This article appeared in Catalyst Magazine, Spring 2024
Dean's Desk
As I enter my twelfth year as dean, I remain inspired and humbled to be a part of the legacy of the historic network of preeminent scholars and students that comprise the College of Chemistry. Of course, nothing lasts forever (consider plutonium-239, for example, whose half-life is a mere 24,110 years), and the search for the next dean remains in process. Thus, I have agreed to continue on as dean through fall and longer if need be. Stay tuned for further word on this in a future issue of Catalyst.
We held a ceremonial groundbreaking for Heathcock Hall in early May, a singular milestone achieved with the support of key benefactors, campus leadership, the architectural team from HOK, our contractors, advisory board members, and all of you. Heathcock Hall facilities will allow our faculty to prepare the next generation of leaders to push the envelope of knowledge in leading global innovation and exploring new ideas that move us into the science of tomorrow.
At the annual Dean's Dinner that followed our groundbreaking ceremony, I reflected on what I believe are three pillars of the College of Chemistry's longstanding excellence:
- Excellence through Diversity: While there is still much more work to do in this area, the uniformity of the past has been replaced by a more representative group of researchers working in our labs today;
- Excellence through Community: Support of the community helped save the college eight years ago from being dissolved as part of the administration's academic realignment plans, and it remains vital to our success at all levels;
- and Excellence through Determination: As but one example, our plans for a new building have been in the works for as long as I have been dean, and thanks to collective fortitude, we were able to make this vision a reality.
Excellence through recruitment should also be mentioned, as we have been fortunate to welcome four new faculty members to our college: Professor Shannon Boettcher (highlighted in this issue), who studies electrochemistry and associated energy conversion and storage systems, materials science, and interfacial science; Assistant Professor Bingqing Cheng, who studies theoretical chemistry, physical chemistry, and materials science, with an emphasis on machine learning; Assistant Professor Neil Razdan, who studies heterogeneous catalysis, interfacial electrochemistry, and chemical kinetics; and Assistant Teaching Professor Laura Hirshfield, who focuses on engineering education research by leveraging quantitative and qualitative methods to assess and support equity, inclusion, and wellness within the engineering student experience. I am once again awestruck by the level of accomplishment among our newest colleagues.
Our pillars of excellence are further maintained by the profiles in this issue, including Luisa Dell, chemical engineering undergraduate student working to advance global health as well as increase diversity in STEM education, Ritankar Das and Margaret Chu-Moyer, members of our strong alumni community, and Bobby Sheng, cornerstone donor to Heathcock Hall. I hope you will enjoy reading about these members of our CoC community and the many other noteworthy developments and stories from the college.
DOUGLAS S. CLARK
Dean, College of Chemistry, Gilbert N. Lewis Professor