- Introduction
- Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Respect in Chemistry
- Class of 2024
- Student Honors and Awards
- Enrollments
- Faculty and Staff Activities
- Faculty Bibliography
- Gifts and Grants
- Seminars
- Senior Comps Talks
- Class of 2014
Introduction
Welcome to the Chemistry Annual Report.
As we approach a beautiful end of summer in Northfield and return to our academic-year routine, we have lots to share from a busy year in the Carleton College Chemistry Department (as usual)!
As I mentioned last year, we were fortunate to have several new faces in the department beginning last fall. Kaz Skubi ’11 and Tamra Lahom joined the department as tenure-track Assistant Professors. Kaz joined us for the full year, teaching Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry III. Tamra taught two classes (Kinetics and Introduction to Chemistry) in the fall before leaving to begin a postdoctoral appointment with Squire Booker at Penn State. We are looking forward to Tamra’s return to the department in a couple of years! Isaac Blythe also joined us as a Visiting Assistant Professor, teaching Principles of Chemistry I and Inorganic Chemistry, and I was fortunate to have Isaac join my laboratory as a researcher and mentor this past summer. I am thrilled that Isaac Blythe and Rachel Horness have both agreed to continue through the 2024–25 academic year, it is wonderful to have such a talented and experienced team of teachers at every level!
In addition to the truly new faces, it was wonderful to have Gretchen Hofmeister back full-time in the department after six years serving in administrative roles and one well-deserved year of sabbatical. I was personally very excited to have Gretchen’s and Kaz’s students working alongside mine this summer in the “synthesis suite”, which was really buzzing with activity. All told, our department had a vibrant summer research program this year, with 8 faculty and more than 20 student researchers!
Another new face in the department is Athena Pitsavas, who joined as Chemistry Technician in May, just days after graduating from University of Minnesota. Athena is occupying that position held loyally and with amazing attention to detail by Julie Karg for more than 30 years. Athena has been working closely with Carrie Flesch and has already begun making great contributions, and we are excited to be working with her.
As part of all the change, we are also saying goodbye to some long-serving and deeply appreciated colleagues. Julie Karg retired in January, and while we were all sad for her to leave, we wish her a relaxing and fulfilling retirement. I am personally so grateful to Julie for all the work she has done during my time as chair, helping us through a transition in the Laboratory Manager position and supporting several new faculty in laboratory teaching.
Prof. Will Hollingsworth retired after teaching his last class this past spring. While we are sad to lose Will from our ranks, we were able to celebrate him in style (see cake below) as he completed his strontium (element #38) anniversary at Carleton. Many alumni have fond memories of Quantum Mechanics with Will, and we very much hope that Will and Tracy will continue to stay engaged with the department.
Although Will leaves some big shoes to fill, we are doing our best to find a new experimental physical chemist to join our department as a tenure-track colleague. Please do share the word with your networks if you know of anyone (including yourself) who might be a good fit for the job. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy reading updates from graduating seniors, faculty, and Carleton Chemistry alumni across many years.
Matt Whited
Professor and Chair, Chemistry
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.
The Class of 2024
Alana Berger – Seattle, WA – At Carleton, Alana enjoyed practicing the cello, playing on the women’s club ultimate team (NOVA), and promoting her love of study abroad through the OCS Office. She spent a term at the University of Glasgow (where she played on the local ultimate teams) and returned there the following summer to work at a university lab studying organic light emitting diodes. Alana does not quite know what she’ll be up to in the coming years but she is currently thinking about finding a job in the law or public health sector (as well as trying to figure out how to get back to Scotland).
Arden Clauss – Sherrard, IL – Arden is an avid Arb enthusiast and club soccer enjoyer. He was a lab TA and grader for the chem department throughout his time at Carleton, and loved helping build others’ appreciation for science. His junior summer, he worked in the Rodriguez lab at UCLA studying electron diffraction methodology. Arden will spend his summer after graduation relaxing and preparing to transition to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in the fall to pursue a PhD.
Teddy Friedman – New York, NY
Angel Garcia-Ramirez – Marshall, MN – Angel was an Organic Chemistry 1&2, Principles of Chemistry 2 lab TA, and grader for many other courses. While at Carleton, Angel’s hobbies were 3D printing and flipping cars. Last summer, he worked in Dr. Michael Z. Lin’s lab developing a library of peptidomimetic inhibitors utilizing click chemistry. Angel hopes to continue working on research in the organic chemistry field.
Katherine Geist – Crookston, MN – While at Carleton, Katherine’s hobbies included playing club and IM soccer, rock climbing, living in CANOE house, gardening, and adventuring around the Northfield area. She worked with Dani Kohen studying cation behavior in zeolites for three years and greatly enjoyed being a lab TA in the department as well. Next year, Katherine will be pursuing a PhD at the University of Utah where she will study biophysical chemistry.
Isabelle Henry – Prior Lake, MN – Isabelle was a part of women’s basketball for two years and enjoyed many activities here including studio arts classes, lifting and running, and spending time with her friends. Her goal is to go to veterinarian school in the next three years. She spent one of her summers as a caregiver to over 200+ horses on a stud farm in Hudson, NY. Her other summer she spent as a veterinarian assistant at Skadron’s Animal Hospital in West St. Paul.
Cassie Huang – Hefei, China – While at Carleton, Cassie was a member of the Chinese music ensemble. In the fall, she will be attending the chemistry PhD program at UCLA and work on solid state chemistry.
Byron Jia – Minnetonka, MN – Byron was a swimmer at Carleton and played the cello in the orchestra. He was a mentor for project friendship, an RA for two years, and passionate about photography. For the past two summers, Byron did cancer research in Houston at Baylor College of Medicine in 2022 and MD Anderson in 2023. Next fall, Byron will start working at MD Anderson in Katy Rezvani’s lab.
Amanda Khouw – Woodbury, MN – Amanda was the President of COSEA (Coalition of Southeast Asians) for three years, served as an RA for two years (Watson & Goodhue), was an OIL (Office of Intercultural Life) Peer Leader for one year while being a grader for the Chemistry Department. Last summer, she worked with Dr. David Slade on research about public health policies during COVID-19 and basic protocols for healthcare settings to prevent and control Candida auris. This summer, Amanda is planning to continue her job search as she wishes to work for 1-2 years before applying to graduate school.
Meredith Klay – Wellesley, MA – Meredith had so much fun at Carleton as a writing consultant, informal member of adoption club, and drawing club. She will miss arb runs, being in close vicinity to all her friends, and late night Sayles chicken tendies! She spent the past year investigating how to mitigate the harmful side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors by understanding the relationship between the gut microbiome and inflammation in Dr. Stephanie Watowich’s cancer immunology laboratory at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. After graduation, she plans to work as a clinical research coordinator before heading to medical school.
Hannah Ku – Glenview, IL – At Carleton, Hannah played violin in orchestra and chamber music. She also sang with the Accidentals and arranged some songs for them. After college, she will work for a year before going to dental school.
Ian Lacey – Whitefish, MT – Ian was a captain of the men’s club soccer team and an avid participant in Carleton’s rock climbing community. Last summer he worked at the Flathead Lake Biological Station, a field station of the University of Montana, developing analytical methods to combine carbon analyzers to allow measurement of dissolved 13C:12C ratios in water samples. This summer Ian will be working in Stanley, ID for the US Forest Service, inspecting boats and collecting environmental DNA to prevent the spread of invasive zebra and quagga mussels to the pristine Sawtooth Wilderness Area.
Casey MacVeagh – Thetford, VT – Casey was a member of the women’s soccer team at Carleton. Last summer she completed an internship in Paris at the Ecole Normale Superieure under the tutelage of Emmanuelle Marie, studying the creation of polymer capsules through water-in-oil emulsions. This summer, Casey has an internship performing hematology & oncology research in the lab of Gabrielle Lapping-Carr, MD at the University of Chicago.
Katie Munro – Missoula, MT – Katie was a Chemistry major and a Spanish minor. At Carleton, Katie enjoyed running and being a part of the Nordic Ski Club. She worked in Joe Chihade’s lab on campus to further the development of an assay to measure alanyl-tRNA synthetase activity. She plans to spend the summer at home in Missoula before beginning work as a lab technician for a year or two as a bridge to graduate school.
Wanying Na – Taiyuan, China – Wanying was a Prefect for organic chemistry and a PEER leader in the biology department. While at Carleton, Wanying enjoyed going to the Arb and participating in chemistry and biology events. Last summer she worked in Dr. Stephanie Watowich’s lab at MD Anderson Cancer Center to explore the role of the gut microbiome in modulating response to cancer immunotherapy. This summer Wanying will begin working as a technical associate for the next year or two in Dr. Tyler Jacks lab at the Koch Institute of MIT, continuing to explore cancer immunology.
Jack Nelson – Arlington, VA
David Pille – Des Moines, IA – David worked as a teaching assistant for the Chemistry department and as a tutor for the Japanese department during his time at Carleton. Last summer, he worked in Dr. Matthew Donahue’s lab at the University of Southern Mississippi, on a project developing synthetic techniques for multiply substituted nitrogen heterocycles. In the fall, he will begin the chemistry PhD program at the University of Iowa.
Leo Qi – San Diego, CA – Leo is currently working as an RA at Scripps Research Institution. While at Carleton, Leo was an active member of the Chinese club and loves snowboarding. Last summer, Leo worked at Scripps Research with Dr. Yang on studying the pathogenic mechanisms of tRNA synthetases, which he will continue to work on this coming year.
Frank Theodore Sheffield – Washington D.C. – Carleton College Class of 2024, has demonstrated exceptional dedication to both his academic and extracurricular pursuits. Majoring in Chemistry and Philosophy on a pre-medical track, Frank has served as President of the Mortar Board and the Black Student Alliance, where he also held the position of Treasurer. His commitment to community service is evident through his role as a mentor for Project Friendship, supporting children in the Northfield community. Frank has engaged in significant research, studying Obliterans bronchiolitis at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, genome editing of G-Locus soybeans at the University of Minnesota, end-of-life care measures for children with advanced heart disease at the University of Alabama Children’s Hospital, and immunology using zebrafish model under Professor Debby Walser-Kuntz at Carleton. He also conducted research at Georgetown University under Dr. James J. Giordano, developing a research plan for brain fog in COVID-19 patients with type 1 diabetes. Frank has presented his research at the American Medical Education Conference, the Abigail Wexner Research Institute, and Northstar Alliance symposiums. Honored to be a Focus Scholar, Frank has also contributed to campus life as a Residential Assistant and worked as a Nurse’s Assistant at the Northfield Retirement Center.
Barclay Shove – Boulder, CO – At Carleton, Barclay was a pre-med student and member of the Carleton Men’s Soccer team. During the summer after his junior year, Barclay worked as a clinical technician at Rocky Mountain Retina Ophthalmology Clinic. After graduation, Barclay will be taking a gap year to work and travel before starting medical school at the University of Rochester in the fall of 2025.
Viv Soforenko – Fargo, ND – Viv is a pre medical student who was a varsity athlete and one of the ring members for Chemistry at Carleton College. While at Carleton, her hobbies included dancing, swimming, and cooking for friends. This summer Viv will begin working as a critical care technician contracted throughout the twin cities metro.
Melissa Tan – Maplewood, MN – Melissa had fun learning new sports activities and new instruments, including Club Women’s Ice Hockey for four years (where she was voted “Most Improved Player” in 2022), bouldering/rock climbing, badminton, piano, drums, guitar, and ukulele. With the opportunity to be a Dacie Moses resident over winter break, she enjoyed cooking and hosting brunch for those on campus every Sunday. She is grateful for being a member of FOCUS, and her experience going to the SACNAS conference, and involvement in Northfield’s Climate Action Plan. Over the pandemic, she participated in a Hackathon, creating an end product that connected underprivileged students with available resources. Her plan after Carleton is to work in the industry for a few years, and go to graduate school at a later date.
Vasilii Vaganov – Singapore, Singapore/Moscow, Russia – Vasilii was a Chemical Biology enthusiast pursuing his dream of developing effective systems for the identification and development of treatments against cancer. While at Carleton, Vasilii’s hobbies were volleyball and tennis. Last summer, he worked in Dr. Xiao Wang’s lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he contributed to the development of an advanced photosensitized proximity labeling technology to enable the identification of two or more proteins of interest in the same cell simultaneously. This summer, Vasilii will begin his graduate studies (PhD in Chemistry) at Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts. One of his potential projects will be to create a computational tool capable of systematically ranking established and emerging cancer biomarkers, evaluating their respective efficacy and suitability for application in developing targeted cancer treatments.
Mira Verma – Green Bay, WI
Parker Walther – Palo Alto, CA
Caleb Wataoka – Honolulu, HI – Caleb enjoyed helping Chemistry students in PSF sessions and working with the department as a Chemistry SDA. Outside of class, he spent his time playing music with the Carleton Symphony Band and Chamber Music groups, recording podcast episodes on KRLX with his friends from home, and organizing Hawaii Club events and cross-org collaborations. As an aspiring doctor, Caleb is excited to start graduate school at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry this Fall.
Contact Tami Little if you would like your information to be updated.
Student Honors and Awards
JAMES ADAMS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR POSITIVITY
Quan Nguyen
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Spencer Delle Fave
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN BIOCHEMISTRY CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
Vasilli Vaganov
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
David Pille
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
David Pille
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
Angel Garcia-Ramirez
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMISTRY
Barclay Shove
B.A. DEGREE WITH LATIN HONORS
Magna Cum Laude – Wanying Na, Barclay C. Shove, Vasilii Vaganov
Cum Laude – Katherine C. Geist, Meredith Klay, Katherine C. MacVeagh, David Pile, Caleb K. Wataoka
BISCOTTI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SEMINAR ATTENDANCE
Cassie W. Huang
CHARLES CARLIN PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Caleb K. Wataoka
DISTINCTION IN THE MAJOR
Alana E. Berger, Arden Clauss, Katherine C. Geist, Wanying Na, Barclay C. Shove, Vasilii Vaganov
DISTINCTION ON THE SENIOR INTEGRATIVE EXERCISE
Alana E. Berger, Arden Clauss, Michael Carey, Katherine C. Geist, Leo Qi, Barclay C. Shove
FRANZ EXNER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN CHEMISTRY
Angel Garcia-Ramirez, Wanying Na
LAURENCE MCKINLEY GOULD PRIZE IN NATURAL SCIENCE
Vasilii Vaganov
PROFESSOR ROY F. GROW ENDOWED FELLOWSHIP FUND
Caleb K. Wataoka
BRIAN MARS AWARD FOR LABORATORY SERVICE
Katie O’Leary
JERRY MOHRIG PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Katherine C. Geist
MORTAR BOARD
Amanda H. Khouw, Frank T. Sheffield, Vasilii Vaganov, Caleb K. Wataoka
PHI BETA KAPPA
Wanying Na, Barclay C. Shove, Vasilii Vaganov
RICHARD RAMETTE TEACHING AWARDS
Katherine C. Geist, Ian L. Lacey
TECHNOS INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
Alana E. Berger
Enrollments
2023-24
| Term | Section Name | Title | Students | Faculty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FALL TERM | ||||
| 23/FA | CHEM.122.00 | Introduction to Chemistry | 34 | Lahom, Tamra |
| 23/FA | CHEM.123.52 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 24 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 23/FA | CHEM.123.52 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 24 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 23/FA | CHEM.123.57 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 19 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 23/FA | CHEM.123.57 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 19 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 23/FA | CHEM.224.54 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 23 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.224.54 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 23 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.224.59 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 17 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.224.59 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 17 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.233.52 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 17 | Whited, Matt T |
| 23/FA | CHEM.233.52 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 17 | Whited, Matt T |
| 23/FA | CHEM.233.54 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 21 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.233.54 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 21 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.233.59 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 18 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.233.59 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 18 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 23/FA | CHEM.301.01 | Chemical Kinetics Laboratory | 8 | Kohen, Daniela L |
| 23/FA | CHEM.301.02 | Chemical Kinetics Laboratory | 8 | Lahom, Tamra |
| 23/FA | CHEM.301.03 | Chemical Kinetics Laboratory | 8 | Kohen, Daniela L |
| 23/FA | CHEM.301.04 | Chemical Kinetics Laboratory | 8 | Lahom, Tamra |
| 23/FA | CHEM.301.05 | Chemical Kinetics Laboratory | 8 | Kohen, Daniela L |
| 23/FA | CHEM.343.00 | Chemical Thermodynamics | 39 | Ferrett, Trish A |
| 23/FA | CHEM.353.00 | Organic Chemistry III | 8 | Skubi, Kazimer L |
| 23/FA | CHEM.361.00 | Materials Chemistry | 14 | Drew, Steven M |
| 23/FA | CHEM.394 | Student-Faculty Research | 15 | Staff |
| 23/FA | CHEM.400 | Integrative Exercise | 2 | Staff |
| WINTER TERM | ||||
| 24/WI | CHEM.123.52 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 24 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 24/WI | CHEM.123.54 | Prin Chem I W/Prob Solv & Lab | 23 | Kohen, Daniela L |
| 24/WI | CHEM.123.54 | Prin Chem I W/Prob Solv & Lab | 23 | Kohen, Daniela L |
| 24/WI | CHEM.123.57 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 24 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 24/WI | CHEM.224.54 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 21 | Chihade, Joe |
| 24/WI | CHEM.224.54 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 21 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/WI | CHEM.224.59 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 20 | Chihade, Joe |
| 24/WI | CHEM.224.59 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 20 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/WI | CHEM.233.54 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 21 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 24/WI | CHEM.233.59 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 19 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 24/WI | CHEM.233.59 | Organic Chemistry I & Lab | 19 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 24/WI | CHEM.234.52 | Organic Chemistry II & Lab | 20 | Skubi, Kazimer L |
| 24/WI | CHEM.234.52 | Organic Chemistry II & Lab | 20 | Ener, Maraia E |
| 24/WI | CHEM.234.57 | Organic Chemistry II & Lab | 22 | Skubi, Kazimer L |
| 24/WI | CHEM.234.57 | Organic Chemistry II & Lab | 22 | Ener, Maraia E |
| 24/WI | CHEM.302.01 | Quantum Spectroscopy Lab | 6 | Ferrett, Trish A |
| 24/WI | CHEM.302.02 | Quantum Spectroscopy Lab | 5 | Ferrett, Trish A |
| 24/WI | CHEM.330.00 | Instrumental Chemical Analysis | 24 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/WI | CHEM.331.54 | Instrumental Chem Analysis Lab | 12 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/WI | CHEM.331.59 | Instrumental Chem Analysis Lab | 12 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/WI | CHEM.344.00 | Quantum Chemistry | 13 | Hollingsworth, Will |
| 24/WI | CHEM.394 | Student-Faculty Research | 28 | Staff |
| 24/WI | CHEM.400 | Integrative Exercise | 34 | Staff |
| SPRING TERM | ||||
| 24/SP | CHEM.123.52 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 24 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.123.52 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 24 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.123.53 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 14 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.123.53 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 14 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.123.57 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 21 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.123.57 | Principles Chemistry I & Lab | 21 | Horness, Rachel E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.224.54 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 24 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/SP | CHEM.224.54 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 24 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/SP | CHEM.224.59 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 24 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/SP | CHEM.224.59 | Principles Chemistry II & Lab | 24 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/SP | CHEM.234.54 | Organic Chemistry II & Lab | 22 | Skubi, Kazimer L |
| 24/SP | CHEM.234.59 | Organic Chemistry II & Lab | 16 | Skubi, Kazimer L |
| 24/SP | CHEM.292.11 | Chem 123 Lab Development | 1 | Drew, Steven M |
| 24/SP | CHEM.306.54 | Spctrmtrc Char of Chem Compnds | 7 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.306.59 | Spctrmtrc Char of Chem Compnds | 10 | Hofmeister, Gretchen E |
| 24/SP | CHEM.351.00 | Inorganic Chemistry | 27 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 24/SP | CHEM.352.52 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory | 6 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 24/SP | CHEM.352.57 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory | 6 | Blythe, Isaac |
| 24/SP | CHEM.390.11 | Aminoacyl-Trna Syn-Neuro Dis | 1 | Chihade, Joe |
| 24/SP | CHEM.391.11 | Reimagining Spectroscopy | 3 | Hollingsworth, Will |
| 24/SP | CHEM.394 | Student-Faculty Research | 24 | Staff |
| 24/SP | CHEM.400 | Integrative Exercise | 36 | Staff |
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Faculty and Staff Activities
David G. Alberg, 1993-2023; Professor Emeritus. B.A., Carleton College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.
Christopher Calderone, 2012 – Associate Professor. B.S., University of Chicago; M.Phil., Cambridge University; Ph.D., Harvard University.
It was an abbreviated year for me on campus—I spent Fall and Winter terms on sabbatical in Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran’s lab in the Chemistry Department at the University of Minnesota. I was able to get my hands wet learning protein crystallography and interact with the biochemistry and chemical biology community there.
More importantly, my time at the U made me appreciate how lucky we are to be at Carleton. I took the opportunity to sit in on a handful of classes, and got to see how different the Carleton experience is from elsewhere. We all know that classes are going to be much larger at the U than at Carleton, but until you experience what a four-hundred-student lecture actually is like, it’s tough to comprehend how different it actually is. Even in relatively large fifty-student courses at Carleton like intro or orgo, the experience of both the students and instructors is completely different than the intro lectures I sat in on at the U. Good luck having any personal interactions with the instructor if you’re a student taking intro at someplace like the U; good luck recognizing any of your students if you’re the instructor. It made me grateful to be able to get to know all the students I’ve had in my courses at Carleton—even the “big” ones.
I came back in Spring and taught the new(ish) biochemistry seminar course BIOC331 and biochemistry lab. In the lab, we’ve started a new set of experiments trying to rationally engineer an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of a class of therapeutically useful molecules known as non-ribosomal peptides—the goal is for data from the course can be acquired over multiple years in hopes of actually gaining some new insights into this enzyme class’s mechanism.
Marion E. Cass, 1987-2019; Professor Emeritus, 2019-. B.S. Fort Lewis College, Durango Colorado, Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder.
Joseph W. Chihade, 2003-, Professor. B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University.
It’s been an unusual year for me, with lots of juggling between the different aspects of faculty life. All my formal teaching happened in the Winter Term, when I taught Chem 224, Principles of Chemistry II, for the second time, Bioc 311, Biochemistry Lab, and led a comps group focused on the work of Dan Herschlag, a biochemist at Stanford University.
Chem 224 is always a fun challenge to teach, with a mix of first-year students taking their first chemistry course at Carleton, seniors finally taking a requirement they’d been avoiding for years, and lots in between. Making the material accesible, interesting, and relevant to everyone involves using lots of different approaches and examples.
I didn’t teach the labs for Chem 224, which were ably handled by Rachel Horness. Instead, my lab teaching was all in Biochemistry, where I engaged a new set of students in the work that I have been doing on proteins from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Our focus was on the virus’s main protease, which is required for viral maturation and is the target of Paxlovid, one of the few drugs available to treat COVID. Last summer I attended the biennial Transforming Undergraduate Education in the Molecular Life Sciences workshop and learned about Molecular CaseNet, an NSF funded project of the Protein Data Bank that uses case studies to teach students about protein structure. I spent some time during the fall revamping a CaseNet study called “From Pandemic to Paxlovid,” which was used to introduce the viral system to students in the Biochemistry lab course during the Winter term. They went on to explore mutations to the main protease that might confer resistance to Paxlovid, purifying these mutants and testing their activity and response to inhibitors. Another new feature of the lab involves using a protease substrate based on yellow fluorescent protein. The substrate was designed by a group at the University of Debrecen in Hungary, who graciously send the DNA plasmids needed to set it up. Once the plasmids arrived (after several months in the mail!), I pestered almost anyone who passed by my research lab to come take a look at the cool glowing yellow proteins that I had purified. While we didn’t manage to use these proteins much in the lab course this year, I’m hoping that they will be a key component in years to come.
Winter term was also brightened by the time I spent with a marvelous group of students examining the work of the Herschlag group. We focused on fundamental aspects of enzyme catalysis – What exactly does a hydrogen bond contribute to an enzymatic reaction? How much does ground state stabilization contribute to catalysis? How does evolution optimize enzymatic activity for organisms that live at different temperatures? Professor Herschlag’s visit in the Spring was especially fun, as he often turned the students’ questions back to them, asking “what do you think?” rather than immediately providing his own point of view. Every time I participate in a group comps, I’m reminded what a special program we have here at Carleton. The unique and sometimes surprising ways that the comps visitors interact with our students only adds to the experience.
The year brought plenty of non-teaching adventures as well. One of the highlights was attending and judging posters at my first ABRCMS (Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students) meeting in November, perhaps the most inspiring and hopeful scientific conference I’ve ever been to. The ABRCMS experience also provided some excellent ideas that I brought to the annual ASBMB meeting in the spring, where I help to organize the undergraduate poster competition. Travels this year also included a Colorado ski trip and a long drive to the Canadian border for a 15-minute Global Entry interview. Other responsibilities included filling in as Biochemistry program director while Chris Calderone was on sabbatical and continuing to mentor my amazing Posse cohort.
In the research lab, project continue to move forward. Jemsy Matthew, Spence Delle Fave, and Jens Bartel explored pathogenic mutations to the human mitochondrial alanyl-tRNA synthetase, Sara Abraha and Jack Nelson worked on bacterial expression of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases from parasitic worms, and Lizzet Solache and Katie Munro took steps towards a non-radioactive assay to measure aminoacylation activity. Besides doing good science, my group had some excellent bakers! The year was punctuated with surprise deliveries of birthday cakes to each and every group member, always previewed with sneaky questions to determine dietary restrictions and flavor preferences.
We’re still adjusting to empty nesting at home, as both of our girls are in college. Fortunately (?), both ended up declaring Chemistry majors, so there’s always something to talk about. New hobbies and activities are slowly accruing to fill the time. For example, I got talked into being the Treasurer of the local Democratic party “organizing unit”. As long as I stay on the right side of campaign finance law, I look forward to more adventures in the coming year.
William C. Child, Jr., 1956-1990; Professor Emeritus, 1990-. B.A., Oberlin College; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin.
Steven M. Drew, 1991-, Professor. B.A., St. John’s University; Ph.D., University of Colorado.
This past year I had a full slate of teaching. In the fall I taught Materials Chemistry for the second time. In the winter I had a full class of 24 students for Instrumental Chemical Analysis and the lab. Then in the spring I had another full class of 48 students for Principles of Chemistry II and lab. Having full courses is always a challenge, but there is still plenty of enjoyment on my part as I help students learn chemistry that I find interesting and believe is crucial to becoming a fully-formed chemist.
During the academic year Sean Zhang (’25) continued to do research in my lab along with Byron Jia (’24) who opted to do research for his 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. I was invited to a conference in January to present our work on renewable energy. The conference was hosted by Wellesley College and funded by a consortium of liberal arts colleges. It was inspiring to hear about all the renewable energy research that is occurring at colleges like Carleton.
I continue to develop new laboratory experiences for my students. In Instrumental Chemical Analysis I introduced a new square wave voltammetry experiment for measuring the quinine content of tonic water. In Principles of Chemistry I, I have been working with Rachel Horness to develop a new equilibrium experiment using the supramolecular chemistry of a cyclodextrin molecule binding a fluorescence dye molecule. The interesting aspect of this reaction is that the fluorescence “turns on” upon inclusion in the cyclodextrin. Therefore, we built inexpensive fluorescence viewers, that use UV-LEDs for excitation, students use to observe the degree of product formation. The students use their cell phone for fluorescence intensity measurements as parameters like concentration and temperature are varied (classic Le Chatelier’s principle observations). Finally, the students use UV absorbance to make quantitative measurements of the equilibrium constant value. Initial results were promising this spring, so Isaac Blythe will be trying it again this fall.
Tricia A. Ferrett, 1990-, Professor. B.A., Grinnell College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.
Fall term opened with a near-record bumper crop of 39 students in Chem 343 (Thermo). It was a good-vibe group with a collective sense of humor and engagement that really added to class meetings and learning. They stuck with me through the spray can, bike tire, and thermoelectric fan adventures. We did more on renewable energy, highlighting thermodynamic and engineering efficiency issues with solar cells, wind turbines, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). Near the end of the term, students turned toward the literature for a final paper that gave options for many research applications using thermodynamic analyses. A 2-day discussion of a Whitesides protein paper laid the ground for their final papers by parsing changes in enthalpy and entropy into many types of specific molecular interactions – including the role of water in solvation outside and inside a protein. “Never forget about the water!”
Winter term, I had a small group of 11 students in the Quantum Spec Lab (Chem 302). I continued to revise labs and handouts, improving a new quantum dot opener lab I added recently. Students continued to enjoy my lab cookies and the benchtop HeNe lab introduced years ago by Will. I taught and developed this lab course for many years with Will. I will miss him a ton in teaching and as a close colleague, as he retired this spring. The HeNe laser lab will live on, as well as Will’s sense for playful explorations in lab!
Spring term I taught Abrupt Climate Change (ENTS 288) for the last time after ~20 years of developing this course. Each offering, spaced 3-5 years apart, is different because climate change signals and research are shifting so quickly now. This year, I immersed myself in the scientific literature through the whole course, bringing in the latest developments. It was a satisfying and challenging (for me) term that gave me/us a small bit of existential angst related to issues with the limits of simple cause-and-effect thinking in complex systems. The highlight of the term was a visit by “Icy Pete” (Peter Neff, U of MN), a glaciologist who talked with us about his recent “James Bond” scientific expeditions to drill ice cores in remote and inhospitable areas of the vulnerable and melting (from underneath by warming ocean waters) West Antarctic Ice Shelf (WAIS).
Finally, I had the privilege to supervise and learn much from two long-paper comps students over the year: Alana Berger (non-fullerene organic solar cells) and Michael Carey (ion channel transport in the CFTR protein linked to cystic fibrosis). Both rose to the challenges they faced with new, difficult, and complex ideas and got distinction in comps.
I have decided that 2024-25 will be my last year before retirement. I will relish all my courses and interactions with students and colleagues next year. The department plans to hire a physical chemist who will bring new ideas, youthful energy, and fresh opportunities in both teaching and a lab research program. It is an exciting and promising time for the department with our recent and upcoming hires. I enjoyed officing next to Kaz last year, and I had a blast teaching the opening day of kinetics lab projects (Chem 301) with Tamra last fall.
At home, I spend several hours daily with my 93-year-old Mom at a nearby nursing home after moving her from Colorado to Minnesota in summer 2023. I now manage all her care and affairs. Moving back and forth daily between the youthful vitality of Carleton and the nursing home feels like emotional whiplash. I have adjusted and learned much about aging, nursing, and health care. My partner Gerard is retiring next March. We both enjoy our adult kids who are local and maturing nicely. We can’t wait to slow down and focus on gardening, creative arts, volunteering, daily exercise, biking, local travel, and family.
Carrie Flesch, 2023-, Chemistry Laboratory Manager and Instrument Technician. B.S., University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.
This was my first full year at Carleton. The summer started off with some educational opportunities. I attended a 2-day workshop on Gas Chromatography through the Minnesota Chromatography Forum. I also attended the NAOSMM conference.I began volunteering on the NAOSMM Membership Committee.
The academic year was challenging as I was still learning where things are and how different labs are run. The most challenging part of the year was Julie Karg retiring. She was a great mentor and she has been missed. I was lucky enough to have a couple of very helpful student workers for the remainder of the year. Katie O’Leary was able to fill many gaps and I will always appreciate that.
On the instrumentation front we finally updated our gas chromatographers (GC’s). We replaced the 6 old GCs with 2 GC’s with autosamplers. We are also updating a lot of software to run on Windows 11.
At home it was a full year. My girls and I traveled to Montana to visit Glacier National Park. I also went glamping in the Everglades National Park. I completed my first 50K trail race. Kara was in her 7th Nutcracker and finished her 12th year of dance in the Senior Repertoire program. Josephine graduated from high school, got her driver’s license and got her own car.
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.
I was on sabbatical all year, mostly working on putting together a (nearly ready) paper summarizing the cookstove measurements made over the last many years. I tried to stay away from Carleton but was not fully successful, for a bunch of good reasons (hiring, working with a research student, continuing to run the FOCUS Program, etc..), but I was able to stay mostly away and work at my own pace with fewer distractions. It was a nice change of pace.
I had the opportunity to attend the American Association for Aerosol Research conference in Portland, OR in October. It was the culmination of a lot of work, as I was the chair of the Aerosol Chemistry Working Group, which includes responsibility for organizing all of the conference sessions in that topic area. It was a fun conference! I also had the opportunity to present the current state of the cookstove work. During both the Fall and Spring terms, I continued working with Margaret Hall (Chemistry ’25) on data analysis. Margaret presented the work in a nice talk at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in March, 2024 in New Orleans, LA. The project is being pushed along this summer by Sarah McKinley (Chemistry ’25) and Chris Rodriguez (Biology ’26). Frankie Saraniti (Chemistry ’25) is launching a new project related to microplastics – stay tuned for future updates on that. These are just a few highlights of the things I did this year.
A bittersweet highlight of the spring term was planning the department’s retirement party for our colleague Will Hollingsworth. It will be a different department without his presence!
Throughout this year, I also worked closely with Mo Armstrong (Biology ’23) who served as the FOCUS Coordinator. They did a fantastic job of running FOCUS and making sure that the students in the program were supported and connected.
A nice perk of being disconnected from the academic calendar for a year was the ability to travel regardless of when in the term it was. Markus and I were able to visit family in California in fall, winter, and spring. We are hoping to close out the summer with another trip.
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, 1986-2024, Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus. B.S., B.A., University of Texas, Austin; M.S., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.
After 38 years in the Chemistry Department at Carleton College, I am now retired! That’s quite a run, an amount of time that feels like both an eternity and the blink of an eye. It’s been a real thrill working with others on classes, research and related activities over these many years. My email account remains active, please feel free to keep in touch.
Rachel Horness, 2022-, Visiting Assistant Professor. B.A., Kalamazoo College; Ph.D., Indiana University.
After a busy first year at Carleton full of new people, classes, and schedules, I looked forward to settling into some familiarity in my second year here. While some things were familiar, there were certainly some surprises to keep things interesting along the way. In the fall I taught, for the first time, the lecture portion of Principles of Chemistry II (224) along with the lab. While I enjoyed teaching the lab portion last winter, teaching both parts of the class gave me a deeper appreciation for how the class and lab work to reinforce each other. It also gave me the opportunity to get to know the 224 students even better. I had a stellar group of students who were dedicated to learning the material, but also so supportive of each other in the classroom and in the lab. It was great to see some familiar faces from my Chem 123 classes in 2022-2023 continuing on their chemistry adventures.
As the weather began to turn colder and we started registration for the winter term, it became clear that the demand for Biochemistry was larger than our class was originally set up to accommodate. While the popularity of biochem warmed some part of my heart (the part that can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to take biochemistry), expanding the class size to 50 students felt a little bit daunting after having a class of 16 in the previous year. Even though the vibes were very different, we had a great time. We dug into the building blocks of biochemistry, and I was able to test out some new assignments where we took a little dive into the primary literature. Students were remarkably patient with me while I tried out something new, and I was very grateful for their hard work and feedback. At the same time, I was teaching the lab portion of Chem 224! I got to know a lot of students in Winter of ’24…
I wrapped up the year with another large and exciting class of nearly 60 students in Chem 123. I particularly enjoyed having a class with such diverse interests. While I’m certain that we had some future chemists in the mix, many were planning careers in health fields, exploring geology, interested in political science, or even majoring in economics. It felt like a class where students brought many different perspectives to the course material and connected to the content in many different ways. We had three lab sections for Chem 123 this term. While the “normal” Tuesday morning/afternoon sections were awesome, major props got out to my Wednesday afternoon crew for powering through over an hour of class and a four-hour lab all in one day.
Though it was an exciting year of (bigger) classes, it was also exciting to connect with students in new ways. Labs this year gave me new opportunities to think about what it can look like to support accessibility in lab spaces. I experienced my very first Chem at the Cow (incredible), two dinners at canoe house (amazing, pickled beets galore), and attended a very touching commencement ceremony. As summer flies by, I’m committed to taking on some baking projects, growing cucumbers, making pickles (hopefully with said cucumbers), and wandering in the woods.
Daniela Kohen, 2002-, Professor. B.A., Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Ph.D., University of Notre Dame.
As I write this report, I wonder, as I often do, how much the details of my work change every year while the big picture stays the same. Of course, I taught, did research, and was very active in the college and department life.
The biggest highlights of my teaching year involved the two tenure-track faculty we hired the previous year. In the fall, I co-taught Chemical Kinetics Laboratory with Tamra Lahom. It was wonderful to see the class through her eyes, and working together, we were able to improve many aspects of the course. Then, I co-advised a comps group with Kaz Skubi. “Our group” delved into the work of Igor Alabugin, who uses quantum chemistry to study radical reactions. Comps is always fun, but interacting with Kaz, as he began his teaching career at Carleton was extra fun!
This past year, my teaching load also included Principles of Chemistry with Problem Solving (Chem 123) in the winter. I love teaching all those classes! I love the material itself, but I also love seeing our enthusiastic and dedicated students accomplish their goals!
In the spring, I could dedicate more time to research, as I did not teach any courses that term. This was great because my research group is part of a collaborative project funded by the DOE involving four groups from other institutions. Collaborating with other groups at R1 universities is rewarding and provides my students (and myself) the opportunity to engage in research that would have otherwise been inaccessible, though it is more demanding on my time. This collaboration focuses on studying porous materials like zeolites and metal-organic frameworks. I have been working on these materials since my independent research career began. Still, in this collaborative project, our team aims to enhance, develop, and expand computational and theoretical chemistry methods and data-driven scientific approaches for adsorption cooling and separations applications. During the spring term, Katherine Geist (’24) was able to dedicate quite a bit of time to our other nanoporous material project, which focuses on cation motion in zeolites. I was so glad to have the bandwidth to work closely with her and support her as she prepared her first talk at a national conference. She was the only undergraduate I saw give a talk in a regular scientific session at the spring ACS meeting– and she did a fantastic job!
Conducting research during the summer was also truly a pleasure. In addition to Henry Wolters (’26) and Nathan Wang (’26), who continue to be part of the DOE-funded team, Lizzy Arnell (’27) joined our group and started to work on cation motion in zeolites. Furthermore, Claire Lee-Zacheis (’26) and Aidan Khan (’25) continued their research into mechanisms and reactivity within the systems studied by the Whited group. It was quite a busy and productive summer!
On the personal front, Joe and I have gotten used to, and quite enjoy, being “empty nesters.” Margo is at Haverford, and Sofia is at Skidmore; both continue to thrive and grow more and more independent, but they still make time for family adventures!
Tamra Lahom, 2023-; Assistant Professor, B.S., Georgia State University, M.Sc. & Ph.D., Emory University.
Tamara Little, 2016-; administrative assistant for Chemistry and Geology. 1996-2016 administrative assistant for AMST/ENTS/LING plus WGST (2007-2016).
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.
Athena Pitsavas, 2023-; Chemistry Technician, B.A. University of Minnesota.
I joined the department as a Chemistry Technician in May, days after graduating from the University of Minnesota. My transition into this role was quick but seamless thanks to the welcoming faculty and staff, and most importantly Carrie’s guidance over the past few months. Joining in the summer was also great, as it gave me the opportunity to understand my responsibilities ahead of the students’ arrival. I am excited to implement what I have learned this upcoming term, and of course, to continue learning.
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
Kaz Skubi, 2023-, Assistant Professor. B.A., Carleton College; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
I just completed my first year as a faculty member at Carleton, and it has certainly been a whirlwind. As an alum (class of 2011), it’s been particularly special to return to the department that helped shape me as a scientist, and I hope I can “pay it forward” to many future generations of Carls.
In the fall I taught CHEM 353 (Orgo III), and with a whopping 8 students, it was by far the smallest class I’ve ever taught. I had a ton of fun talking about physical organic principles and techniques, and watching the students dive into some of the complexity that gets glossed over in Orgo I/II. Watching them work together and bounce ideas off each other was invigorating, and it just reminded me of how special the Carleton student body is, and what a great sense of collaboration is fostered here.
In December, my wife and I welcomed our daughter Eleanor, and she has been a large part of the “whirlwind” I mentioned above. Navigating new parenthood and a new job has been challenging, but everyone in the department has been extremely supportive and helpful. I am especially thankful to Maraia Ener-Goetz ’08, who taught the winter lab sections of CHEM 234 when I had a newborn at home and was barely keeping my head above water.
In both the winter and spring, I taught CHEM 234 (Orgo II). Again, I had two great groups of students, and was consistently impressed by what they were able to accomplish. After having taught at several different semester schools, it was quite a shock to remember how much content we pack into 10 weeks of organic.
During this time, I also worked with Dani Kohen in a joint comps group, studying the work of Professor Igor Alabugin (Florida State University). As Dani is a computational chemist and I am a radical chemist, it was a perfect fit for us to study someone who is both. I had a great time working with our students (Kat Geist ’24, Amanda Khouw ’24, Casey MacVeagh ’24, Wanying Na ’24, Frank Sheffield ’24, and Caleb Wataoka ’24), and benefited tremendously from Dani’s guidance and leadership in how to run a comps group. Looking back on things, it’s incredible how far the students came from our first few meetings in January to them giving a polished presentation in April.
Towards the end of the academic year, I started up my research group, working with three students in the spring, and then four over the summer. Avery Dunn ’26, Yinan Gao ’26, Meaghan Kelley ’26, and Noah Reid ’26 have all been great to work with. Starting a new project from scratch is always challenging, but these four students have been fearless, and jumped headfirst into the fray. We are studying carbon-centered radical reactions for organic synthesis, particularly focusing on the selectivity of these processes. As I write this entry, we are in the midst of some intriguing mechanistic experiments that keep yielding more questions than answers, so I hope to have more to share next year. I am also thrilled to announce that I received an ACS PRF grant to support this work, which will help fund our research in 2024–2026.
Matthew T. Whited, 2010-, Professor. B.A., Davidson College; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology.
Another busy and gratifying year in the Chemistry Department! I have continued my roles as Department Chair and STEM Director this year, leading a 5-year review of the STEM Board and coordinating a variety of activities in the Chemistry Department, including a tenure-track search in the fall (which did not result in a hire) and a search for a new Chemistry Technician in the spring (which was wildly successful and resulted in Athena Pitsavas joining our team in May). As part of these administrative roles, I have had a variety of opportunities to support efforts across the College, and I am particularly pleased to be a co-PI on a National Endowment for the Humanities (yep, you read that right) “Curricular Bridge” grant with Prof. Baird Jarman (Art History, Humanities Center Director) to explore strategies for increased implementation of courses bridging STEM and Humanities disciplines. This work ties closely to the Carleton 2033 Strategic Direction, about which you will no doubt be hearing more in the coming years.
We have just started the second year on my NSF RUI grant exploring new approaches to group-transfer oxidations at metal/silicon bonds. I have been so fortunate to work with great student researchers doing synthesis and computations (Collin Pearson, Annika Stewart, Claire Lee-Zacheis, Aidan Khan, Sergio Yap, Marshall Johnson, and Quan Nguyen) as well as continuing my collaboration with Prof. Dani Kohen and having Prof. Isaac Blythe join our team. Results are really starting to come together for our next couple of manuscripts, and we expect to be submitting the first of these in early December. I also submitted an ACS PRF proposal to extend our group’s work into metal/germanium chemistry, and we are crossing our fingers for good news on that front as we look toward next summer.
I taught Organic Chemistry I last fall (always a fun experience, and especially so this time since it was not a totally new prep), and I enjoyed being able to co-lead a comps group on Prof. Karen Goldberg’s (UPenn) organometallic catalysis and mechanism work with Gretchen Hofmeister. I am also looking forward to getting back to teaching introductory chemistry for the first time in several years this next year.
At home, my family (James, Andrew, and Charlotte) continues to keep things interesting and fun. James is entering 7th grade, Andrew is starting 5th grade, and both are thriving in Northfield. Charlotte continues to have record-setting years in supporting faculty grants. Although it can be tough to find time away with the busy summer research schedule, we were fortunate to get a chance to visit the Big Island of Hawaii just after research ended, and it was an AMAZING family trip (setting aside a minor detour to the Hilo Urgent Care due to some stupidity/overconfidence on my part when exploring the lava caves…). We are looking forward to the year ahead, and if you find yourself in Minnesota please do drop by to say hello!
Faculty Bibliography
Publications
Brown, L. C., Chopra, J., Horness, R. E., van Kessel, J. C. Synthesis and Assay of Vibrio Quorum Sensing Inhibitors. J. Vis. Exp. (207), e66582, doi:10.3791/66582 (2024).
Swords, W. B.; Lee, H.; Park, Y.; Llamas, F.; Skubi, K. L.; Park, J.; Guzei, I. A.; Baik, M.-H.; Yoon, T. P. Highly Enantioselective 6π Photoelectrocyclizations Engineered by Hydrogen Bonding. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 27045–27053.
Wandzilak, A.; Grubel, K.; Skubi, K. L.; McWilliams, S. F.; Bessas, D.; Rana, A.; Hugenbruch, S.; Dey, A.; Holland, P. L.; DeBeer, S. Mössbauer and Nuclear Resonance Vibrational Spectroscopy Studies of Iron Species Involved in N–N Bond Cleavage. Inorg. Chem. 2023, 62, 18449–18464.
Acosta-Calle, S.; Huebsch, E. Z.; Kolmar, S. S.; Whited, M. T.; Chen, C.-H.; Miller, A. J. M. M. “Regulating Access to Active Sites via Hydrogen Bonding and Cation-Dipole Interactions: A Dual Cofactor Approach to Switchable Catalysis” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 16, 11095–11104. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c10877
Conference Presentations (* indicates presenting author):
Extending the scope of a coupled assay to measure alanyl-tRNA synthetase activity, Katie Munro, Lizzet Solache Salgado, Leo Qi, Augustus Williams, Joseph Chihade. DiscoverBMB annual meeting, San Antonio, TX, March 2024
Bacterial expression of helminth aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, Sara Abraha, Noah Mueller, Jack Nelson, Joseph Chihade, Annual Biomedical Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), Phoenix, AZ, November 2023 and DiscoverBMB annual meeting, San Antonio, TX, March 2024
Building a Renewable Future within the Liberal Arts AALAC Conference, Wellesley College, January 10, 2024, “Photoelectrochemistry of Thin Film Mixed Metal Oxides Composed of Iron, Chromium, and Aluminum” Undergraduate co-authors: all research students since 2015.
Hall, M.*; McManus, S.; Touré, A.; Parrott, A.; Hein, E.; Rabago, A.; Caballero, N.; Heuer, A.; Abebe, S.; Nega, T.; Gross, D. S. “Improved cooking practices contribute to lowering PM2.5 exposure from clean biomass cookstoves in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia” Oral Presentation at the American Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 2024.
Hall, M.; McManus, S.; Touré, A.; Parrott, A.; Hein, E.; Rabago, A.; Caballero, N.; Heuer, A.; Abebe, S.; Nega, T.; Gross, D. S.* “Improved Biomass Stoves and Improved Cooking Practices Contribute to Lowering PM2.5 Exposure in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia” Poster Presentation at the American Association for Aerosol Research, Portland, OR, October 2023.
“Ammonia behavior within MFI zeolite.” Ramanish Singh, Nathan Wang, Henry Wolters, Ilja Siepmann and Daniela Kohen.* FOMMS. Poster. Snowbird, Utah. July 2024.
“Using Zeolites to isolate Ammonia.” Lizzy Arnell*, Nathan Wang*, and Henry Wolters* Forty-Third Midwest Undergraduate Computational Chemistry Conference. Talk. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. July 2024.
“Computational Explorations of the role of Sterics in Silicon-Metal Cooperative Chemistry.” Aidan Khan* and Claire* Lee‐Zacheis, Forty-Third Midwest Undergraduate Computational Chemistry Conference. Talk. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. July 2024.
“Molecular Dynamics Study of Cation Sites in Zeolites.” Katherine Geist*, and Daniela Kohen. Talk. ACS. New Orleans, LA. March 2024.
Gifts and Grants
Co-Principal Investigator and Carleton College Site Coordinator “North Star STEM Alliance”, NSF LSAMP grant to the University of Minnesota, 8/1/2024 – 7/31/2029; Subaward = $125,000 to Carleton College.
American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (UNI), “Development of Regioselective Strategies for Photoredox-Promoted Radical Conjugate Additions.” $55,000 to support research during 2024–2026.
Matt Whited was co-PI with Prof. Baird Jarman (Art History) on a grant for $50k from the National Endowment for the Humanities to explore and support implementation of curricular bridge courses between Humanities and STEM fields. The project will run through 2024–25 and will involve planning and implementation workshops.
Seminars
CCCE, Career Center, and Fellowships Seminar
Amy Marschilok, Stony Brook University, Electrochemical Energy Storage (Batteries): A Keystone for a Clean Energy Future
Andrew P. Ault ’05, University of Michigan, Dropping Acid in the Atmosphere: Is It Just a Phase?
Undergraduate Student Research and Internship Symposium
Laramie Jensen ’15, Iron and other trace metals in global ocean: from the Arctic to the Antarctic
Research Recruiting – Interested in doing research on campus this summer?
Francesca Ippoliti, Hamline University, Total Synthesis of Lissodendoric Acid A and Interactive Teaching Tools for Organic Chemistry Education
Courtney Roberts, University of Minnesota, Access to “Inaccessible” Arynes and Redox Chemistry Using Transition Metals
Ronald Brisbois, Macalester College, Leveraging Cyclophane and 1,2,3-Triazole Synthesis to Prospect for Novel Atropisomeric Scaffolds, Fluorophores, and Colorimetric Sensors
Dipa Kalyani, Merck & Co., Inc., Tale of Two Careers: Catalysis in Industry vs. Academia
Conor Caffrey, University of California San Diego, Drug discovery for neglected tropical diseases at the University of California San Diego
David Hanna ’13, University of Michigan, H2S preconditioning induces long-lived perturbations in O2 metabolism
Igor Alabugin, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Accumulating energy to drive chemical reactions: from stereoelectronic frustration to electron upconversion
Daniel Herwschlag, Stanford University, From Structure–function to Ensemble–function: Understanding how enzymes work
Karen Goldberg, University of Pennsylvania, Developing Alternatives to Oil as Feedstocks for our Chemicals
Senior Comps Talks
Katherine Geist, Amanda Khouw, Casey MacVeagh, Wanying Na, Frank Sheffield, Caleb Watakoa/Alabugin Comps Group: “Redirecting Radical Cascades using Stereoelectronics“
Cassie Huang, Katie Munro, Jack Nelson, David Pille, Viv Soforenko/Goldberg Student Comps Group: “Homogeneous Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol”
Angel Garcia-Ramirez, Hannah Ku, Leo Qi, Barclay Shove, Mira Verma, Parker Walther/Herschlag Comps Group: “Elucidating the Intricacies of Enzyme Catalysis”
Individual Paper Comps Presentations:
Alana Berger: “Organic Photovoltaics and the Charge Processes Within Them”
Michael Carey: “Understanding the ATP-Mediated CFTR Gating Mechanism Using Biophysical Chemical Techniques”
Teddy Friedman: “The Characterization of Individual Atmospheric Aerosol Particles: A Review of Methods and Future Goals”
Arden Clauss: “Metal-Organic Frameworks for Single-Atom Heterogeneous Photocatalysis”
The Class of 2014
Julia Bakker-Arkema – New York, NY – I received my Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2020, then returned to Northfield where I taught for two years at Carleton as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry. My partner Ryan Lawrence (’14) and I then moved to NYC where I’m working as an Associate Research Scientist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art investigating indoor air quality and its impact on the collections. Come say hello if you’re ever in New York! 🙂
Molly Bostrom – Minneapolis, MN
Aaron Buckley – San Diego, CA
Jang Cho – Ypsilanti, MI
Elijah Mae Christensen – Seattle, WA
Tyler Cragg – Wilmington, DE – After graduating in 2014, Tyler went straight to law school at Washington & Lee University, where he was named the top student in commercial litigation for his class. After receiving his law degree in 2017, Tyler returned to his home state of Delaware to practice law. Tyler first worked as a litigator at Delaware’s largest law firm, Richards, Layton & Finger, PA. While there Tyler developed a specialty in intellectual property and commercial litigation handling patent disputes in a wide-variety of fields including pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors, and software. Tyler has also been involved in some of the most recent seminal cases on fair competition in Delaware helping to shape non-compete law for employees. In late 2023, Tyler took his practice to Potter, Anderson & Corroon LLP, where he was named a 2024 Super Lawyer – Rising Star in IP Litigation for IP Litigation. In addition to his practice, Tyler takes an active role mentoring junior attorneys, particularly those with STEM backgrounds, in how to succeed in the practice of law.
Scott Erickson – Spokane, WA
Emily Fairfax – Minneapolis, MN
Jenny Forster – Los Angeles, CA
Emily Greene – Minneapolis, MN
Julia Greenwald – Washington, DC
Alex Kosanovich – Rosharon, TX – After graduating in 2014, Alex attended Texas A&M University in College Station, TX where he earned his PhD in Inorganic/Organometallic Chemistry in 2019 as part of the Ozerov group. He then got married to his wife, Josephine in April of 2019 in Houston, TX, and joined The Dow Chemical Company in the Polyurethanes R&D group later that summer. Currently, Alex works to bridge chemical catalysis, complex formulations, and material science to enable multiple polyurethanes application areas.
Sookin Lee – Incheon, KR
Ted Lozier – Chicago, IL
Conor Lynch – Salem, OR – After graduating in 2014, Conor played American football overseas, began a career in coatings/polymer synthesis, left the industry to coach college football for several years before settling back into the protective coatings industry. He works for ENTEK International and develops ceramic and adhesive coatings for Li-ion battery separators. He married his wife, Ashley, in 2021 and they have an 18-month daughter together.
Kate May – Minneapolis, MN
Lucas Morrill – Westford, MA
Soon Kai Poh – Sunnyside, NY
Loren Rosen – Los Angeles, CA
Alissa Severson – Mercer Island, WA
Emma Southgate – Mountain View, CA
Brandon Taitt – Minneapolis, MN
Benjamin Truax – Minneapolis, MN
Brian Wells – Minneapolis, MN
Reid Whitaker – Washington, DC
Raymond Yong – Elmhurst, IL
Other Contributions
Louisa Carr ’04 – After graduating Carleton, I earned a Masters of Biotechnology degree from Northwestern University and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington. From there, I moved to Upstate New York to work as a Materials Scientist at the General Electric Global Research Center for five years. In 2017, I moved to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and am now a Director of the Project Management and Operations Group in the Process Sciences department. I married a Chemist (shockingly) and am busy raising three boys, ages 19, 16, and 7!
Bill Clary ’81 – Working on carbon capture with algae via photo bioreactor installed at an oil production facility in California. The validation testing is going well!
Stan Deming ’66 – Semi-retried, still consulting, primarily in the field of bioassays, still giving short courses, mostly basic statistics and experimental design. Just taught a three-day statistical analysis course at EPA in Denver, just published the second of three volumes on “Statistical Analysis of Laboratory Data” (lulu.com). But retirement isn’t all work. I enjoy piano, hiking, bird watching with Bonnie, woodworking, family, and friends. Nothing like a pot-luck dinner and a movie in our home to bring the Film and Wine club together – it’s good for the soul.
Linda Eckert ’83 – I am a new author!! I combined 32 years of Ob/Gyn clinical practice with five years of research, and in January of 2024, Cambridge University Press published, “Enough: Because We Can Stop Cervical Cancer,” geared toward the lay population, asking why a preventable cancer is continuing to kill and what we can do about it. Cervical cancer serves as a “canary in the coal mine” about the state of women’s health nationally and globally. The cornerstone of the book are powerful stories from women across six continents who challenge and inspire us – leading the way toward advocacy and a cervical cancer free world. Check it out from your favorite book seller.
Elizabeth Edblom ’83 – I am still working at 3M.
Ken Fisher ’55 – On September 30, my first book will be published: Sleep: A User’s Guide. It’s written for a general audience, to learn about the ways sleep functions in our bodies, as well as how it can get out of adjustment and cause havoc, and what we can do about such problems.
Bill Garvis ’87 – I am into my 28th year as a practicing otologist/neurotologist in Minneapolis. I have three adult offspring, the oldest is an electrical engineer, the middle one is a financial analyst, and my youngest heads to medical school next year. I’m happily married for nearly 31 years.
Andy King ’94 – After several rewarding years as a nationally certified oncology nurse, I decided to pivot slightly. Now I’m a pediatric nurse in a private clinic not affiliated with our local hospital. It seems like a good fit so far, and I’ve been three for three years already! We only have one boy left at home, so Liz and I have started to engage in the elderly pursuits of golf, pickleball, and dog agility (with our border collie, Mango!). These supplement our other Jackson Hole pursuits of skiing, fishing, hiking, biking, etc. Give a shout if you ever get a chance to come through Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks!
Tali Kottler ’22 – I got married to the love of my life Emmett Watson, on September 2, 2024. We live in Farmington, UT with our cat, Silky, and golden doodle, Sunny. We also run a homemade bakery together, named Sugar Science after my chemistry degree.
Dylan Lee ’16 – Starting my second year of high school chemistry and physics teaching.
Mark Love ’70 – I did not use my chemistry degree at all after graduation. I got sucked up in the computer revolution and obtained an MS in Computer Science. Among other things, I managed computer systems and consulted with customers on software deployments in the semiconductor industry. Long retired, I now volunteer for AARP Tax-Aide and give bicycle rides to the inform on adaptive tricycles.
Kathy Malville-Shipan ’83 – Chuck and I will be having a little adventure this fall as we spend the semester in Copenhagen, Demark. He received a Fulbright award to teach and do research in Political Science at the University of Copenhagen. If anyone else has been in the area, we’d love any suggestions of particularly interesting things to do or places to visit!
Yvonne Martin ’58 – This spring I was awarded the American Chemical Society Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry. My work in this field started with my Chem-Zoology major at Carleton.
Richard Novak ’76 – I’m currently using my Carleton chemistry education as an Adjunct Clinical Professor in Stanford University’s Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine. I live in Atherton, California.
Nell Schafer ’23 – For the past year, I have been working at the NOAA Chemical Sciences Lab in Boulder, CO doing greenhouse gas research, including deploying instruments in two field campaigns (AEROMMA, summer 2023; USOS, summer 2024). This fall, I will be beginning a PhD in the Analytical and Environmental Chemistry department at CU Boulder, continuing to work in the NOAA CSL tropospheric chemistry group while advised by Dr. Steve Brown. I’m excited for this new opportunity and to stay in beautiful Boulder for a while!
Kathy Wallace ’80 – After a 33-year career in an architectural firm, specializing in design and planning of educational environments, I made the switch to the owner’s side and am now heading up the capital improvement program for St. Paul Public Schools. We are fortunate to be able to do truly transformative renovations as well as the regular roof, paving or mechanical maintenance projects. I have used my grounding in chemistry throughout my career (material compatibility), but even more the habits of curiosity, investigation, and communication. Hi to my classmates!
Matthew Wasco ’99 – I am a general anatomic and clinical pathologist in Ann Arbor, MI where my duties include interpretation of biopsies and clinical laboratory oversight (including the chemistry section). I am also currently a trustee of the American Board of Pathology. Unfortunately had to miss 25th reunion this year due to family commitments.
Richard Walsh ’78 – Still working as a Performance Engineer in High Performance Computing for HPE. Lately, working with the group at HPE standing up latest “world’s fastest comptuer” at LLNL for the DOE under their Coral-2 contract which will be able to compute at over 1.5 ExaFLOPs. I do get to occasionally do some chemistry (computational), running applications like GAMESS, VASP, and Gaussian on customer systems. Hope the Carleton Chemistry Department has a full course in Computational Chemistry. It seems like I got my degree just yesterday. Advice to recent graduates–life moves along at unrelenting speed–stay awake for it.
Richard Wells ’82 – After working for 30+ years as a software developer for various companies, in 2016 I went back to my original life plan and went into teaching. I’ve been teaching Computer Science at Normandale Community College for eight years now, except for the 2022-23 academic year during which I took a leave of absence to teach at Carleton. I also taught a summer program (SLAI – Summer Liberal Arts Institute) at Carleton during the summer of 2024, where I worked with a group of high school students to build an 8-bit breadboard-based CPU.
Yvette Wrona ’86 – Loving my real estate business in one of the highest ranked coastal-beach communities (Marco Island & Naples, FL). @YvetteSellsSWFL@gmail.com
* Information may not be current. Email Tami Little if you would like your information to be updated.