In the Department of Chemistry (DOC), we will remember 2021 as the year that brought widespread vaccination and allowed once again for close-to-normal campus life. We have gained heightened awareness of the importance of our learning community and of communication, we more clearly see the benefits of in-person teaching while also adopting elements of hybrid technology as standard parts of the new normal, and all of us are in the process of dealing with the aftermath of some 18+ months of pandemic disruption and its consequences on our physiological and psychological well-being and on academics. 

 

Chemistry Seminar and Colloquium are transitioning back to normal operations. In 2021, DOC hosted two Stoffer lectures with significant in-person components. On April 16, 2021, Dr. M. Stanley Whittingham, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and 2019 Chemistry Nobel Laureate presented the 2020 Stoffer Lecture, and on October 8, 2021, Dr. Jay Switzer, Chancellor’s Professor, Curators’ Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and former Donald L. Castleman FCR Missouri Endowed Professor of Discovery in Chemistry presented the 2021 Stoffer Lecture. 

 

Conferences are returning to in-person operations, and we are encouraging student participation with generous travel support.

 

The DOC Awards are returning to their normal timeline. The 2020 DOC awards were delayed into early SP21 and followed by the 2021 DOC awards in April 2021. On April 29, 2022, faculty, staff, students, and our guests will be celebrating the 2022 DOC Awards as we should, with a big banquet! 

 

DOC’s personnel continues to change, with several faculty positions open after Dr. Honglan Shi retired and Dr. Richard Dawes and Dr. Wenjan Liu leaving the university for other opportunities. Dr. Lingyu Chi joined DOC in FS21 as NMR Staff Scientist, and searches are in progress for a Professor in Analytical Chemistry, a Senior Analytical Chemist, and an Environmental Health Professional I. Changes in the DOC office as well: Tammy Heldenbrand became Executive Associate of the Kummer Institute, Magdalena Zawodniok switched positions to become our new Business Support Specialist II, and Kimberly Hilburn was hired recently to attend to student affairs.

 

Sincerely,

Rainer Glaser

Professor and Chair, Chemistry