Division and Alumni News

TWU chemistry student featured as panelist at AAC&U forum

2/23/23

Raven Gallenstein, TWU master's student in chemistry, was the featured student panelist at the recent American Association of Colleges and Universities) forum on Diversity, Equity, and High Impact Learning Pathways.

TWU's Ruemmele earns place among elite biochemistry researchers

1/24/23

Laura Ruemmele, a senior biochemistry major at Texas Woman's University, was selected to be a research assistant at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

TWU KEM Club participates in National Chemistry Week

12/14/22

The Texas Woman's University KEM Club (Kappa Epsilon Mu) recently participated in the annual National Chemistry Week at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

TWU's Kohan to address green chemistry community

11/15/22

Texas Woman's University associate professor Nasrin Mirsaleh-Kohan, PhD, will be one of the speakers for the Nov. 16 edition of Green Chemistry Connections.

Chemistry earns Dreyfus Lectureship award

11/14/22

The Texas Woman's University's chemistry and biochemistry division has been awarded the Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions program for 2022.

TWU chemistry professors honored for advancing civically engaged STEM

10/7/22

Texas Woman’s University chemistry professors Nasrin Kohan, PhD, and Richard D. Sheardy, PhD, have been named ambassadors for SENCER, the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities.

Celebration of Science returns to TWU Oct. 20-21

10/6/22

After being suspended since 2019 due to the pandemic, the Celebration of Science returns to Texas Woman’s University Oct. 20-21. The main event is on Friday, Oct. 21, in the Ann Stuart Science Complex and includes presentations by six speakers, headlined by Sherine O. Obare, PhD. Friday’s event is free and open to the public.

TWU researchers attend green chemistry conference

8/8/22

Faculty and students from Texas Women's University Chemistry and Biochemistry attended the 26^th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference held in Reston, Virginia, in June.

TWU biochemistry student lands internship

6/22/22

Texas Woman's University biochemistry student Derek Aguilar has secured a summer internship with Oakwood Chemical.

Aguilar is expected to complete his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from TWU this December, and then pursue his master's of science in chemistry at TWU.

Dr. Robby Petros joins International Network for Outcome-Based Education advisory board

11/22/21

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Robby A. Petros was recently selected for the International Network for Outcome-Based Education (IN4OBE) advisory board. According to the IN4OBE website, "his effort focused on methods for collecting data that could drive rational decision-making toward improving learning outcomes and student success in his sophomore-level course in Organic Chemistry... He is collaborating with other investigators at TWU to transform teaching in all undergraduate science courses, which has already garnered more than $3.5 M in support from the National Science Foundation."

IN4OBE exists to elevate and transform the paradigm of time-honored, conventional thinking and practice in the world’s education systems – from national policies to classroom interactions, and from the earliest years of life to mature adulthood.

Couple creates scholarship to honor legacy of longtime chemistry professor

11/16/21

Jay-lin Jane-Topel, MS ’78, and her husband, David Topel, have established a new endowed scholarship to honor the life of a beloved Texas Woman's chemistry professor.

The Dr. James Johnson Scholarship Endowment in Chemistry has been created to honor the memory of the longtime educator. Johnson attended the University of Minnesota for his undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemistry and received his doctoral degree in organic chemistry from the University of Missouri. He taught for more than 40 years in higher education, retiring as professor of organic chemistry at Texas Woman's in May 2019. He passed away July 5, 2019.

Congratulations to our TWU PRIME scholarship awardees of 2021-2022

9/1/21

Eight undergraduate students received a TWU PRIME scholarship over the academic year of 2021-2022. TWU and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offer other scholarship opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students.

Undergraduate chemistry degrees re-certified by ACS committee

8/30/21

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has received re-certification for its BS Chemistry and BS in Biochemistry degrees by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society (ACS). (2021)

Biochemistry major Laura Ruemmele to participate in Nation Institute of Health summer program

6/29/21

Laura Ruemmele, an upcoming junior biochemistry major, has been admitted to the National Institute of Health summer research program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Laura started her research in May of 2021 in the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Fozo, Department of Microbiology.

TWU environmental chemistry student to organize IKE2 Alliance panel/workshop

6/21/21

In January, the National Science Foundation awarded a $99,786 planning grant to a team of TWU researchers to develop strategies to recruit and retain more Indigenous students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

The project's second gathering, IKE2, will take place June 28 and will be hosted by Humboldt State University and the University of Utah. TWU environmental chemistry student and IKE2 Alliance student representative Raven Gallenstein has been asked by the project's leadership to organize the IKE2 Alliance student core workshop/panel at 1:45 PM (PST).

TWU to celebrate new Scientific Research Commons April 13-14

4/7/21

Join TWU Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, and Nutrition & Food Science for a two-day event celebrating the NEW Scientific Research Commons (SRC) on TWU's Denton campus. SRC is located on the southeast corner of campus at Texas St. and N Bell Ave. Events to include:

Tuesday, April 13: 12:30-1:30 p.m. poster session; 2 p.m. dedication ceremony for the new installation, "Infinite"; and  4-5 p.m. poster session.
Wednesday, April 14: 1-2 p.m. and 4-5 p.m. poster sessions

Out of concern for your safety, this event is open to the TWU community only.

NASA remembers TWU alumna Millie Hughes-Ford

2/8/21

NASA is remembering Millie Hughes-Fulford, the first woman to fly as a NASA payload specialist, who died Thursday. Hughes-Fulford was selected as a payload specialist in January 1983 and flew in June 1991 aboard the space shuttle Columbia on the STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS 1) mission, the first mission dedicated to biomedical studies.

In 1968, she began graduate work studying plasma chemistry at TWU as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, continued as an American Association of University Women fellow, and completed her doctorate at TWU in 1972.

Grant aims to increase STEM engagement in Indigenous communities

1/28/21

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $99,786 planning grant that will allow a TWU research team to develop strategies to recruit and retain more Indigenous students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

TWU alumna Teresa Brown reaches students and educators through innovative lab videos

6/8/20

TWU alumna Teresa Brown (MS '11), a Mississippi State University lecturer and general chemistry lab coordinator, is reaching students and educators with her videos designed to help provide lab instruction in the face of COVID-19. “Going online has helped me rediscover the beauty of chemistry for myself. I am compelled deep within to share my excitement and see others make a connection to the material. That is what drives me as a teacher. Being able to share it with other educators is just a bonus,” Brown said.

Nasrin Mirsaleh-Kohan, PhD, authors 'Three-Column Activity' article for Faculty Focus

5/29/20

"Every day, my students deal with many kinds of problems and difficulties. If aware, my students may feel more empowered to act, knowing they have a choice. In my physics class, I envision that my students will learn problem solving and analytical thinking skills they can employ in their daily lives," said associate professor Nasrin Mirsaleh-Kohan, Ph.D.

Texas Woman’s STEM project awarded $2 million grant

4/22/20

A team of Texas Woman’s University faculty have been awarded $2,448,091 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund a project aimed at improving retention and graduation rates for students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

Biochemistry major Grace Short provides warmth for cancer patients

3/18/20

Mother-daughter duo Amy and Grace Short, with the help of their loved ones, established their organization, Yarn for Hearts, where together they knit and crochet items in hopes of providing warmth for cancer and blood disease patients.

“[The goal of the organization is to] make people feel like there is actually people out there thinking of them, letting them know it’s not just them out there,” Hoffman said. “Not everyone has a family that’s there for them, that can make stuff like that for them.” 

Read the 2020 SENCER Symposium recap

2/20/20

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the SENCER Center for Innovation Southwest hosted the fifth annual SENCER Regional Symposium at Texas Woman’s University on January 31, 2020. Throughout the day, speakers presented information, innovation and ideas about the use of plastics in our daily lives, the impact that plastics and their degradation products have on our environment and our health, and what we can and cannot do about this critical, civic issue.

TWU to host citizen science symposium Jan. 31

1/27/20

Texas Woman’s University will host the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities Center for Innovation Southwest Spring 2020 Symposium, titled “Citizen Science: The Impact on our Communities by Plastics in Our Environment,” Friday, Jan. 31. The event will take place 9 a.m.-6 p.m. in room 259 of the Ann Stuart Science Complex, located on TWU’s Denton campus.