Our Department

Please Welcome Our New Hires!

Nicole Karn Nicole is the new Auxiliary Assistant Faculty and Instructional Lab Supervisor of Analytical Chemistry. Originally from Leetonia, Ohio, Nicole graduated from Muskingum University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. In the following year, she enrolled in graduate school here in our Department at Ohio State under the tutelage of Terry Gustafson. Shortly after, in 2008, she completed her Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry and continued in the PhD program under the auspices of Professor Claudia Turro and, once again, Professor Terry Gustafson. Three years later, she completed her PhD in Analytical Chemistry. In the fall of 2011, Nicole joined the faculty at Ohio Northern University as an assistant professor for the next four years. During those years, she was a co-author on two journal articles, one which was eminently featured on the cover of The Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry. While she enjoyed her time at Ohio Northern University, she felt as if she wasn’t able to reach her highest potential there. Thus, when a chance presented itself for a position at Ohio State, she applied without hesitation and says, “I knew that returning to OSU meant one thing: opportunity.” Since joining Ohio State in June, Nicole has used her creativity to develop and redesign four laboratory experiments for the Instrumental Analysis and Quantitative Chemical Analysis courses and has added five laboratory experiments to the Quantitative Chemical Analysis course. She has also been actively pursuing to involve students in exciting research. She recently formed a collaboration with Crimson Cup Coffee to explore the important chemical factors that lead to an optimum roast for the coffee bean as well as an optimum coffee flavor in the cup. Students involved in this research will use analytical techniques that go above and beyond the classroom. With the occasion she’s been given at Ohio State, Nicole says, “I am motivated to become the best instructor and supervisor that I can be and provide my students with the opportunity to become the best that they can be.”

Angie Lecount Melamed Angie is the new Academic Advisor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She received her Bachelor’s degree at Kent State University in 2003 and worked in retail management and advertising. As a result of her experience as a first generation college student, Angie was inspired to help others navigate their educational and career paths, thus she decided to return to graduate school, where she earned a Master’s in School Counseling from the University of Akron. After earning her second degree, Angie worked for two years as an academic interventionist at an elementary school and, most recently, was a Dean’s Office Advisor for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina. Initially, she worked with only science and math majors, but eventually went on to impressively learn the curriculum to work with all forty-two majors. She also worked with students studying abroad, served on university committees, and was promoted to work on a few special projects for the Dean’s Office related to curriculum planning. Angie is originally from Massillon, Ohio, but has been living in Arizona and South Carolina for the past seven years. Recently, her husband accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at The Ohio State University, bringing them back to Columbus this past summer. She is thrilled to be back in Ohio after being away for so long. “We love it here,” she says, “Having family 2 hours away is especially nice for our 18 month old son.” Overall, Angie is excited to be in her new position and says, “I truly feel like I am at home working with OSU students.”

Katie Moga Katie is our General Chemistry Lab Supervisor. She is an Ohio native, having grown up in Stow, and she graduated from Ashland University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Science in Education in Secondary Education. She then went on to graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated in 2015 with a PhD in Analytical Chemistry. During her time as a graduate student, Katie’s research focused on the development of microneedle devices for painless transdermal injections. She worked under the direction of Dr. Joseph DeSimone, developing rapidly dissolvable patches (about the size of a band-aid) through the use of PRINT technology. This manufacturing technology is reproducible, cost effective, and rapid. Katie has also published two research articles, and she has three more articles under review or in preparation. She has been notably awarded the 3M Outstanding Transdermal Paper award from the Controlled Release Society, the Charles Reilley Fellowship for Outstanding Performance, and the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award for her work with undergraduate researchers. Katie enjoys working at universities and was very excited to begin her role at Ohio State following graduate school. Her current position in the Department allows her to interact with nearly 6,000 undergraduates and about 200 Teaching Assistants per year, a scale that allows her to have a considerable impact on our students’ lives. She says, “I love the atmosphere of innovation and working with students.” She is loving the new challenges her job brings her and she’s grateful for the helpful and caring people she works with. Katie realizes now why Ohio State attracts the amount of people that it does and says, “The pride of the Buckeye State is palpable across campus.”

Grand Opening of CBEC Building

On Friday, April 10th, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry joined with the Department of Chemical Engineering to celebrate the grand opening of the new CBEC Building. The 225,000 gross sq.ft. building is located in the Academic Core North – the heart of the science and engineering neighborhood. The building features flexible laboratory space with the proper floor-to-floor height, structural dimensions, and environmental stability to support intensive research. The building adopted the sustainable design practices by Labs 21 in addition to a LEED Silver minimum. This building’s novel design of openness, transparency, and connectivity provides a welcoming environment that facilitates conversation, interaction and innovation, from the basement laboratory wing to the lobby with its wave wall and incredible LED installation by internationally renowned artist Leo Villareal to the Dow Student Lounge on the 6th floor with its sweeping view from campus to downtown.

CBEC is a community of scientists, engineers, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and technical staff working collaboratively in the areas of research strengths in Chemistry and Chemical Biomolecular Engineering (CBE): (1) nano/bioscience and technology, (2) energy-related materials, (3) energy and the environment, and (4) theory, modeling, and simulations. These visually stunning and inviting spaces are not just equipped to jump-start research teams, but also the laboratories were specially-built to accommodate the latest instrumentation required for leading-edge research and to be a true catalyst for discovery in the 21st century.

Cite: https://cbe.osu.edu/cbec

        https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/ascent/2015/spring/cbec-catalyst-innovation