It has been an honor to serve as SEAC President — the last two years have passed quickly. I extend a warm welcome to Lane Baker as he takes over in a few days and my deepest gratitude to the SEAC officers, board members and committee members for their hard work and collective efforts that make SEAC a great organization!!
This Newsletter issue reflects on 2023 and looks ahead to plans for the coming year. Many thanks to all those who made the return to in-person activities at Pittcon 2023 successful throughout a very busy week! In looking to 2024, I would like to begin by expressing enthusiastic congratulations to Eric Bakker, recipient of the Charles N. Reilley Award in Electroanalytical Chemistry, and Long Luo, who has been selected for the Royce W. Murray Young Investigator Award. Brief bios and information about the award symposium being organized for Pittcon 2024 are included below. In scrolling down, be sure to catch the early announcement for the Fourth SEAC Student Group Meeting scheduled for Saturday, Feb 24, 2024, just ahead of Pittcon.
In member news — colleagues Long Luo, Hang Ren and Mei Shen have become Sloan Fellowship recipients. Congratulations to them on this most prestigious recognition!
I welcome our new student Newsletter editor, Thomas Clarke (Purdue University), and wish out-going student editor, Junaid Ahmed (Virginia Commonwealth University) the very best. Junaid entered industry in February after completing his PhD studies and serving for two years as student editor for SEAC. I thank him and all our editors for their great efforts to keep us informed.
Also in this issue, be sure to check out the Photo Album section and terrific entries submitted by Prof. Harvey Herman and former SEAC presidents William Heineman and R. Mark Wightman. And enjoy the highlights from the SEAC award session and student activities hosted at Pittcon 2023!
To close, I express my sincere appreciation to SEAC members for their unwavering commitment to advancing our organization. I wish you all continued success and look forward to seeing everyone in the years ahead.
Thomas Clarke, a graduate student at Purdue University, has agreed to serve as a new Student Editor. We appreciate Thomas for his willingness to serve as a Student Editor!
Thomas B. Clarke is a Ph.D. candidate in analytical chemistry at Purdue University. He received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 2018. Upon graduation, he taught high school chemistry and biology for two years and earned his M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame in 2020. He then began his graduate research in chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has continued this work under the direction of Jeffrey Dick at Purdue University, where he is using electrochemistry to study unique chemistry that happens in confined volumes and at liquid|liquid interfaces. In addition to his research interests, he loves reading through the literature in chemistry education and studying electrochemistry’s role in the history of chemistry and science.
The highlight of the SEAC activities at Pittcon 2024 will be the presentation of the 2024 Charles N. Reilley Award to Eric Bakker, Université de Genève, and the Royce W. Murray Young Investigator Award to Long Luo, Wayne State University. Congratulations!
Eric Bakker is chair of analytical chemistry at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. After his undergraduate studies in chemistry at ETH Zurich, he pursued his doctorate with Wilhelm Simon at the same institution, working on optical ion sensing principles and materials and becoming increasingly interested in ion-selective membrane theory. Throughout his doctorate work he was also a part-time project manager at Mettler-Toledo, where he developed a reference electrode element that avoids silver contamination, which was patented and since commercialized. He pursued postdoctoral studies at the University of Michigan with Mark Meyerhoff where he contributed to understanding how potentiometric polyion sensors work and how anion-responsive membrane electrode selectivity can be optimized. In his second year he also worked on a part time basis with Raoul Kopelman where he made contributions to fiber optic nanosensors. He subsequently started his independent academic career at Auburn University in Alabama in 1995 and rose through the ranks to become full professor in 2003. During this time he contributed to the understanding and improvement of the detection limit of ion-selective electrodes, developed dynamic electrochemistry methods for membrane electrodes and had a long standing collaboration with Beckman Coulter to develop particle-based optical sensors that can be read out by flow cytometry. In 2005 he moved to Purdue University as tenured full professor and in 2007 accepted a position of professor and institute director at Curtin University in Western Australia. In 2010 he was called to the University of Geneva for his current position. He has published over 400 papers that have been globally cited about 30,000 times. Eric also received the Robert Boyle Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Simon-Widmer Award from the Swiss Chemical Society. Having previously served as Associate Editor for Sensors and Actuators B, he was an inaugural Associate Editor for ACS Sensors and now serve as its Executive Editor. He is also a scientific advisor for Eaglenos, a diagnostic company based in Nanjing.
2024 Royce W. Murray Young Investigator Awardee - Long Luo
Long Luo received his B.S. (2009) in applied chemistry from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and his Ph.D. (2014) in chemistry from the University of Utah under the guidance of Prof. Henry S. White. Before joining Wayne State University in 2017, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Richard M. Crooks at the University of Texas at Austin. He received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, National Institute of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), Sloan Research Fellowship, and Wayne State University Academy of Scholars Junior Faculty Award, and was selected as a ChemComm Emerging Investigator, Anal. Bioanal. Chem. Young Investigator, and Nanoscale Emerging Investigator. He is the inaugural Carl R. Johnson Endowed Early Career Professor of Chemistry at Wayne State University. The research goal of his laboratory is to address the grand challenges of our times in environment, energy, and health by exploring the interdisciplinary frontiers of electrochemistry. His group has developed new electrosynthetic methods to prepare functional molecules and materials and new electroanalytical methods to solve emerging environmental problems.
Charles N. Reilley and Royce W. Murray Young Investigator Awards Symposium
The highlight of the SEAC activities at Pittcon was the presentation of the 2023 C. N. Reilley Award to Lane Baker, Texas A&M University, and the Royce W. Murray Award to Jeffrey Dick, Purdue University. The symposium in their honor was arranged by Dick Crooks, University of Texas at Austin, and was held at 8:30 – 11:55 AM on Monday, March 20, 2023, in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia PA.
2023 SEAC – Student Group Meeting (SEAC-SGM)
SEAC members Lane Baker and Ashley Ross organized a Gordon Research-like event for students, concurrent with Pittcon (this is the 2nd time in person, the last being Pittcon 2020 in Chicago).
Approximately 50 student and postdoctoral members of SEAC met the Saturday before Pittcon to discuss science and make new friends. A total of sixteen schools where represented at the meeting. The topics ranged from in vivo electrochemistry to instrumentation to fundamental electrochemical questions. After the daylong session, students congregated at a local pub for further “discussions”.
2023 SEAC – The Student Session in Electroanalysis
Organized by SEAC members Martin Edwards and Stephen Maldonado, the organized symposium for students was a great success. Presenters delivered high-energy 20-minute presentations on a broad range of topics in electroanalytical chemistry, which were followed by lively discussion with the audience. Attendees were to treated to talks on topics including sensing, cancer diagnostics, nanobubbles, electrochemical imaging and electrosynthesis. The session has a track record of showcasing researchers that go on to great things, with 2023 Royce Murray Young Investigator Award winner Professor Jeffrey Dick notable as a presenter in the first iteration of this session. Featured Speakers were:
Left to Right: Dylan Boucher (University of Utah), Oreolua Cherebin (IUPUI), Vincent Clark (Johns Hopkins University), Eliza Herrero (University of Minnesota), Kamsy Anderson (University of Arkansas), Morgan Clark (Iowa State University), and Milomir Suvira (University of Washington).
2023 SEAC Student Travel Award Winners
Pittcon 2023 was a great time this year and it was so great to see each other again and catch up. We want to give some special recognition to our student travel awardees. SEAC was able to award five students this year. They are profiled below.
Kamsy L. Anderson is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Arkansas in the analytical chemistry division of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where she is advised by Dr. Martin A. Edwards. Prior to pursuing a graduate degree, Kamsy obtained a B.S in Chemistry with concentration in Biochemistry from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith in 2019. Her research currently focuses on high-throughput electrochemical characterization of single nanoparticles using scanning electrochemical cell microscopy.
Eliza Herrero is a Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Philippe Bühlmann’s research group at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the development of planar ion-selective electrodes for point-of-care usage in medical diagnostics. She received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Sociology at the University of Notre Dame where she did undergraduate research on paper analytical devices in Dr. Marya Lieberman’s group. She is planning to work in the field of medical devices after graduation.
Sergio Mena received his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Polytechnical University of Valencia, Spain. Afterward, he moved to the United Kingdom to pursue his master’s in Biomedical Engineering: Medical Physics at Imperial College London. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate in Bioengineering research at Imperial College London under the supervision of Dr. Parastoo Hashemi. Sergio has developed a novel freely accessible web application for the analysis of neurochemical fast voltammetry data. His current work focuses on developing computational platforms for studying the role of serotonin in major depressive disorder. Throughout his academic journey, Sergio has received several honors and awards. Recently, he received the Postgraduate Travel Award from the Old Centralian’s Trust and the Imperial College London General Fund award. He was also recognized for his outstanding B.Sc. dissertation, receiving a cum laude mention from the Polytechnical University of Valencia.
Blaise Ostertag is a PhD candidate at the University of Cincinnati working under the direction of Dr. Ashley Ross. Prior to attending the University of Cincinnati, he received his BS in chemistry and BA in physics from Thomas More University. Blaise’s current studies involve the fabrication of surface roughened/porous carbon materials for enhanced neurotransmitter detection with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Blaise uses these electrode materials to analyze their function in the electrochemical reversibility of redox-active neurotransmitters to better understand the roles geometry and carbon chemical connectivity have on electrode-neurotransmitter interactions.
Brenna Parke received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Iowa, where she also conducted undergraduate research with Dr. Johna Leddy. Afterwards, she joined Dr. Parry Hashemi’s group at the University of South Carolina where she received her Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry. She continued her work with Dr. Hashemi at Imperial College London where she is currently a PhD candidate in the department of Bioengineering. Brenna’s work has largely focused on optimizing fast scan cyclic voltammetry measurements in novel cellular models of disease, and recently has found that epithelial cell types signal with neurochemicals (serotonin, histamine). Of late she has received several travel awards to present her work at international conferences, including from the Imperial General Fund.
2023 SEAC Poster Award Winners
On Tuesday, 21 March 2023, students presented their posters in the SEAC Student Poster Session at Pittcon. Volunteer judges from SEAC enjoyed their time engaging with students and learning about their hard work in the lab. This year, three students were selected for SEAC Poster Awards. Congratulations!
Samuel Hanser
University of Virginia
Electrochemical Treatment of Carbon Nanomaterials Improves Sensitivity to Multiple Neurochemicals
Nicole Walker
Purdue University
On the Mechanism of the Bipolar Reference Electrode
Saron Yoseph
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Developing an Electrochemical Sensor to Measure DNA Intercalation
Sam Hanser is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, where he researches neurochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Jill Venton. His projects have focused on electrochemical treatments of carbon microelectrodes to understand how they change the surface chemistry and improve electrode performance when paired with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry for the real time detection of neurotransmitters. Upon graduation from UVA in May 2023, Sam will move to Washington, DC., and he hopes to go to medical school in the future.
Nicole Walker
Nicole L. Walker is a Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University in the Analytical Chemistry division of the Department of Chemistry, where she is advised by Dr. Jeffrey E. Dick. Nicole obtained a B.S. in Forensic Chemistry from Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL. Nicole studies the design and miniaturization of potentiometric tools for use inside of small volumes, particularly of low-leakage reference electrodes.
Saron Yosephis a PREP Scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine conducting research under Dr. Netz Arroyo. She obtained her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Howard University before starting her post-baccalaureate study at Hopkins. She plans to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs this upcoming application cycle. Her current project focuses on developing a DNA-based electrochemical sensor that utilizes self-complementarity to monitor small molecule intercalation.
The Fourth SEAC Student Group Meeting – February 24, 2024
We are excited to announce the 2024 SEAC Student Group Meeting, which will be held 2/24/2024 in San Diego, CA. Participation in this meeting is open to students (graduate, undergraduate) and postdoctoral associates, with minimal faculty oversight. The style of the meeting is that of a large group meeting with talks chosen from the students who attend. Talks on half-baked, problematic, or poorly understood data are encouraged, and time will be dedicated to group level discussion. Please do not plan to bring polished, formal presentations to this meeting. Student social activities will be planned Saturday night for the SEAC Student Group Meeting. The meeting immediately precedes the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry. Students are encouraged to attend the SEAC Student Group Meeting, and then stay to enjoy Pittcon and additional SEAC activities (SEAC Awards symposium and SEAC reception and dinner). To facilitate attendance at both meetings, you may consider presenting a poster at a SEAC or ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Session. (This will hopefully make attendance at the meeting affordable if you are attending Pittcon.)
More information will be posted soon. If urgent information is needed, please contact Lane Baker, Texas A&M University (lane.baker@tamu.edu) or Ashley Ross, University of Cincinnati (ross2ah@ucmail.uc.edu)
Two Former SEAC Presidents at Texas Tech. (photo submitted by William Heineman with text by Carol Korzeniewski)
Profs. William Heineman and R. Mark Wightman, along with their spouses, made a surprise visit to Lubbock in the fall. Bill is a distinguished alumnus of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Tech. His wonderful stories of (beautiful) West Texas and its legends (like rock’n’roller Buddy Holly) have captivated colleague Wightman over the years, tracing back to their time as students in the Murray lab. After all these years, the opportunity for the Heinemans and Wightmans to connect in Lubbock finally arose and I was very lucky to have a sliver of time on their itinerary. Together with my colleague Dom Casadonte, we shared stories (and sometimes tall tales) of Lubbock and Texas Tech with the Wightmans. Although visiting during an improbable rainy period, I am hopeful the normally brilliant blue skies shown through the clouds for them for at least a short time during their stay in the city that boasts > 300 days of sunshine each year!
Harvey Herman, Emeritus Professor, University of North Carolina Greensboro, shares these photos of prominent electroanalytical chemists. He recalls “The meeting was the 1963 144th ACS meeting in LA. Al, Shankar Tatwawadi and I drove from Austin to LA in my VW bug.”.
Royce Murray (left), Charlie Reilley (center), and Willie Reinmuth (right)
Long Luo, Wayne State University, Hang Ren, University of Texas at Austin, and Mei Shen, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, were awarded the Sloan Research Fellowship.
Olja Simoskaintroduces Amir Hosseini, who will start as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Chemistry at the University of South Carolina in the fall of this year. He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2020, where he worked with Prof. Dennis G. Peters, focusing on mechanistic understanding of the electrosynthesis of small organic molecules. Amir then went to post-doc for Prof. Henry S. White at the University of Utah, where he worked on electrogenerating highly oxidizing-reducing species in aqueous solutions and investigating the kinetics of elementary steps involved in these species via electrochemical scanning probe microscopy techniques. Amir’s research group will develop electroanalytical methodologies to examine detailed aspects of homogeneous and heterogeneous electrocatalytic reactions with sustainability applications.
Upcoming Events and Meetings
Meetings of interest to our SEAC members abound during the coming year, with some of the symposia organized by our own members. We have a dedicated Events section of our new website, which provides fuller detail than that provided in this newsletter. Check it out!
We will be transitioning our “job board” to a members-only section of the website. To bring value to both opportunity seekers as well as opportunity providers, we have decided to require active membership to view these Opportunities. Head over to the page. You must be logged into the SEAC website to view the opportunities.
Sam Hanser is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, where he researches neurochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Jill Venton. His projects have focused on electrochemical treatments of carbon microelectrodes to understand how they change the surface chemistry and improve electrode performance when paired with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry for the real time detection of neurotransmitters. Upon graduation from UVA in May 2023, Sam will move to Washington, DC., and he hopes to go to medical school in the future.
Nicole L. Walker is a Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University in the Analytical Chemistry division of the Department of Chemistry, where she is advised by Dr. Jeffrey E. Dick. Nicole obtained a B.S. in Forensic Chemistry from Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL. Nicole studies the design and miniaturization of potentiometric tools for use inside of small volumes, particularly of low-leakage reference electrodes.
Olja Simoska introduces Amir Hosseini, who will start as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Chemistry at the University of South Carolina in the fall of this year. He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2020, where he worked with Prof. Dennis G. Peters, focusing on mechanistic understanding of the electrosynthesis of small organic molecules. Amir then went to post-doc for Prof. Henry S. White at the University of Utah, where he worked on electrogenerating highly oxidizing-reducing species in aqueous solutions and investigating the kinetics of elementary steps involved in these species via electrochemical scanning probe microscopy techniques. Amir’s research group will develop electroanalytical methodologies to examine detailed aspects of homogeneous and heterogeneous electrocatalytic reactions with sustainability applications.
