Chemistry Department (CHEM)
Chemistry Department (CHEM)
The field of chemistry is unique in that it is the scientific link that binds other important fields—such as biology, physics, and geology together. The current model of atomic structure is the quantum mechanical model. Traditional chemistry starts with the study of elementary particles, atoms, molecules, substances, metals, crystals and other aggregates of matter. This matter can be studied in solid, liquid, or gas states, in isolation or in combination. The interactions, reactions and transformations that are studied in chemistry are usually the result of interactions between atoms, leading to rearrangements of the chemical bonds which hold atoms together. Such behaviors are studied in a chemistry laboratory.
Guinness World Record Glowstick Event
Guinness World Record
Chemistry Department Breaks World Record Royal Purple
The mission of the Department of Chemistry, as a member of the College of Letters & Sciences, is to:
- Create an environment that supports learning and research;
- Improve student's ability to analyze problems and develop appropriate solutions;
- Establish and maintain a community of scholars and students who aspire to high standards of achievement; and
- Model in ourselves and encourage in our students the ideas of civic responsibility and engagement, as well as personal and professional integrity.
As a science department, we regard our mission to include:
- Teaching students systematic methods for evaluating evidence and information by helping them to build and test scientific hypotheses and theories;
- Fostering students' critical thinking skills such as drawing conclusions, inferring relationships, solving problems, and making predictions about the natural world; and
- Improving science literacy for student citizens, consistent with the philosophy of liberal studies.
As a department of chemistry, we are committed to providing:
- A rigorous, effective, and up-to-date curriculum for chemistry majors and minors, with depth of study for those students who desire to pursue advanced study in or a career related to chemistry or science education;
- Effective and engaging courses for students who choose to take chemistry courses as either part of the breadth of a liberal arts education or whose majors or career goals require them;
- A safe, relevant laboratory environment for practical exploration of chemical principles, methods, and techniques;
- Relevant educational experiences in the chemical sciences through public outreach with emphasis on the UW-Whitewater service area;
- Hands-on learning experiences in all areas of the curriculum which include the partnership of students, faculty, and staff in research and other scholarly activities;
- Well-informed and accurate academic advising through supportive and constructive advising sessions;
- A well-maintained collection of state-of-the-art instruments for student, faculty, and staff use;
- Opportunities tied to environmental sustainability as part of both our curriculum and our research endeavors in order to emphasize responsible citizenry to the global community.
- Support for the development of faculty and staff teaching innovations and research interests;
- A strong disciplinary identity, in part by maintaining accreditation with the American Chemical Society while providing opportunities for interdisciplinary study and research through collaborations with other disciplines and departments.
Facilities
Upham Hall has just undergone a $40-million renovation and is now one of the University’s premier learning facilities. This building, completed in Fall 2006, houses new research laboratories and faculty offices and features four 60-seat classrooms, one 108-seat lecture hall, one 185-seat lecture hall, well equipped multimedia classrooms, modern research laboratories, a second floor consisting mostly of chemistry labs with new fume hoods and demonstration benches, and 34,000 square feet of new space. The small size of the chemistry department allows students direct, hands-on access to all department instrumentation, including:
- 300 MHZ nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR)
- EMX-plus electron spin resonance spectrometer (ESR)
- Electrochemical analyzer
- Fluorescence spectrophotometer
- Fourier Transform-IR spectrophotometer (FTIR)
- Gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS)
- High-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC)
- Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis)
- Atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS)
- Gas chromatograph (GC)
- Inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP)
- Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC)
Instrumentation Summary:
The Department has the following state of the art instruments: a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR) an electron spin resonance spectrometer (ESR), a Fourier Transform-infrared spectrometer (FTIR), a diode array UV-Visible spectrophotometer and a fluorescence spectrophotometer, which are used to probe the nature of molecules prepared by students in various chemistry student laboratories. Additionally, the department also has an atomic absorption spectrometer and an inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP) which can be used to determine the concentrations of most elements in up to ppm or ppb levels.
Furthermore, the department also possesses a gas chromatograph (GC) and a high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC), which are used to separate and characterize chemicals in complex mixtures. The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GCMS) housed in the department is composed of two major building blocks: a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrometer. These two components, used together, allow a much finer degree of substance identification than either unit used separately.
The department is capable of conducting thermal analysis as well using its sophisticated differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), which can be used to measure a number of characteristic thermal properties of a sample.
All these instruments are coupled with computers that allow sophisticated data acquisition and manipulation.
Finally, the department has a number of minor instruments or equipment: an electrochemical analyzer to study the electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties of a compound, parallel reactors to carry out many reactions at a very fast pace; a polarimeter to measure optical rotation of optically active matter, a tube furnace to conduct syntheses and purifications of inorganic compounds, a bomb calorimeter to measure the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity and a magnetic balance to measure magnetic susceptibility.
Jessica L Bonjour
Associate Professor
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 265 |
(262) 472-1088
John W Ejnik
Associate Professor, Associate Professor (Sv)
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 220A |
(262) 472-1083
Steven N Girard
Associate Professor, Associate Professor (Ss)
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 263 |
(262) 472-1096
Marsha L Goodell
Laboratory Manager
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 243A |
(262) 472-1610
Paul G House
Associate Professor
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 251 |
(262) 472-1551
Hephzibah J Kumpaty
Professor
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 255 |
(262) 472-1097
Julia A Rowehl
Department Assistant
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 220 |
(262) 472-1070
Eric J Stoner
Lecturer (Ss)
Department(s): Chemistry
Williams Hall 119 |
(262) 472-5121
Christopher T Veldkamp
Professor
Department(s): Chemistry
Upham Hall 257 |
(262) 472-5267
Potential Internship Opportunities in Chemistry:
- Abbott Laboratories: http://abbott.com/
- Abbvie: http://www.abbvie.com/careers/student-opportunities/internships.html
- Epic Resins: http://www.epicresins.com/ (not accepting any now but may do so in summer 2017)
- Johnson Controls: career page link: http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/careers/career-opportunities
- SC Johnson: http://www.scjohnson.com/en/Careers/departments/research-development/research-development-intern.aspx
- Sigma-Aldrich: http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/site-level/career-opportunites/coop-program.html
- Standard Process: To apply either send a resume and cover letter, via email, to careers@standardprocess.com or go to their careers page (https://www.standardprocess.com/About-Us/Career-Opportunities#.VszIoE3JC1t), fill out the on-line application, and indicate that you are seeking a summer internship in chemistry.
- Trostel: http://www.trostel.com/
Internship Coordinator: Dr. Kim Naber
To apply for the following scholarships, please go to the UW-W scholarships page.
John W. Brooks
- Amount: around $3,500.
- Please contact Ms. Joette Mather (matherj@uww.edu) or the Chemistry Department for more information.
Paul E. Wenaas
- For students with Freshman or Junior standing.
- Please contact the UW-Whitewater Foundation/Alumni Center, Ms. Joette Mather (matherj@uww.edu) , or the Chemistry Department for more information.
A. A. Upham
- Please contact the UW-Whitewater Foundation/Alumni Center, Ms. Joette Mather (matherj@uww.edu) for more information
Fok Memorial Scholarship.
- This award is presented to an outstanding science major, active in student organizations, as chosen by a committee comprised of the chairs of the science departments. The annual amount of the award is $1,000 per person. There may be more than one award per year.
Goldwater Scholarship
Looking for a Chemistry faculty member to do research with? Check out some examples below! Also, click on an individual name to get more information, see pictures, and read student testimonials!
Jessica L Bonjour -
John W Ejnik- Dr. Ejnik earned his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1991. His dissertation topic was entitled “Formation and Reactivity of Metallothionein in Metal and Ligand Substitution Reactions”. For the next six years he served as an officer for the United States Navy. His service with the Navy includes being a Radiobiology Research Chemist at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland; a Production Manager at the Navy Drug Screening Laboratory in Great Lakes, Illinois; and a Research Chemist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington DC. Dr. Ejnik then joined Northern Michigan University where he taught analytical, instrumental, general, forensic, and biochemical courses for five years. He then joined the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he continues to teach analytical chemistry courses, serves as program coordinator for the Integrated Science and Business program and serves as the Chair for the Chemistry Department. Dr. Ejnik’s research interest includes analytical chemistry involving trace metal analysis in a wide variety of fields. Primary research is done in the area of biological inorganic chemistry involving transition metals, heavy metals and metal speciation interactions with proteins and small organic molecules. However, research also includes trace metal analysis in the fields of geology, environmental science, forensic science and toxicology.
Steven N Girard - Steven N. Girard, a native of Fairfax Station, Virginia, earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry and Bachelor of Music Degree in Cello Performance from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. His research interests include nanostructured thermoelectric materials, sustainable synthesis of inorganic and nanostructured compounds, and flux chemistry. He was hired as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at UW-Whitewater in 2014.
Marsha L Goodell-
Baocheng Han - Research in the fields of (1) metalloporphyrins, which are the model compounds for biological molecules (2) dimetal complexes, and (3) electrocatalytic dechlorination, including (a) synthesize: to make the compounds of interest and then isolate and purify the compounds. (b). characterize the compounds: using spectroscopy techniques such as IR, UV-Vis, NMR, ESR, MS, single crystal diffraction, electrochemistry and spectroelectrochemistry, etc. to identify the compounds. (c) study the properties of the compounds.
Paul G House- Paul House is an Assistant Professor in the Chemistry Department of UW-Whitewater. He received a B.A. in chemistry from Kalamazoo College (Kalamazoo, MI) and a M.S. and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). His graduate work focused on the kinetics and thermodynamics of a group of inorganic molecules involved in catalysis of alkene addition. After graduate school he worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston, TX) with a molecular biologist on the structure and enzymolgy of a DNA repair enzyme.
Hephzibah J Kumpaty -
Kimberly K Naber-
Hassimi Traore -
Christopher T Veldkamp - Christopher Veldkamp, Ph.D., is a Professor of Chemistry. Besides teaching, Dr. Veldkamp does research alongside undergraduate students, many of which have become coauthors on peer-reviewed publications in numerous scientific journals. Dr. Veldkamp completed his Ph.D. at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in the lab of Dr. Brian Volkman. There Dr. Veldkamp studied protein chemistry, structural biology, and cancer metastasis ultimately generating patents that helped Dr. Volkman start two companies. Dr. Veldkamp was also a visiting student at The Rockefeller University in the lab of Dr. Thomas Sakmar. Immediately prior to coming to UW-Whitewater, Dr. Veldkamp worked as a postdoctoral fellow supported by the American Cancer Society.
View Publications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=veldkamp+ct&sort=date
| Milwaukee School of Engineering | Masters Degree |
| St. Anthony School of Nursing | |
| University of Nebraska Medical School | |
| Syracuse University | Doctorate |
| UW Milwaukee | PhD Student |
| UW Madison School of Pharmacy | |
| Medical College of Wisconsin | Graduate Researcher |
| City College of New York | PhD Student |
| Florida Atlantic University | Graduate Teaching Assistant |
| UW Milwaukee | Graduate Teaching Assistant |
| UW Milwaukee | PhD Student |
| Air Products & Chemicals | Process R & D Technician |
| Pfizer-Hospira | Laboratory Trainer |
| Schenck Process LLC | Test Lab Technician |
| Bard | Regulatory Compliance Associate |
| Exacto | Quality Control Chemist |
| Millipore Sigma | Scientist, Production Associate SAFC QC Chemist Chemist Chemist I Associate Production Chemist |
| Kleen Test Products Corp | Analytical Chemist |
| Weil Foot ankle & orthopedic Institute | Medical Assistant |
| Sartori Co. - food | R & D Food Technologist |
| Badger State Ethanol | Lab Manager & Chemist |
| Appvion Inc | Senior Process Engineer |
| Evonick | Chemist |
| PPD | Scientist |
| Polynt Group | Research & Development Synthesis Chemist |
| Wixon - Food | Quality Control Inspector |
| Aurora West Allis Med Ctr | Pharmacy Technician |
| Watertown High School | Science Teacher |
| Badger High School | Chemistry Teacher |
| Abitec Corporation | Quality Control Technician |
| Kerry Ingredients | Quality Assurance Lab Technician Regulatory Scientist RD&A |
| Covance | Analytical Chemist |
| Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals | Quality Technician |
| PPD-Pharmaceutical Product Develop. | Quality Assurance |
| Geneva Laboratories | Chemistry Analyst |
| Eurofins SF Analytical Labs | Environmental Chemist |
| Medline Industries | Lab Technician |
| Abbvie | Chemist I |
| Walgreens | Pharmacy Technician |
| Petron Corp | Lab Technician |
| Ventura Foods | Lab Technician |
| Patriot Environmental Services | Field Chemist |
| CaP Biomaterials LLC | Production Technician |
| Epic Resins | Lab Technician |
- Process R & D Technician
- Laboratory Trainer
- Test Lab Technician
- Regulatory Compliance Associate
- Quality Control Chemist
- Scientist, Production Associate
- SAFC QC Chemist
- Chemist
- Associate Production Chemist
- Analytical Chemist
- Medical Assistant
- R & D Food Technologist
- Lab Manager & Chemist
- Senior Process Engineer
- Scientist
- Research & Development Synthesis Chemist
- Quality Control Inspector
- Pharmacy Technician
- Science Teacher
- Chemistry Teacher
- Quality Control Technician
- Quality Assurance Lab Technician
- Regulatory Scientist
- RD&A
- Quality Technician
- Quality Assurance
- Chemistry Analyst
- Environmental Chemist
- Lab Technician
- Pharmacy Technician
- Field Chemist
- Production Technician
Because chemistry is primarily a practical experimental science requiring well developed laboratory and problem-solving skills, many graduates find employment in the multi-faceted chemical industry conducting applied research. For example, an industrial chemist might be working in the field of:
- Food chemistry: developing and improving food products.
- Pharmaceutical chemistry: researching new drug products.
- Water chemistry: monitoring water quality or waste water treatment.
- Agricultural chemistry: developing safer, more effective pesticides and fertilizers
- Petroleum chemistry: researching new fuel and lubricant formulations
- Biochemistry: involving the areas of biotechnology or toxicology testing
Many industrial chemists are working in the field of basic research, using the tools of theoretical chemistry. Large numbers of chemists are also employed in academic and government labs conducting both applied and basic research. Chemistry is a strong training component for those planning careers in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, pharmacology, or medical technology.
Goldwater Scholarship Recognitions
Andrew Phillips
Andrew Phillips remembers the grade school field trip to the Medical College of Wisconsin that changed his career perspective. At the time, Phillips wanted to be an archaeologist. But after seeing the institution, which conducts more than 2,000 research studies and clinical trials a year, Phillips knew exactly what he wanted to do.
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Marie Nider
For the first time in history, a UW-Whitewater student has been awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. Marie Nider, a chemistry major from Monroe, was one of 282 students chosen from a nationwide pool of 1,100 to receive a Goldwater Scholarship for the 2012-13 year.
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Tina Slack
Tina Slack may be a quintessential Warhawk. She won a national championship as a member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnastics team and — on the very same day — was named one of the finest science students in the United States.
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Pontian Adogamhe
There had been a countdown in the Chemistry Room, that second-floor enclave off the main staircase of Upham Hall on the UW-Whitewater campus where students go to study and work out equations together. Everyone knew the prestigious Goldwater Foundation awards would be announced on March 30.
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