Department News

Chemistry Department Returns to Full Strength (9-2007)

The chemistry department is delighted to report we are back to "full strength," with five, full-time faculty members. A new addition this year is Dr. Amy Moskun, who will be teaching Quantitative Analysis, Environmental Chemistry, Introduction to Environmental Science, and Preparation for General Chemistry this coming year. Dr. Moskun holds a Ph.D. from USC, and she is currently a postdoctoral fellow at UC Irvine, researching heterogeneous chemistry and photochemical reactions in sea salt aerosol.

Moskun joins Drs. Iimoto, Bell, and Reeg, as well as Dr. Ralph Isovitsch, who joined Whittier last fall from Xavier University in New Orleans, and taught number of critical courses over the 2006-07 year: Organic Chemistry, Instrumental Analysis, and the Integrated Laboratory.

Science Building to be Renovated (8-2007)

Whittier College is in the initial stages of renovating the Stauffer Science Building. Last spring, several science faculty attended the PKAL conference on buildings and facilities to get ideas on modern science buildings. This summer, an architect and a laboratory planner have met with the science division faculty to get input on the needs for each department and to come back with an estimate for the square footage to accommodate those needs. Needless to say the square footage to meet those needs is larger than the existing building size and so intense negotiations ensued. The architect plans to have a proposal and cost estimate for the college by early fall. We are very excited about the prospect of a renovated building and hope that you will consider supporting this effort by designating donations for the new building!

Department Says Goodbye to Nine Chemistry and Biochemistry Grads (6-2007)

This past May, nine of our department's best crossed the stage to receive their Whittier College diplomas: two majored in chemistry with ACS certification; four majored in biochemistry; and three majored in chemistry. Seniors Marina Asiedu and Connor Tryon were awarded the Roy W. Newsom Award for outstanding graduates in chemistry, and senior Santosh Shah was awarded the Chemistry Undergraduate Research Award.

Of the nine graduates, four entered grad school this fall. Two began chemistry programs at UC Irvine and UC Riverside, respectively. One headed for the University of Arizona to start a medical pharmacology program, and one enrolled in the medical school at Creighton University.