This year marks the 150th anniversary of our department—a milestone we are proud to celebrate! I am delighted to share highlights from the past academic year. Like many institutions of higher education, we face significant challenges, but I am confident that we are well positioned to navigate them and to continue advancing our tradition of excellence in education and research.
Faculty and Staff Updates
We are pleased to welcome Prof. Sophia Shevick as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. We also recruited Profs. Kim Carter-Fenk and Tracia Shepherd as full-time Teaching Assistant Professors, and Dr. Nathan Tolman as a full-time Lab Instructor.
Several colleagues achieved significant career milestones: Profs. David Waldeck and Alex Deiters were appointed Distinguished Professors, Prof. Peng Liu was named Richard King Mellon Chair Professor, Prof. Pete Bell was promoted to Teaching Associate Professor, and Ms. Danielle Bellis to Instructor II. This year also marked the retirements of Prof. Wilcox (44 years of service), Prof. Michael (35 years), and Mr. David Emala, our longtime Electronics Shop Supervisor. We thank them for their remarkable contributions and wish them the very best in the next chapter of their lives.
Academic Achievements
In the past year, we graduated 61 B.S., 3 M.S., and 26 Ph.D. students, and 835 additional students earned a Chemistry minor. Our ACS student chapter continued its tradition of excellence by earning a Green Chemistry Award. We also welcomed 42 new graduate students. Our research output remained robust, with 157 journal publications, $12.8M in external research expenditures, and a new $3.7M NIH grant to Prof. Alex Deiters’ team. Highlights of external recognitions include Prof. Peter Wipf, elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors; Prof. David Waldeck, recipient of the ACS Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry; Prof. Michelle Ward, recipient of the ACS Pittsburgh Women’s Chemistry Committee Award for Encouraging Women into the Chemical Sciences; Christian Knox (graduate student, Peng Liu group), recipient of the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research Award; Seth Fremin (graduate student, Peng Liu group), recipient of an NSF GRFP Fellowship; and Dr. Nastasia Mauger (postdoctoral associate, Ken Jordan group), recipient of the 2024 PRACE Ada Lovelace Award for HPC.
Alumni Connections
Our bonds with alumni have grown stronger than ever. Last fall, we celebrated the career accomplishments of five distinguished alumni: Corey Stephenson (PhD ’05), Maria G. Kurnikova (PhD ’98), Amanda Garner (PhD ’08), Robert J. Bodnar (BS ’75), and Rochell Abrams (BS ’63, PhD ’67). We are also establishing a memorial fund to honor Prof. David Hercules, who served nearly 20 years on our faculty, including almost a decade as department chair. As we navigate ongoing uncertainties, your support is more vital than ever for our students! Thank you for your continued support of our department and its mission.
I hope you enjoy this issue of our newsletter, and I encourage you to visit our website and follow us on social media to stay connected.
Department Chair, Professor Haitao Liu
