Chemistry News

A campus team led by Professor of Chemistry Karen Holman has received a Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The $18,500 award will support bringing a renowned female chemist of color to campus to engage our community in several activities. The award also funds research stipends for two Willamette students.

The chemist who is not yet officially announced, will give a formal technical talk for Willamette Valley scientists as well as a non-technical “Science Pub” talk open to the local community. She will participate in outreach activities to local K-12 students through Willamette University’s Willamette Academy and Willamette Science Outreach Program. During her two-day visit she will also meet with Willamette faculty and STEM students—including student participants in our National Science Foundation S-STEM grant—around topics related to both their research and equity and inclusion efforts.

As the proportion of female students of color in Willamette’s chemistry and STEM programs has increased in recent years, the Dreyfus Lecturer will provide students an additional role model in the field with a background and lived experience not currently represented among our faculty.

The bulk of the award provides support for two undergraduate students to carry out chemistry laboratory research during the summer of 2022. The student researchers will carry out original research as part of Willamette’s Science Collaborative Research Program and will present their results at the end of the summer.

Professor Michaela Kleinert, Christine Shanaberger, and former Willamette Professor and Associate Dean Sarah Kirk worked with Professor Holman to submit the grant application.

Announcements regarding the Dreyfus Lecturer’s talks are forthcoming. The events will most likely take place in February or March 2022.

Anya is working at a biotech startup in SF doing their analytical work. She is taking to SF well but is hoping to take a year off soon to hike the PCT before going back to school. Courtney is driving coast to coast (in a Subaru she built out) to visit family and friends before moving back to Alaska in the fall where she will be starting at the University of Washington School of Medicine WAMMI. Meagan was promoted to Scientist II and is chemistry lead for 3 client projects at Alonza Pharma and Biotech in Bend, OR. She loves Bend and plans on running a marathon soon! Sierra just finished up her first year of graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. She has joined Andrew Duncan's lab in the cellular and molecular pharmacology department and will be focusing on liver regeneration research.

Brendan Dwyer, WU '15 and PhD Candidate at Scripps Research Institute, was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 143, issue 11. Titled Total Synthesis and Target Identification of the Curcusone Diterpenes, Dwyer breaks it down:

"The paper is about a molecule which is isolated from a plant (the Barbados nut) and has demonstrated anticancer activity in early studies. Our collaborators solved the total synthesis of the complex molecule which then enabled us to identify which proteins the molecule targets inside the cell. This led to the discovery that the molecule called "curcusone D" inhibits a protein called "BRAT1," which plays an important role in how cancer cells fix their DNA to achieve immortality. Impairing this mechanism called the DNA damage response causes the cancer cell to die. Curcusone D is the first known molecular inhibitor of BRAT1 and could lead to new (and hopefully better) anticancer drugs, although there is still a lot to learn about BRAT1 and curcusone D."

Dr. C.P. Hutchinson, a previous postdoctoral researcher with David Griffith, has begun their tenure track position at St. Bonaventure University. Check out their website.

Double major in chemistry (biochemistry track) and Spanish Mariana Navarro ('18) has been awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program. Navarro is pursuing graduate work in chemistry at the University of California Irvine.

Founded in 1952, the NSF GRP program supports support graduate work in STEM and some social sciences for outstanding students expected to become leaders in their fields.

Sam Hinton ('19) was awarded second place in biochemistry for his poster entitled "Utilization of a Modular High Mobility Group Box1 (HMGB1) Split Protein Biosensor System for Sequence Specific Detection of Cisplatin Damaged DNA."

American Chemical Society Portland hosted the Undergraduate Poster Symposium and Career Fair on Sunday, October 20, 2019.

Professor Joseph “Chuck” Williamson has been appointed to the endowed Taul Watanabe Chair in the Sciences for a five-year renewable term. Announcing the new appointment, President Steve Thorsett said, “Professor Williamson’s leadership, scholarship, pedagogy and service to our students are all outstanding, and I’m delighted that the university is able to honor his work in this way.” Williamson intends to "use the title and resources associated with the Watanabe Chair to increase the number of science research opportunities available to Willamette undergraduates.” The Professor has co-directed the Science Collaborative Research Program since 2010.

Instrumentation specialist Ron Jones received The Alvan F. Waller Stewardship Award for providing creative, cost-efficient solutions. The award was presented to Jones on May 30 at the annual Willamette Employee Awards Luncheon. Jones reportedly has a "supernatural ability" to find cost-effective and functional repair solutions which has saved the university thousands of dollars. He is also described as "surreptitiously cool."

Carolyn Hutchinson comes to Willamette from Iowa State University, where she completed her PhD in analytical chemistry in May 2017. Her research focused on using high resolution mass spectrometry to investigate the fast pyrolysis of biomass on a molecular level. While at Iowa State, she also served as president of the Queer* Graduate Student Association and as vice president of oSTEM ISU as well as being an active member of Pride Summit. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry at Christopher Newport University in Virginia along with a minor in Latin Classical Studies, graduating magna cum laude with departmental honors and as a member of Alpha Chi national college honor society. Carolyn is looking forward to a productive year of research and growth with the Griffith lab. So far, she has been enjoying the ample opportunities to get outdoors as well as the variety of dog sports readily available in the area.

The Department of Chemistry is excited to welcome Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jonathan White to our department as a biochemist and chemical biologist. Jonathan comes to us from Oregon Health & Science University, where he developed new chemical tools to study heterogeneity in cancers. He completed his PhD degree at the University of Oregon, where he studied the reactivity of platinum anticancer compounds." Jonathan was born and raised in Oregon, and looks forward to teaching chemistry and biochemistry at Willamette!

Todd Melgreen, former chemist, manufacturing manager, and safety manager at Sarepta Therapeutics, brings his expertise to Willamette to serve the chemistry department as the lab/stockroom manager. He will also serve the greater Willamette community where safety in chemical hygiene is concerned. Beyond his days at Willamette, Todd is a white water rafter, gardener, and disc golfer.

The Department of Chemistry congratulates the 2017-2018 Chemistry Award recipients! See the list of winners.

 It is our pleasure to announce that Associate Professor Alison Fisher in the Department of Chemistry has received word from the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust that her grant through the College Research Program for Life Sciences has been renewed for two years in the amount of $36,100.  This grant will support the work of three undergraduate chemistry majors, who will collaborate with Professor Fisher on her research project, research that has also been supported by Willamette’s Science Collaborative Research Program (SCRP) and Alison’s laboratory start-up funds when she first began teaching at Willamette.

The Department of Chemistry would like to congratulate all of the 2014 Chemistry award recipients! Chemistry Awards 2014

Congratulations to the new William Webber scholars! Chemistry majors Kira Egelhofer, Emily Miller, and Jennifer Grauberger, were recently awarded this wonderful opportunity to teach elementary students science. William B. Webber established the program to honor and encourage women studying in the sciences. Each year, 8-10 female biology, chemistry, environmental science and physics majors who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable in their area of research take the Willamette Science Outreach Program (WSOP) into 5th grade classrooms. Their task is to serve as mentors to foster scientific curiosity and understanding, and to provide encouragement to pursue an interest in science, math, and engineering. Mr. Webber saw his scholarship program as an opportunity to provide especially young girls with a female role model and mentor, while recognizing, honoring and financially supporting the scholars as they earn their science degrees from Willamette University.

In honoring Prof. David Goodney, the 2014 chemistry seniors created the D.E. Goodney Mentorship Award. The award is given to a senior, chosen by their peers, who is a positive role model for the department, supporting their peers academically, emotionally, and co-curricularly. Donations made by alumni and faculty provide a monetary gift to accompany this award. This year’s first recipient was Lisa Broadstone. Congrats Lisa!

Seven graduating seniors received Senior Keys: Lisa Broadstone, Rebecca Josephson, Chris Whitehead, Joe Harman, Garrett Davis, Emily Harvey, and Jeff Sirginson. Congratulations! Senior Keys are presented to members of the senior class who are the most outstanding and who go above and beyond and stand out for their meritorious service to the Associated Students of Willamette University.

Congratulations to Emily Miller on her recent Presidential Scholarship. Emily’s project, “Synthesis of Redox-Active Chitosan Derivatives for Use as Targeted Therapeutic Antioxidants” will be conducted with Associate Professor of Chemistry, Drew Duncan. The Presidential Scholarship is awarded to one or two stellar Willamette students who intend to carry out a research project during the summer of their junior year and into their senior year. The principal criteria for evaluation are research design, originality, and contribution to the discipline.

Shelby Decker '16, chemistry major and Chinese studies minor, has been awarded a Gilman Scholarship to help support his study abroad during summer 2014 at the CIEE intensive language program in Beijing. The Gilman Scholarship Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and is administered by the Institute for International Education. The program aims to encourage students to choose non-traditional study and intern destinations, especially those outside of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to support students who have been traditionally under-represented in education abroad.

Jenny Grauberger ’15 — who devotes her education to empowering women and advancing medical research — is a national recipient of Iota Sigma Pi’s annual Gladys Anderson Emerson Scholarship, an annual award that recognizes excellence in chemistry or biochemistry.

Prof. Williamson and Prof. Duncan applied for a Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship to bring an esteemed biochemist to Willamette's campus. We got it! Willamette University is one of five undergraduate institutions to receive the Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions, which funded a visit by MIT professor of chemistry, Catherine Drennan. Dr. Drennan worked with the William Webber Scholars at Highland Elementary, gave a community science pub talk at Gilgamesh Brewing, as well as gave a talk to chemists, students, and faculty here at Willamette in early April.

Sigma Xi, the scientific honorary society, awarded Miguel Correa ’14, a Grants-in-aid of Research grant for his senior thesis research. Chemistry major Miguel Correa, received a grant from the fall application. Only 20% of applicants were funded this round, and Miguel's award was one of only four in Oregon and Washington.

Please join us in congratulating Sarah Kirk and Alison Fisher for their recent promotions! Professor Kirk was promoted from Associate to full Professor. Professor Fisher was promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor.

We are excited to welcome Assistant Professor David Griffith to the department as our new Analytical Chemist. David comes to us after having completed a degree at Wood Hole Institute (MIT) in Environmental Chemistry and Chemical Oceanography. Most recently he taught at Bowdoin College in Maine.

After 37 years at Willamette, our beloved professor, colleague, and friend, David Goodney, has chosen to retire. The seniors have celebrated his legacy in several fun ways this past semester including a day in which all of the chemistry faculty dressed up in “Goodney attire” – blue button down shirts, ties, and mustaches! We will miss you so much, Dave!

Sarah Kirk and the chemistry department received a Start-up Grant for New Science Faculty from the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The grant provides $30,000 in matching funds toward a start-up package for our new analytical chemist.

The Department of Chemistry would like to congratulate the 2013 Chemistry award recipients. Chemistry Awards 2013

Congratulations to Rebecca Josephson on her recent Presidential Scholarship. Becca’s project, “Binding Interactions of Anti-Cancer Ruthenium-Based Drug NAMI-A with Nucleic Acids” will be conducted with Professor of Chemistry, Karen McFarlane Holman. The Presidential Scholarship is awarded to one or two stellar Willamette students who intend to carry out a research project during the summer of their junior or senior year. The principal criteria for evaluation are research design, originality, and contribution to the discipline.

Check out the research Alex Lantz '13 and Geri Laudenbach '13 did over this summer with Prof. Alison Fisher.

WU Chemistry alumnus, Michael Harris ’10 received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship to support his research in organic chemistry.

On the heels of their NSF Major Research Instrumentation grant, Dr. Emma Coddington and five of her colleagues – David Altman, Jason Duncan, Alison Fisher, Barbara Stebbins-Boaz and Gary Tallman – have been awarded a General Scientific Research Grant in the amount of $171,000 from the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust to add important functionality to Willamette’s new imaging facility. With the new funds the team plans to purchase 5 critical items including a 34 channel photomultiplier tube, a BiG detector and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, additional microscope objectives, humidity and carbon dioxide controls, and an additional image analysis workstation. The addition of this grant speaks to the very impressive efforts of our science faculty to provide our students with the opportunities and equipment to address questions at the forefront of scientific research.

Sarah Kirk and Todd Silverstein have been awarded a two-year, $199,846 grant from the Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES) Program through the National Science Foundation. With these funds the chemistry department plans to create and evaluate a new laboratory model for instrumental analysis and biochemistry for use at Willamette and other predominantly undergraduate institutions including Chemeketa Community College. The course design will integrate Instrumental Analysis with the Biochemistry Laboratory, where students are exposed to three of the four major classes of biomolecules and introduced to many key methods in instrumental analysis from all major subdisciplines of chemistry. Furthermore, students will be taught in a progressive instructional style that allows them to develop as research scientists.

The Chemistry Department would like to congratulate all of the 2011 Chemistry award recipients. Chemistry Awards 2011

The Chemistry Department was awarded a Hewlett grant for the curricular revision of Experimental Biochemistry I and II (CHEM 346/347) for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Prof. Alison Fisher, Prof. Todd Silverstein, and Prof. Sarah Kirk will use the grant in their continuing enhancement of the biochemistry track curriculum at Willamette.

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Prof. Karen Holman and Prof. Chuck Williamson have both been promoted to the rank of full professor. Congratulations to both of them on this milestone in their careers.

Professor of Chemistry, Karen Holman, was named the 2010 Oregon Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The Foundation presents this prestigious award to one professor in each state in recognition of excellence in undergraduate education. This is an outstanding honor for Professor Holman that recognizes her passion as an educator and mentor, and her talent to engage students in the study of chemistry.

Professor of the Year

Prof. Andrew Duncan recently received a Merit Award for Excellence in Teaching. This award is given annually to faculty and staff at Willamette who display excellence in various aspects of their career development.

The Chemistry Department would like to congratulate all of the 2010 Chemistry award recipients: Chemistry Awards 2010

Chemistry senior Jeff Weber was awarded a prestigious $250,000 fellowship from the Hertz Foundation. The award is the nation's most generous doctoral fellowship and will fund Jeff during his graduate studies.

In addition to other awards and scholarships, chemistry junior Charlotte Osborne has recently received the Dick Van Santen Award and a Goldwater Scholarship. The Dick Van Santen Award is given by the Portland Section of the American Chemical Society to an outstanding undergraduate student in Oregon who is planning to pursue a career in chemistry. The Goldwater Scholarship program provides funding for undergraduate students planning careers in math, the sciences, or engineering.

M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust has awarded Prof. Sarah Kirk a $15,000 grant through the Partners in Science Program. This award will enable Greg Whatley, a science teacher at South Salem High School, to partner with Prof. Kirk to conduct research at Willamette University in the summer of 2010 and 2011.

The Chemistry Department would like to thank alumni Benjamin Leipzig (2007) and Steve Sloop (1987) who have each recently donated to the department. These contributions will help support chemistry students at Willamette as they do research towards their senior theses.