The image below illustrates that the smiles in our department shine brighter than a thousand suns! All the models were asked to make serious faces a split second before the shots were taken. These images capture the spirit and joy of the departmental professional headshot session from September 2024. Meet Ilia Guzei! Ilia is a …

The part of my job I enjoy the most is meeting and helping people from all over the world. Even though I don’t interact with them much once they are in Madison, I am happy to be able to help them get here and transition to their new jobs and this beautiful city. Meet Beatriz …

I appreciate the laid-back environment where my energy can be focused on work instead of the pressure of a high-stress workplace. Meet Emily Bennin! Emily was a student employee for the chemistry department during her undergrad program at UW–Madison. She taught middle school English in Philadelphia, PA before returning to the department in the fall …

I love to see all the different types of research going on within the department, joint research with other departments at UW, or research with other universities.  Meet Carolyn Karls! Carolyn provides support for pre-award and post-award grant functions within the department. The pre-award side works collaboratively with researchers to prepare the non-technical materials for …

The people in this department are what make it so great. Meet Hailey Johnson. Hailey has been working for the Department of Chemistry business office for the past six years after earning a BA from Northern Illinois University. (Fun fact: Pat Egan was her high school chemistry teacher and reached out about the job.) As …

Cara Jenkins, coordinator for the Chemistry-Biology Interface training program It is fun to talk to students from so many different groups and programs about their research and see them grow and progress across their graduate careers. Meet Cara Jenkins. Cara graduated with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from UW–Madison in 2004. Her job entails the …

What I like most about my job is the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on students’ lives. Meet Francisca Jofre!  As the graduate program director for the Department of Chemistry, Francisca’s job focuses on overseeing the academic, administrative, and mentorship aspects of the Ph.D. program to support our graduate students and make sure we …

We have such a great community here! Meet Kathryn Koenen! Kathryn has been serving as an administrative assistant for the department for a little over a year and a half. She holds a degree from UW–Madison, where she majored in Communication Arts Rhetoric and minored in Environmental Studies. She works with the faculty and students …

Interacting one-on-one with students to help them use NMR to answer their scientific questions is the highlight of my day.   Meet Cathy Clewett.  Cathy has been in the department since May 2019 and serves as the Assistant Director for the Magnetic Resonance Facility. She helps maintain the facility, repair instrumentation, train students, and — …

Working with students to help them realize their ideas in glass is very rewarding.   Meet Tracy Drier. As a research glassblower, Tracy works with Lauren Aria in the department’s glass shop in room B-201, helping graduate students and professors by designing and building the glassware they need to achieve their research goals. Tracy says the …