Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote, Cargill Endowed Associate Professor of Education Alicia Moore, and Professor of Political Science Alisa Gaunder co-presented a virtual session for the Association for American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) 2023 Conference on Diversity, Equity and Student Success. The mission of the AAC&U conference was to explore the complexities of truth within higher education while examining institutional structures and beliefs that impede diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. The presentation, titled “Cross-Institutional CONNECTions: Mentorship, Truth, Belonging, and Retention,” provided an overview of Southwestern’s ACS-funded FOC CONNECT project, which seeks to dismantle barriers to success experienced by early-career faculty of color (FOC) in the academy. The project supports a cross-institutional faculty mentoring program that connects these scholars with senior faculty of color from other ACS institutions.

Associate Professor of Education Alicia Moore and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Maha Zewail-Foote were awarded a grant from the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) to create a unique virtual cross-institutional faculty mentoring program for early-career faculty of color (FOC) called FOC CONNECT. The program will connect early-career faculty of color with senior faculty from other ACS institutions. Through this program, early-career faculty of color will receive mentorship and support. The program will also provide training for selected senior faculty mentors.

Director of Organic Chemistry Labs Carmen Velez and Director of General Chemistry Labs Dilani Koswatta attended the 2022 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, held July 31–August 4 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Velez presented her research titled “Culturally Relevant and Socially Responsible Design of Organic Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum.”

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Mike Gesinski and four of his SCOPE research students—Nathaniel Blake ’24, Michelle Nguyen ’23, Yaz Sebastiany ’24, and Chelsey Southwell ’24—attended the 47th National Organic Chemistry Symposium, held June 26–30 in San Diego, California. They met with scientific leaders from academia and the pharmaceutical industry, including three Nobel laureates, and presented three posters. Nguyen was awarded best poster for her presentation titled “Titanium-Mediated Synthesis of Cyclobutanones.”

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sara Massey coauthored an article titled “Redox Conditions Correlated with Vibronic Coupling Modulate Quantum Beats in Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes” that was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The paper was coauthored with scientists at the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis.

Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer and Associate Professor of Chemistry Mike Gesinski  published a chapter in the book Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education: Strategies for Teaching  (University of Cincinnati Press, 2021). In their chapter, titled “Active Learning Pedagogies in the Introductory and Organic Chemistry Curriculum: Increasing Student Persistence and Success,” Niemeyer and Gesinski chronicle the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department’s move to active learning pedagogies and the effect these changes have had on improving retention of students from underrepresented groups in STEM fields. More information about the book can be found on the University of Cincinnati Libraries website .

Chemistry major Ethan Iverson ’21 presented his research project titled “Synthesis and Characterization of Three Schiff Base Constitutional Isomers and Their Respective Copper (II) Complexes” at the Spring 2021 American Chemical Society Virtual Convention. The poster presentation resulted from research that Iverson completed with Director of General Chemistry Labs Willis Weigand. Iverson was also awarded the Outstanding Senior Award by the American Chemical Society, which was presented at a virtual awards ceremony by the local Central Texas chapter.

Ethan Iverson  ’21, a research student of Director of General Chemistry Labs Willis Weigand , has been invited to present his poster, “Synthesis and Characterization of Three Schiff Base Constitutional Isomers and Their Respective Copper (II) Complexes,” at the Spring American Chemical Society National Meeting. He was selected to present his poster during a live, online Inorganic Technical Division session on April 21, 2021.

Sean Calvert ’22, in collaboration with Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Mike Gesinski, received the prestigious American Chemical Society Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). As a fellow, Calvert will receive funding to study gold catalysis over the summer under Gesinski’s mentorship. Additionally, Calvert has been invited to attend an awards ceremony, present his research at a poster session, and tour Pfizer Research and Development Labs in Groton, CT.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sara Massey coauthored an article titled “Photosynthesis Tunes Quantum-Mechanical Mixing of Electronic and Vibrational States to Steer Exciton Energy Transfer” in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The peer-reviewed paper shows evidence that photosynthetic bacteria use quantum-mechanical mechanisms to protect themselves from oxidative damage. The paper was coauthored with scientists at the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis.

Professor of Chemistry and the Herbert and Kate Dishman Chair in Science Emily Niemeyer published an article titled “Hands-on Experiences for Remotely Taught Analytical Chemistry Laboratories” in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. The article is a contribution to the “ABCs of Education and Professional Development in Analytical Science” portion of the journal and is part of a series on teaching analytical chemistry during the pandemic. Coauthored with Joel Destino and Erin Gross from Creighton University and Steven Petrovic from Southern Oregon University, the peer-reviewed pedagogical article provides an overview of different methodologies that provide hands-on laboratory experiences to students in remote and hybrid analytical chemistry courses. The collaborative article stemmed from Niemeyer’s role as a facilitator at regional and national active-learning workshops for analytical chemistry faculty. Find the article here.

Garey Chair and Professor of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote published an article “Using Student-Centered Approaches to Teach the Biochemistry of SARS-CoV-2” in the journal Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.The article discusses pedagogical approaches to enhance science literacy and model authentic science inquiry in biochemistry. This same learning framework was used when the class quickly shifted to learning about the biochemistry of SARS-CoV-2 last spring.

Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer published an article titled “Instituting a Group Component to a Final Exam” in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. The article is a contribution to the “ABCs of Education and Professional Development in Analytical Science” portion of the journal and was coauthored with Tom Wenzel from Bates College. The peer-reviewed pedagogical article provides an overview of considerations for adding a collaborative group element to final exams in upper-level analytical chemistry courses. The work stemmed from Niemeyer and Wenzel’s ongoing collaboration as facilitators at regional and national active-learning workshops for analytical chemistry faculty.

Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer and Derrica McDowell ’20 published a chapter titled “Factors Influencing the Production of Phenolic Compounds within Basil ( Ocimum basilicum L. )” in the forthcoming book Ocimum: An Overview.  Their chapter discusses the phenolic compounds found within basil and their associated health benefits, explains various strategies to increase phytochemical levels in basil, and offers conclusions about methods that can be used to maximize basil phenolic content. The book is part of the Herbs and Herbalism  series published by Nova Science Publishers. Research for the chapter was supported by the Herbert and Kate Dishman fund at Southwestern University.

Garey Chair and Professor of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote  published an article in the Journal of Chemical Education  on transitioning her biochemistry lab class to a remote format. She described the assignments she created that maintained the research learning objectives of the course and enhanced research skills as well as the community outreach project, Making a Difference, that she developed for the class.

Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer, Jiyoun Ahn ’17, and Andie Alford ’17 published an article titled “Variation in Phenolic Profiles and Antioxidant Properties among Medicinal and Culinary Herbs of the LamiaceaeFamily” in the most recent issue of the Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization. Ahn and Alford grew 23 common and less-well-known Lamiaceaeplants during the SCOPE summer research program and then analyzed them for their chemistry capstone research. Niemeyer completed the project by conducting mass spectral analysis of the herbs during her spring 2019 sabbatical in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin. The research was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the Robert A. Welch Foundation, and the Herbert and Kate Dishman endowment.

Professor of Chemistry Emily Niemeyer and Katie McCance ’15 published an article titled “Classroom Observations to Characterize Active Learning within Introductory Undergraduate Science Courses” in the March/April issue of the Journal of College Science Teaching. The authors discuss the analysis of observation data to characterize different instructional practices in science classrooms. McCance, a doctoral student in the Department of STEM Education at North Carolina State University, and Niemeyer collaborated on the study with Timothy Weston, a research faculty member at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The research was completed with support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

Professor of Biology and Chair of the Pre-Med Advisory Committee Maria Cuevas was the recipient of the inaugural Advisor of the Year Award conferred by the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (TAAHP). The award was created to recognize a TAAHP member who has exhibited excellence in health professions advising over the past year. Cuevas added significant resources for students in her first two years as Southwestern’s chief faculty pre-health advisor and chair of the Pre-Med Committee, including a robust pre-health website, a physical home for pre-health students in the new science building, and an enhanced process for committee recommendation letters.