Alumni News Stories
Hrant Hratchian - Posted April 2022
Prof. Hrant Hratchian (B.S. 2001) has been awarded the 2022 EMU Alumni Achievement Award. He graduated cum laude with a degree in Professional Chemistry from EMU, followed by a Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry from Wayne State University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Indiana University. While at EMU, he pursued several research projects under the guidance of Profs. Milletti and Brewer. Read more James Grinias - Posted June 2017
The EMU Alumni Association has recognized Dr. James Grinias as recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumni Award at this year's awards ceremony. Dr. Grinias received his bachelor's degree in professional chemistry from EMU in 2009. He is currently an assistant professor at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. Read more about Dr. Grinias. Princess MyCia Cox - Posted June 2017
Dr. Cox graduated from EMU in 2005 with a professional chemistry degree. She subsequently completed her Ph.D. in nanascale science in 2013 from the University of North Carolina - Chalotte. Her dissertation was entitled "Design and fabrication of low loss and low index optical metamaterials." She is currently teaching chemistry and organizing physical chemistry laboratories for the Clemson University Chemistry Department. Brian Samas - Posted May 2017
Brian writes: "I graduated from EMU with a MS in 1999 working for Dr. Donald Snyder. Upon graduating, I started working at Parke-Davis in Ann Arbor working in an early stage formulation group. Soon after I started, Parke-Davis became Pfizer. From there, I took a job working in materials science and I got interested in learning about X-ray crystallography. I worked in Ann Arbor until that site was closed in 2007, then moved to the Groton Connecticut facility. After 17 years and counting at Pfizer I'm still working in solid state chemistry and crystallography." Brian Cummings - Posted November 2016
Dr. Cummings, who was a double major in biochemistry and toxicology at EMU (and recipient of our Toxicology Achievement Award in 1994), is currently the Dean of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State University. His research in his previous position as an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy and director of the University of Georgia's Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program was featured on the University of Georgia's website. Ermelinda Harper - Posted January 2016
Ermelinda Harper graduated from EMU in 1998 with a degree in biochemistry. As a student, she demonstrated a wide range of interests and amassed numerous honors. Since graduating from EMU, she has earned several graduate degrees and has followed a career path that has led her to interesting places. Read about Dr. Harper's academic and professional journey. Donald Wall - Posted March 2015
Dr. Donald Wall is the director of the Nuclear Training Reactor at the University of Florda and a 1990 graduate of EMU with a degree in chemistry. Read Dr. Wall's story of how taking a general education course totally changed his career path. Steve Fernandes - Posted October 2014
This summer, Steve Fernandes was one of only 30 students selected (out of 700 applicants) to attend the 2014 Merck Sereno Innovation Cup in Darmstadt, Germany. While there, Steve's international five-member-team won the first place award for the business plan they developed entitled "Changing the way cancer is treated by cancer cell burst." Steve is a recent MBA graduate of Johns Hopkins University and a graduate of EMU, where he received his MS in 2007, under the direction of Dr. Deborah Heyl-Clegg. He is currently laboratory manager in the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Read more. Jason Miller - Posted September 2014
Recent graduate Jason Miller was recently featured in the EMU Honors Newsletter. Jason has just started working on his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry at the University of Michigan. Read about what Jason had to say about his time at EMU and what he is doing now. Badrinath Dhakal - Posted September 2014
Alumnus Badrinath Dhakal's research on sustainability was recently featured on the Oakland University website homepage. Last July, Badrinath was selected to present his research, on developing catalysts to convert carbon dioxide into useful fuels, at an international conference on sustainability. Badrinath is currently a Ph.D. student at Oakland University. He earned his MS in chemistry at EMU in 2011 under the direction of Professor Ruth Ann Armitage. Tom Horvath - Posted August 2014
Tom Horvath graduated from EMU with a degree in chemistry in 2000 and subsequently earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Since then he has pursued a career as a research scientist. To quote Dr. Horvath, "When I pause to reflect on my career, I consider the time shared with faculty and fellow students in the chemistry department as some of the fondest and most influential of my life. The theoretical and practical training provided by the Chemistry Department faculty was paramount to achieving success in both my academic and industrial pursuits. With the new Mark Jefferson Science Complex, and the department's focus on education, current students should feel confident in their choice of studying chemistry at Eastern Michigan University." Read more about Dr. Horvath. Ian Pendleton - Posted June 2014
Ian Pendleton, Honors College alumnus and doctoral candidate in chemistry at the University of Michigan, was selected for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), which helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees.
NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching and innovations in science and engineering. While at EMU, Ian received numerous scholarships to support his research with Dr. Harriet Lindsay.
This story originally appeared in the EMU Honors College Newsletter.
Gerald Artman - Posted April 2014
Gerald Artman came to EMU in 1996 and was an outstanding student. After initially flirting with the idea of becoming a history teacher, he was drawn to the excitement of a career in chemistry. While at EMU, he actively participated in independent research with Prof. Arthur Howard, studying the effects of microwaves in organic synthesis. He graduated with a professional chemistry major in 1999 and received the Bert W. Peet Award as that year's outstanding graduating chemistry major.
He went on to earn his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Penn State University. His Ph.D. adviser was Dr. Steven Weinreb (a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient in 1983). Dr. Artman has subsequently pursued a career in industrial research. After spending three years focusing on eye-related diseases at Novartis in Cambridge, MA, he moved to Kalexsyn in Kalamazoo, MI, where he continues to do organic synthesis related to drug development.
To quote Dr. Artman, "I continue to trace my success back to EMU. The dedicated professors, the intimate exposure to independent research and the challenging course work provided me with the solid foundation needed to be a chemist in these exciting times."
Read more about Dr. Artman on pages 4 and 5 of this spring's Chemistry Department Newsletter [PDF].