The Department of Chemistry congratulates graduate students Amaechi Odoh and Giovani Gutierrez for their recent achievements!
Chemistry graduate student Amaechi Odoh after his Award winning presentation at the DuPont GOLD Seminar Competition
Amaechi recently placed 2nd out of 1000 applicants in the DuPont GOLD (Growth Opportunities Leading in Diversity) Seminar Competition. Amaechi presented his lecture entitled “Diversification of Biomolecules via SuFEx Activation of Embedded Hydroxy Groups” at the competition in New Orleans, LA in September.
Chemistry graduate student Giovani Gutierrez, recent recipient of the Call Me Doctor Fellowship
Giovani Gutierrez was recently awarded a Call Me Doctor fellowship. This fellowship supports Giovani’s doctoral work for two years and provides supplementary funding to support travel and professional development.
Both Amaechi and Giovani work in the labs of Prof. Byoungmoo (Boni) Kim in the Department of Chemistry. The Kim group focuses on the discovery of new organic reaction methodology including catalyst design and late-stage modification of complex organic molecules.
Congratulations to Amaechi, Giovani, and Prof. Kim!
I chose chemistry because of
the love I had for the topic. Ever since my chemistry 1 class in high school, I
have been super fascinated by the topic and wanted to pursue a degree in
chemistry here at Clemson!
Are you involved in
Research? Who is your PI? What are you working on?
I am not involved in research
yet. However, I have plans to join Dr. Chouinard’s research group in the spring
of 2024. His research focuses on the use of ion mobility mass spectrometry to
quantify and identify various metabolomics, proteomics, and lipidomics.
What are your hobbies?
Some of my hobbies are playing
rugby here at Clemson! I love to be on the water either fishing or cruising and
I really enjoy watching football!
What advice would you give
to a Freshman Chemistry major?
My main piece of advice for
Freshman Chemistry majors is to find the enjoyment in the process of achieving
the grades you desire for yourself. Studying and keeping up with the reports
can be tiresome and draining, but it is important to remind yourself of the
enjoyment chemistry can bring you and why you chose to be a chemistry major.
What’s your favorite Clemson Moment?
My favorite Clemson moment is
when Gameday came to Clemson for the Clemson vs. NC State game. Gameday was
such a cool experience and watching us win was even better!
What are your career goals
after Graduation?
I have debated much about
what I want to do after college, but I believe I want to pursue the
pharmacological path once I graduate. The production of medicines and how
certain medicines can affect the body is super interesting to me.
I came from Nepal, a beautiful country and the home of the
tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, to pursue my graduate
degree at Clemson University.
Who was your research advisor and when did you
graduate?
Prof. R. Karl Dieter was my PhD research advisor and I
graduated in the Spring of 2014.
What did you work on?
During my stay at Dr. Dieter’s group at Clemson, I worked on
developing new synthetic methodologies, especially for synthesizing 1,2,3-trisubstituted
cyclopropane derivatives and the regio- and stereoselective conjugate addition
reaction to Michael and extended Michael substrates. I also got an opportunity
to get involved in the collaborative research work with Dr. Pennington, Dr.
Dominy, Dr. Arya and Dr. Whitehead groups to understand the crystallographic,
computational and mechanistic studies of the several synthetic projects.
What are you doing now?
Currently, I am working as a Process R&D manager at
Thermo Fisher Scientific in Florence, SC. In my current role, I am leading a
group of talented scientists to develop and implement economic, green, and
robust synthetic methodologies for the scale up manufacturing of Active
Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). The synthetic routes leading to the APIs in medicines
goes through a process of extensive adjustment and optimization over time to
arrive at the final manufacturing route was. People like me and my team at
Thermo Fisher have worked for several years to ensure that a robust manufacturing
process is in place to ensure the quality and safety of APIs found in
prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Thermo Fisher in Florence, SC is a hub
for chemistry and chemical engineering graduates to support our program, and I would
encourage Clemson graduates to consider joining our team!
What are your hobbies?
I like to watch sports (football, basketball, soccer) and of
course Clemson Tiger games. In my leisure time, I like to go hiking with my
beautiful wife and two kids.
What advice would you give a 1st year Ph.D.
student?
Graduate school is a long journey, but I believe that you
are making the best choice of your life.
Clemson’s chemistry department is equipped with all the necessary
advanced infrastructure and has a very talented group of research faculty. As a
first-year Ph.D. student, prioritize building a solid foundation in chemistry
by engaging deeply with existing literature and seeking guidance from your
professors, advisors, and peers. Develop effective leadership and time
management skills to balance academic and personal life. Cultivate consistency
and patient habits and be equipped to fight challenges and setbacks, as they
are normal. Build strong networking with the academic community by attending
conferences and leveraging collaborative initiatives with others to broaden
your knowledge. Remember, a Ph.D. is a marathon, pace yourself and maintain a
healthy work-life balance to sustain your motivation throughout the program and
your well-being in your entire life.
What’s your favorite Clemson Moment?
As a graduate student at Clemson, my entire stay was phenomenal.
I have several favorite memories around the premises like Saturday’s game,
hiking around the campus, boating in the lakes etc. In particular, the pleasure
of publishing my research work in scientific journals leading to my Ph.D.
degree, which in fact shaped my career after graduation is something that I
will always cherish.
Honestly, I applied to Clemson as a Political Science major, but realized before registration that I was such a math and science person and I didn’t want to spend the next four years reading and writing. I loved the chemistry classes I took in high school, so I just went on a whim and switched to Chemistry!! It was the best decision ever.
Are you involved in Research? Who is your PI? What are you working on?
I work with Dr. Sun in his lab!! We are currently working on a couple of projects, but I specifically have been helping create Carbon Dots with a polymer coating that can be used for antibacterial purposes! It is a lot of fun to work in the lab and it is so exciting knowing what our samples will become in the future!
What are your hobbies?
I love to run and to just be outdoors in general, especially at a beach or near any body of water.
What advice would you give to a Freshman Chemistry major?
Get involved with faculty early. Meet with teachers during their student hours, get to know your classmates, and just be involved in general. I learned so much by taking time to meet with professors outside of class. They have lots of good advice!!
What’s your favorite Clemson Moment?
I love the First Friday parade every year. Maybe this is biased because the parade is coming up as I write these answers, but I just love how excited everyone gets to be in the parade or watch the parade. And I love seeing alumni and little kids join in on the fun. It reminds me what an awesome community Clemson has.
What are your career goals after Graduation?
After graduation, I would love to work in a lab somewhere and continue to do research!
Read about Kaylan (Dr. Jackson), one of our recent graduates, who is featured along with 4 other outstanding women in science! Read the full article here. It is a true honor to see her doing so well!
Last weekend we hosted our 8th Annual Chemistry Department Research Symposium. The purpose of this event is to share the research and accomplishments of the last year with each other and the larger Clemson community that we are a part of. The Symposium feature 63 posters by both undergraduate and graduate students from the department, as well as students from schools in the surrounding area.
As part of the event, we also hosted Dr. Neil Kelleher (Northwestern University), who offered the keynote lecture “Measuring proteoforms to level up proteomics: applications of Ultra-High Performance Mass Spectrometry in top-down proteomics”. Visit these links to check the book of abstracts and the pictures of the event.
The event also overlapped with the visit from a group of students who have applied to graduate program. It was great to spend some time with them and answer all their questions!
We would like to cordially invite students and general public to participate in the 8th Annual Chemistry Department Research Symposium, which will be held from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon on Saturday Feb 25, 2023 at the Watt Innovation Center. The Symposium will feature posters presented by both undergraduate and graduate students and aims to both share their research and accomplishments and bolster interactions with local institutions. This year, we will also feature Dr. Neil Kelleher from Northwestern University. His research is focused on Proteomics, Natural Products Biosynthesis, and Chromatin Biology. In case you would like to know more about the event, please visit the site https://scienceweb.clemson.edu/acrs/
Students who wish to present posters at the Symposium should submit an abstract by the due day end of Saturday, February 18. It is very easy to submit the abstract online where you will find also all necessary instructions: https://scienceweb.clemson.edu/acrs/program/abstract_submission/
We hope that you find this Symposium to be an exciting opportunity to discuss cutting edge research as well as interact with peers to inspire new ideas and collaborations. We strongly encourage you to participate and enjoy.
Please join us in congratulating the recipients of the 2023 Mandel Fellowships, an award made possible by a gift established in honor of Dr. Frederick Mandel. This year’s recipients are:
Following a long-standing tradition, the Faculty and Staff from our Department celebrated the end of another great year. Many thanks to everyone that was able to join us and (of course) to Wendy Marshall and Bill Pennington for all the work done to host this event.
Please visit our Facebook page to see all the pictures of the event.
Congrats to Lucas Ayres, Jordan Brooks, Kristi Whitehead, and Carlos D Garcia for their article Rapid Detection of Staphylococcus aureus Using Paper-Derived Electrochemical Biosensors, featured as a cover of the prestigious journal Analytical Chemistry.
This paper describes the development of a sensor for the detection of S. aureus using paper-derived carbon electrodes, modified with a thin layer of sputtered gold (that minimizes lateral resistivity and significantly improves the electron transfer process) and with chitosan (used as a binder and coffering flexibility). To control the proposed biosensor, a custom-built potentiostat was developed and applied to detect (via a wireless connection) the presence of the bacteria via the oxidation of the ferrocyanide (produced from ferricyanide by the bacteria’s respiration cycle). The combined use of this wearable sensor with the instrument was also demonstrated by detecting the presence of S. aureus under optimized experimental conditions, in 20 minutes, and without relying on protein-based biorecognition elements. This is a promising avenue for the implementing of paper-derived electrodes towards a wide variety of wearable systems to monitor skin infections in low-income settings. You can read the full article at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03970
