News/Announcements

August, 2009 Photos of Summer Research 2009 are posted.

July, 2009 Dr. Charles "Hap" Fisher is featured in a new article in the Roanoke Times, written by Beth Macy. His professional productivity and longevity are both featured! Link.

May, 2009 Summer Workshops for High School Science Teachers!

May, 2009 Three new faculty members will join our department over the summer. Prof. Kelly Anderson will be Assistant Professor of Chemistry (Physical Chemistry) starting in the fall. Prof. Stephanie Livingston will be Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry (Inorganic Chemistry) starting in the fall. Prof. Kurt Neidigh will join us for the summer only, teaching Organic Chemistry II lecture and lab in July.

May, 2009 Congratulations to our graduates!

Dr. Valerie Ashby of UNC-Chapel Hill gave the annual "Dr. Charles H. Fisher Lecture".

February, 2009 Dr. Valerie Ashby of UNC-Chapel Hill discussed "Polyester and Polyester Urethane Based Biomaterials" in the annual Dr. Charles H. Fisher Lecture.

February, 2009 The Chemistry 280 Sophomore Seminar students presented a well attended poster session, highlighting 11 different modern applications of chemistry/biochemistry. Good work!

January, 2009 Dr. Charles H. Fisher is featured in the new PBS documentary "Witness to a Century", which features Virginia centenarians reflecting on the various changes in the 20th century.

December, 2008 Biochemistry and Chemistry students participated in the annual Salem Holiday Parade with a SAACS float (photos) and the annual Chemistry Department Holiday Party (photos).

October, 2008 Biochemistry and Chemistry students organized many National Chemistry Week events. Photos.

October, 2008 Biochemistry and Chemistry Alumni presented lots of career info at an interactive discussion panel on Oct. 22. Photos.

October, 2008 Our new GC-MS has been installed! It is already receiving heavy use.

September, 2008 Chemistry Department students put on the annual "Chemistry Magic Show" during Family Weekend. A packed house of more than 250 people were entertained by a variety of chemical demonstrations. Thanks to all who participated!

September, 2008 Chemistry students participated in the Summer Scholar Research Symposium during Family Weekend. Photos.

September, 2008 The Chemistry Department announces a "Mug Design Contest". Win a prize! Details.

2008 summer research group, (One student, Sarah, is not shown).

July, 2008 The Chemistry Department is pleased to be hiring a tenure track Physical Chemist for the 2009-2010 academic year. Details.

July, 2008 The 2008 edition of the departmental newsletter has been published.

July, 2008 The Chemistry Department is pleased to announce that the National Science Foundation has awarded a 36 month grant to Roanoke College in support of our General Education laboratory courses. The project, "Real-Life Inquiry-Based GC/MS Experiments for General Education Chemistry Courses" includes a significant new emphasis on guided inquiry instruction in our 100 level lab courses for both science majors and non-majors. This open inquiry style involves more student designed experiments and significant discussion. The project also includes the purchase of a new GC/MS instrument, outreach workshops for area high school teachers, and extensive assessment activities. The successful grant was written by Dr. Jack Steehler and Dr. Ben Huddle.

July, 2008 Dr. Jack Steehler was recently named as the college's first Director of Student/Faculty Research. He has also been named as the Brian H. Thornhill Professor of Chemistry.

July, 2008 Dr. Jack Steehler's "Robots and Society" course (May Term) was featured in the July/August issue of The Roanoker Magazine. Link.

June 2008 Summer research is well underway! Photos.

May 2008 The Chemistry Department hosted its first ever Graduation Reception on Friday, May 1st. Almost all of our graduates and their families were able to attend, and it was a great start for Commencement Weekend. Check out the photos!

April 2008 A large group of Chemistry Department faculty and students attended the ACS National Meeting in New Orleans! Some of them are pictured here.

April 2008 Dr. Robert B. "Chip" Cody (RC '76) presented a wonderful Alumni Weekend seminar: "From Chocolate to Chili Peppers to "CSI": Finding the Chemical Composition of Almost Anything by Mass Spectrometry"

April 2008 The Chemistry 480 Senior Seminar students presented a variety of special seminars, and posed for a nice picture, too!

February 2008 The Chemistry 280 Sophomore Seminar students presented an interesting set of posters during a well attended Enrichment Program event.

Kristen, Mallorie, and Ryan present their Chem 280 posters.

February 2008 The Chemistry Department is pleased to announce the hiring of a new faculty member. Dr. Tim Johann will join the department in Fall, 2008. His area of expertise is Biochemistry.

Dr. Tim Johann

December 2007 The annual Christmas party was held at Dr. Miller's house. Photos.

November 2007 The Fall 2007 Dr. Charles H. Fisher Lecture was held on November 7th. Dr. Walter Witschey of Longwood University spoke on "Achieving Immortality: How to Live Forever".

October 2007 The SAACS group was very active during National Chemistry Week this year! The Periodic Table of cupcakes, and the 2007 Mole Day breakfast (6:02 AM on 10/23) at Denny's are shown below.

October 2007 We are hiring a new faculty member this year, in the general area of biochemistry.

October 2007 Photos have been posted for the recent Alumni Panel on careers in Chemistry and Biochemistry.

September 2007 Photos have been posted for our Magic Show!

September 2007 Photos have been posted from the Family Weekend Summer Scholar Poster Session.

Kelly Fletcher and Dr. Jack Steehler work in the lab.

July 2007 Photos from 2007 summer research projects are now online.

June 2007 The latest edition of our departmental newsletter is now available online. Print copies will be mailed to all alumni soon.

April 2007. The SAACS group organized the Annual Chemistry Department Spring Picnic. ABout 40 people enjoyed good food, games, and good conversation....and a break from studying for final exams! Photos .

April 2007 Derek Wolfe (RC '99) gave the annual Alumni Weekend Lecture on April 20th. His talk discussed asymmetical organic synthesis. Derek is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Georgia this summer.

March 2007 Dr. Gary Hollis, Dr. Ron Oetgen (Emeritus Professor), and Barbara Oetgen were recently honored as the winners of the Roanoke Valley Scrabble Tournament. The tournament benefitted the Literacy Volunteers of the Roanoke Valley. The winning team was featured in a photo story in the Salem Times Register.

March 2007 The March 2007 issue of the "Inform" journal of the American Oil Chemists Society has a feature profile on Dr. C. Hap Fisher. The abstract of that profile is: Over the past 12 years, Charles Harold "Hap" Fisher has published about one paper a year in the Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society (JAOCS). This fact may not seem extraordinary, except that AOCS membership records indicate that Fisher joined AOCS in 1951, that he is presently an emeritus member, and that he celebrated his 100th birthday on November 20, 2006. Congratulations, Hap!

February 2007 The Chem 280 "Sophomore Seminar" class presented a variety of posters about interesting applications of chemistry and biochemistry. This annual event always attracts a big crowd of student visitors. Photos .

February 2007 The 2007 Dr. Charles H. Fisher Lecture was held on February 7th. Carolyn Merritt, Chairman and CEO of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board gave a fascinating talk on human and systems factors affecting the safety of the U.S. chemical industry. It was an honor to have her with us!

January 2007 The department hosted the monthly meeting of the Blue Ridge Section of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Richard Field gave a biographical lecture about the life and science of Dr. Erwin Schrodinger, the inventor of molecular wave mechanics.

Recent news:

February, 2009 Dr. Valerie Ashby of UNC-Chapel Hill discussed "Polyester and Polyester Urethane Based Biomaterials" in the annual Dr. Charles H. Fisher Lecture.

February, 2009 The Chemistry 280 Sophomore Seminar students presented a well attended poster session, highlighting 11 different modern applications of chemistry/biochemistry. Good work!

January, 2009 Dr. Charles H. Fisher is featured in the new PBS documentary "Witness to a Century", which features Virginia centenarians reflecting on the various changes in the 20th century.