Elections

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CHAIR CANDIDATES

Biosketch –

Andrew is a physical chemist who uses light-matter interactions to understand behavior of semiconducting materials for solar cells and LEDs, drive molecules into more reactive states to drive challenging photochemistry, and non-synthetically alter molecules’ behavior through the formation of new polariton states. Andrew completed a Top Master in Nanoscience degree at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, working on—of all things—DNA-organic hybrid materials for drug delivery and self-assembled electronics. He undertook graduate work with Richard Friend at the University of Cambridge, becoming an ultrafast spectroscopist and leading a series of mechanistic breakthroughs in the study of singlet fission. His postdoctoral work at the University of Sheffield with David Lidzey took him into the field of exciton-polaritons, where he studied how these unusual states impact molecular spin physics. Prof. Musser’s interdisciplinary program at Cornell marries these lines of research and extends his spectroscopic methods to new phenomena like photoredox catalysis.

For more information about Professor Musser, please consult his laboratory’s website: https://musser.chem.cornell.edu/  

Campaign –

If elected chair of our local section, I intend to continue the strong progress in recent years towards reviving our activities and fostering a thriving community of chemists where every voice is heard and every perspective is valued. My priorities in the activities we organize will be science education and outreach within our community, supporting diversity and inclusivity, and raising discussions about climate change and its intersection with the discipline of chemistry.

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CHAIR – ELECT CANDIDATES

Biosketch –

One major focus of research in the Milner group is the design of materials to not only enable new synthetic transformations, but also to change the ways in which reactions are carried out. These research interests lie broadly at the intersection of organic, inorganic, and materials chemistry, and are aimed at addressing major challenges in health, energy production, and environmental protection. To achieve their goals, the lab is interested in unlocking the untapped potential of porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks as tools for organic synthesis. In addition, they employ electrochemistry to effect controlled redox processes that cannot be achieved in any other manner, with an emphasis on understanding and ultimately controlling how chemistry at the electrode surface governs the outcome of reactions. As a second major direction, the group is investigating the application of strategies from physical and synthetic organic chemistry in the design of new porous materials for which synthesis remains a barrier to their application in areas such as chemical separations, gas storage, organic electronics, and catalysis.

For more information about Professor Milner, please consult his laboratory’s website: https://milner.chem.cornell.edu/

Campaign –

I have been very impressed by efforts of the local section to unite our Ithaca chemists with professionals elsewhere in the region, and I am particularly interested in expanding these efforts. Ithaca can feel a bit like an island, and providing easier mechanisms by which our younger scientists, particularly undergraduate and graduate students, can escape this ‘island’ and interact with the outside world, both improves their experience at Cornell University and Ithaca College, and increases the draw of this area to future students and colleagues. One task I am particularly excited about is creating a chapter of Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC) associated with our local ACS section, which would be the first section of this group in New York State. EWOC brings together scientists from academia and industry who are passionate about supporting women in organic/medicinal chemistry, broadly defined, through online and in-person meetings.

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TREASURER CANDIDATES

Biosketch –

Leah R. McEwen is the Chemistry Librarian at Cornell University, supporting information services and digital collections for research and teaching across the sciences and managing a multimillion-dollar budget. She is an internationally recognized leader in chemical information, data standards, digital data and open science and currently chair of the IUPAC Committee on Publications and Cheminformatics Data Standards. Leah has been an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) for over 20 years, serving on several national committees and most recently as Treasurer for the ACS Cornell Local Section.

Campaign –

The ACS Cornell Local Section has a long history of supporting scientific programing, distinguished speaker series and community outreach programs. We are able to provide opportunities for students to communicate their science and network through awards, local and regional events and conference travel, including many student-led initiatives. The momentum is inspiring since the successful reactivation of the section and if re-elected, my goal is to make use of key funding opportunities offered by the ACS to greatly expand the activities we are able to do, particularly focusing on outreach to populations that we do not strongly interact with currently.