The undergraduate students are incredibly smart; the TAs and instructors are all dedicated. The staff I interact with are some of the best people.
Meet Amanda Buchberger! As the analytical lab director for the department, Amanda works with lecturers, teaching assistants, and faculty to develop and implement our analytical chemistry curriculum for our undergraduate students. She graduated from UW–Madison with a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 2018 and did her post-doc at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She then became associate director of the Center for Biological Mass Spectrometry Research. Her desire to again work with undergraduate students prompted her to seek out other opportunities and brought her back to the department in 2020. She says what she loves most about her job are the people. Outside of work she enjoys hiking and running. She has three marathons under her belt and is planning for another in 2026. She also enjoys spending time with family. Her sons are 8 months old (Milo) and 3 and a half years old (Levi).