February 20, 2018
Crazy About Chemistry
Chisomo Mwale
新澳门六合彩开奖结果
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
新澳门六合彩开奖结果, especially the science department, has experienced quite a number of changes in the past few years. The summer of 2016 saw the demolition of the Johnson C building and our beloved bridge to make way for the construction of the new Lillard Science Center. Other adjustments have been made to the science department, including the addition of two new faculty members to the Chemistry Department. Dr. Paul Gladen and Dr. Erica Schultz share some of their experiences as undergraduate students and how their paths have led them to 新澳门六合彩开奖结果.
Dr. Paul Gladen, a native of the Midwest, joined the Chemistry department in 2016. Following Dr. William Martin鈥檚 retirement, the Organic Chemistry professor for over 50 years, Dr. Gladen began teaching the course in the fall of 2016. Dr. Gladen attended St. Olaf College for his undergraduate degree where he learned the importance of 鈥渓iving a life of worth and service.鈥 He was also able to combine his love for music and chemistry because of St. Olaf鈥檚 general education and music programs. While he graduated with a Chemistry major, he was also interested in Biology and had been debating between the two. He eventually decided to pursue Chemistry because it had a stronger pull on his heart. Dr. Gladen later went to attend Indiana University to pursue his PhD in Organic Chemistry because he knew he wanted to teach it someday. He was drawn to a small liberal arts school like 新澳门六合彩开奖结果 because of its location, chemistry department, and the instrumentation, notably the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance machine that is available for a school of such a small size. Dr. Gladen has found that students at 新澳门六合彩开奖结果 are 鈥渆asy to work with鈥 and very diverse inside and outside the classroom, and while the Chemistry department is not as diverse as our student body, it has a representation of different perspective and teaching approaches. Eager and passionate about research, Dr. Gladen started research with Chemistry seniors Darya Rodina 18鈥, Ian Murphy 18鈥, Fiona Lutolli 18鈥, and Brandon Siaj 18鈥 during the summer. His research is focused on 鈥淭otal Synthesis of Natural Products鈥. Although he has not been exposed to all the campus traditions, he has enjoyed being a part of the Faculty Demo Show, where faculty members such as Dr. Cody perform exciting chemistry demonstrations. Still, there will be plenty of time for Dr. Gladen to experience what 新澳门六合彩开奖结果 has to offer.
Dr. Erica Scultz is another addition to the Chemistry department and is the newest addition. She is teaching Biochemistry this fall and will be teaching Organic Chemistry II in the Spring. Like Dr. Gladen, Dr. Schultz got her Bachelor鈥檚 degree at a liberal arts college. She completed her Chemistry major with an emphasis on Biochemistry at Macalester College in Minnesota. When she started her college career, she had planned on pursing a Studio Art major, but the general education requirements at Macalester led her to chemistry where she found her love. Once she had found her niche with chemistry, she went on to to do summer research with her Organic Chemistry professor. Dr. Schultz appreciated this experience because she 鈥渄idn鈥檛 know she could do research.鈥 In fact, some of her best memories as an undergraduate took place when she was doing research. Her professor would play pranks on her and other students in the lab; she would write unsuitable and funny phrases on the inside of the fume hood glass and when students tried to erase it with acetone, they 鈥渨ould end up getting frustrated.鈥 Aside from academics, Dr. Schultz was a part of the Women鈥檚 Hockey team at Macalester and had her own radio show, where she played American music, like Bluegrass, for all four years.
When it comes to her Postgraduate career, Dr. Schultz had not known she would be pursuing a PhD in Organic Chemistry. She 鈥渢hought she would be an architect or doctor鈥 going into college and with Organic Chemistry, she found that she could 鈥渃ombine the two as you use pictures to solve things and can apply the information to health too.鈥 However, by the time she graduated college, she knew she wanted to teach and this choice led her to the University of California, Berkeley. She had a good learning experience with many 鈥渓ate nights in lab鈥 and a picturesque view of the sun setting as she was doing experiments in her fume hood. Despite her wonderful memories of California, Dr. Schultz was drawn to 新澳门六合彩开奖结果 because of its proximity to Chicago, its size, traditional liberal arts school values, and her interactions with students. She found that 新澳门六合彩开奖结果 students are 鈥渆ngaged, curious, enthusiastic, and hardworking鈥. Every Biochemistry class she teaches comes with its own unique excitement. Despite being the newest member of the Chemistry Department, Dr. Schultz has already gotten to know some of the faculty from the Biology and Physics Departments. She has also met Boomer the Bear! She is a fan of Boomer and likes 鈥渉ow long and thin his teeth are.鈥 Dr. Schultz is eager to see the new Lillard Science Center that comes with the new Biochemistry and Molecular Biology majors because of the automatic collaboration between the Biology and Chemistry Departments; the new Biochemistry labs will also allow students to engage in true Biochemical research.
With the coming of the new science center and the new science majors, Dr. Gladen and Dr. Schultz are already investing in the continuation of 新澳门六合彩开奖结果 tradition by being passionate about the courses they teach, accepting students to work with them in research, and being resources for students outside the classroom. In addition, their experiences at liberal arts schools, like 新澳门六合彩开奖结果, make their experiences very relatable to our own. Indeed, we look forward to getting to know more about these two wonderful professors in the years to come.