Who Am I? « The Erlenmeyer Flask

Name: Daniel Myles

Area of Study: Organic

Position Title: Senior Instructor of Organic Chemistry

Why Chemistry? (What about it initially interested you, etc.)? I fell in love with chemistry in grade 11. Had an inspirational high school teacher. He took me under his wing and even let me helped with the teaching/preparation of his grade 9 science classes. I was fortunate to be exposed to teaching at such an early stage in my career.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? I am interested in synthesizing organic and main group element-containing compounds for their use in molecular electronics.

One thing that you truly love about your job? I love being in the classroom (and in the teaching labs), while working with our highly talented students.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I am Canadian (please don’t hold this against me) and have recently lost my speaking accent, despite what some of my colleagues have to say about the matter. I am also a huge hockey fan (of course!) and my favorite team is the Vancouver Canucks.

Name: Philip Watson

Area of Study / Position Title: Professor (Physical Chemistry)/Associate Chair

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?):

Turned on to chemistry when about 12 after receiving a home chemistry set as a Xmas gift.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties?

Used to research chemistry at the surface of things. Nowadays, I teach and look after organizing teaching schedules, scheduling classes, assigning TAs, riding herd over the general chemistry teaching staff.

One thing you truly love about your job?

The light-bulb moment when a student who was struggling with a concept “gets it”.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself.

I like to play cutthroat competitive duplicate bridge at the local club.

Name: Claudia S. Maier

Area of Study / Position Title: Chemistry, Professor

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): Chemistry is what makes life possible; every movement, every interaction and communication, every thought, every cure, every biomolecules comes down ultimately to atoms and bonds, i.e. chemistry.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? As a chemist I find it fascinating to reveal the molecular players – the critical biomolecules and the chemical signatures – that are associated with the response of a biological system to diverse stimuli, exposure, chronic diseases and aging. We use mass spectrometry, a very sensitive analytical technique, to detect and identify the players. Knowing the players will in turn open avenues for designing therapies and promoting health.

One thing you truly love about your job? Love the interaction with my students in the classroom and in the lab; there is nothing more rewarding if a student shows you what she/he developed or discovered and then starts to create her/his own story.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. Love the smell of horse poop

Name: Mike Lerner

Area of Study / Position Title: Inorganic/Materials Chemistry, Professor

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): It was some courses I took in my first year at college. Freshman majors didn’t take general chemistry, instead I had one term each of biochemistry and crystallography. I was fascinated and a bit mystified, and they got me hooked into chemistry.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? I’m looking into new intercalation chemistry reactions, and also at the preparation of new nanocomposites materials. These are interesting lately because they are the electrodes used in lithium-ion and related batteries.

One thing you truly love about your job? One thing I love is discussing results from ongoing research projects. Getting results from new experiments means finding out unknown things about nature, and it really feels like being an explorer.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I worked for Stanley Kaplan (the man himself) for several years during college.

Name: Wei Kong

Area of Study / Position Title: Professor in Physical Chemistry

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): Not much interest in chemistry initially, particularly O chem. Only wanted to do laser spectroscopy because of the mathematics involved.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? Develop a new technique to determine structures of macromolecules, and along the way, understanding fundamental properties of related physical processes.

One thing you truly love about your job? The freedom to imagine

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I do not like and cannot stand watching any games on baseball or golf.

Name: Sarah Burton

Area of Study / Position Title: Graduate Coordinator

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): While chemistry is an interesting field, I lean toward the soft sciences. This is why I’m the Graduate Coordinator, and not a chemist. If you want a sympathetic ear or a fellowship researched, I’m your girl. If you hand me dangerous chemical compounds, I’ll likely mistake them for a tasty beverage or a delightful snack.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? I work behind the scenes for graduate students, processing their paperwork, collecting application information, setting up recruitment events. Beyond that, I sit at the front desk, granting requests and solving problems, like a benign mob boss who must operate within the bounds of the law. Completely within the bounds of the law.

One thing you truly love about your job? Operating within the bounds of the law.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. There are no strange factoids about me. I am completely normal. If you look beneath the surface, you will not find anything out of the ordinary.

Name: Sean M. Burrows, PHD

Area of Study / Position Title: Assistant Professor: bioanalytical chemistry, laser spectroscopy, innovations in biosensor and instrumentation technologies, and cellular analysis.

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): Curiosity, forensic science, and DNA sequencing at Tufts University as a freshman in high school. In addition, chemistry was the only subject I was any good at in high school and college.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? Our laboratory focuses on the innovation of biosensors and laser-based technologies for qualitative and quantitative analysis of biomarkers in biological systems. More specifically, we aim to image cellular regulatory biomarkers indicative of disease (cancer) development and progression. Providing diagnostic tools and discovering answers to fundamental questions about molecular regulation of diseases and cancers through sensing and imaging is a major interest to our group. Ultimately, our group aims to bridge bioanalytical chemistry, laser spectroscopy, and molecular biology to solve complex biological problems.

One thing you truly love about your job? Working with and training students in chemistry, watching students learn and make discoveries on their own, contributing to the community through innovation and discovery, and playing with lasers.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I used to restore antique stoves from the late 1880’s to early 1940’s.

Name: Chong Fang

Area of Study / Position Title: Physical Chemistry, Assistant Professor

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): Understanding how everything works always fascinates me. Physical chemistry and chemical physics provide myriad powerful tools to reveal the mechanism during the transformation between molecular species.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? The main theme of my research group is to investigate the structural dynamics basis of functions performed by all kinds of molecules in biological systems and novel materials. Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy enables us to capture vivid molecular “movies” of chemistry in action with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions.

One thing you truly love about your job? Our research is at the forefront of the field and the experimental protocol is still being developed. That gives us a sense of urgency and pride in bringing new ideas into our experiments, grasping unexpected discoveries and making sense of them. It is truly exciting to have the freedom to design, explore, execute, disseminate, revise, improve, and make an impact on the world surrounding us.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I like seafood. I want to cook more and try different flavors in the future.

Fang & Hochstrasser 2012 — This precious picture was taken in my lab during Prof. Robin Hochstrasser’s Linus Pauling Lecture Series in OSU Chemistry (October 2012). He was my Ph.D. advisor in Univ. of Pennsylvania, and I treasure everything that he taught me in graduate school. Though he passed away in February 2013 at the age of 82, his legacy continues in numerous research labs around the world.

Name: Marita Barth

Area of Study / Position Title: Instructor

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): I love science and figuring out how things work. Chemistry is fun because you can apply it to so many different aspects of life to understand things better.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? I primarily teach Ecampus courses. Mostly I teach in the general chemistry for non-majors sequence, but I also teach environmental chemistry.

One thing you truly love about your job? I love the opportunity to help students – many of whom are terrified of chemistry – face their fears and work their way to success in the material. I *especially* love it when they come to appreciate or even enjoy the subject matter along the way.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I did my BS at OSU, but did a year’s study abroad in New Zealand. It was amazing.

Name: Doug Keszler

Area of Study / Position Title: Distinguished Professor of Chemistry; Director, Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry (CSMC); Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, College of Science.

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): My father worked as an engineer for IBM, so I was exposed to high-tech from a very early age. That exposure led to an intense interest in the chemistry of materials.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? I am responsible for the research, education, outreach, and diversity activities of the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry, a Phase-II Center for Chemical Innovation; we annually support approximately 100 researchers. For the College of Science, I am helping to grow the research enterprise and enhance graduate education.

One thing you truly love about your job? Working with a broad network of colleagues and students in academics and industry.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I am a retired shepherd. In past times, I herded sheep with my border collie – Kate. (We also won national titles in Dog Agility)

The Erlenmeyer Flask

Where diverse minds inspire endless innovation.

Category Archives: Who Am I?

Who Am I? Wednesday – Daniel Myles

Who Am I? Wednesday – Phil Watson

Who Am I? Wednesday – Claudia Maier

Who Am I? Wednesday – Mike Lerner

Who Am I? Wednesday – Wei Kong

Who Am I? Wednesday – Sarah Burton

Who Am I? Wednesday – Sean Burrows

Who Am I? Wednesday – Chong Fang

Who Am I? Wednesday – Marita Barth

Who Am I? Wednesday – Doug Keszler

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