell (class of 2017), and cat, Starbuck (anticipated class of 2035).

* Information may not be current. Email Tami Little if you would like your information to be updated.

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